In this cartoon, the Philadelphia Inquier depicts America's role in the Imperialistic claiming of land in the late 1800's. It shows representatives from various countries watching as one of them plays a card game with 'Uncle Sam', who is representing the United States. They are 'betting' with countries and territories that they have control over, and are presumably using cards that represent their strategies and plans. The group of people behind the table (the chorus) are giving their commentary on the game, and wondering what sort of things the United States has up our sleeves. I think that this artist was trying to show that America was on the verge of becoming Imperialistic, and was being taken into the game with the rest of the world. However, the point is made without being overly offensive, which is very nice, and the comic leaves a lot of room for differing interpretations. For example, maybe the U.S. is trying to halt imperialsim instead of join, and our cards represent ways to stop it. While that seems unlikely, it is another possible explanation for the cartoon. It is one of the better ones I have seen from the age of imperialism, and I think it's interesting that the world's affairs are shown as a game, since that's how I tend to simplify lots of history to make it more comprehensive.
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