How do you analyze a political cartoon?

Before I read the guide:
Analyzing a political cartoon is often difficult to understand if you don't know the person the author is depicting. The first thing to do, once you read the cartoon, is to read the caption along. Paying close attention to the pictures is helping if you look at which political party it is referring to.

Going forward:

I learned how to correctly analyze a political cartoon from The Library of Congress' guide. I will observe, reflect and then question the cartoon. I will begin with describing the blog in my head, just to understand the entire scene. I will then notice which part of the cartoon my eye was first drawn to. I need to reflect on when the cartoon was created, what issue I think it's about, and the cartoonist's opinion on the issue. I will question who, what, when, where, why, and how to be able to fully analyze a cartoon.

Political Cartoons:

I notice the guards allowing people smuggling things into their island in this political cartoon. I see the flag on top of a building, and a large wall that would normally keep people out. This was drawn after the United States had signed the treaty of Paris, which allowed the United States colonial authority over the island. I came across this conclusion by closely observing the cartoon and using the steps I learned from the Library of Congress.

I notice a large boots with stripes on it standing on the Philippine Islands in this cartoon. I notice the sign in the back that states: The U.S. is requested to withdraw P.D.Q. (signed) Aguinaldo. The boot is drawn by the cartoonist to portray a war boot. The stripes represent the United States and it taking control of the Philippines. There is a Philippine man trying to get the boot off the island. The cartoonist is showing how forceful the United States was when taking over the Philippines.

I notice children in a classroom being taught by Uncle Sam in this cartoon. The children do not seem happy to be there. At the back of the classroom there are students holding books labeled California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Alaska. They are being taught by a book labeled U.S. First Lessons in Self-Government, and the children are representing the Philippines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Cuba. The cartoonist is implying that these places didn't necessarily want the United States taking over.