A breeze from the far east

President Roosevelt and Uncle Sam stand on the shore of the ocean. In Roosevelt’s pocket is a handle labeled, “lately discovered,” and Uncle Sam says, “Just a squall, Ted,” as they look out on the “Japanese jingoism” waves.

comments and context

Comments and Context

President Roosevelt had long been troubled by the ugliness surrounding Japanese immigration in California, specially around San Francisco. He opposed prejudice and violence; he resented the agitation of politicians and newspaper publishers like William Randolph Hearst (of the San Francisco Examiner), and worried about the malign effects on America’s foreign policy and role in Pacific affairs.

The immediate context of this cartoon was reports from Japan — that xenophobic riots and persecution in California (for instance, exclusion laws, and the denial of public-school education to the children of Japanese citizens) was being mirrored in Japan, and encouraged by the government.

Around May 20, a San Francisco mob inaugurated a series of attacks on Japanese residents and their property, and on May 23 the president wrote a heartfelt letter to a Japanese envoy, the Harvard-educated Baron Kentaro Kaneko: “Nothing during my Presidency has given me more concern than these troubles.”

Such, indeed, was the case, and Roosevelt intervened with public appeals to Californians’ sense of justice; personally, calling San Francisco Mayor Eugene E. Schmitz to the White House; scheduling a port of call by the upcoming goodwill cruise of the Great White Fleet; and negotiating an informal cooling-off memorandum with the Japanese government that protected the rights of Japanese-Americans and restricted emigration to America.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-11

Creator(s)

Russell, Kirk L, -1934

Language

English

Period

U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)

Page Count

1

Production Method

Printed

Record Type

Image

Resource Type

Cartoon

Rights

These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.

Citation