A nightmare on the Pacific coast
Subject(s): Flags, Japan, Japan. Kaigun, United States--Pacific Coast
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The Japanese flag of the Imperial Navy with a Japanese man’s head in the center appears on the horizon of the ocean.
Comments and Context
It evidently was not only West Coast newspapers, like the sensationalist San Francisco Examiner of William Randolph Hearst, that provoked anti-Japanese sentiment at the turn of the century. A cartoonist named Robert Isbell, plugging a hole at the Washington Post left by the departure of Clifford Kennedy Berryman for the crosstown Star, trafficked in xenophobic alarums about the “Yellow Peril.”
In the years prior to Pearl Harbor, cartoonists occasionally speculated about a hostile and militaristic Japan. Even President Roosevelt did, privately: one reason that he sought to ameliorate racial tensions in California, and undertook efforts to mollify the proud Japanese government. The “goodwill” visit of the Great White Fleet in the year following this cartoon had Japan’s potential hostility in mind.
A 1914 cartoon in the German humor magazine Kladderadatsch outright predicted that “some day” the Japanese sun would shine over the stars and stripes — depicted as a destroyed battleship.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1907-02-07
Creator(s)
Language
English
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
Page Count
1
Production Method
Record Type
Image
Resource Type
Rights
These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
A nightmare on the Pacific coast. [February 7, 1907]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301431. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Isbell, Robert. A nightmare on the Pacific coast. [7 Feb. 1907]. Image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301431.
APA:
Isbell, Robert., [1907, February 7]. A nightmare on the Pacific coast.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301431.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.
APA:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.
