In this cartoon, Uncle Sam is shown as a barber grooming smaller Western Hemisphere countries to be presentable actors on the world stage. Santo Domingo admires his new look in the mirror while untidy Venezuela awaits his turn in the chair.
The image was published amid financial conflicts between the U.S. and Venezuela and echoed the popular opinion that Venezuela needed to be brought under control. Beginning in mid-1904, the Venezuelan government had demanded money from American and European companies operating in Venezuela and had deported an American journalist. In response, the United States supported demands that Venezuela be held accountable. President Roosevelt reinforced this message when he published the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine in December, 1904. The Corollary asserted that the United States would intervene in favor of Europe if Western Hemisphere countries failed to pay European creditors.
This cartoon was drawn by Clifford Berryman, one of Washington, DC’s best-known cartoonists in the early to mid-1900s. Berryman drew for the Washington Post and Evening Star newspapers. His cartoons touched on a variety of subjects including politics, elections, and both World Wars.
This cartoon is featured in America and the World: Foreign Affairs in Political Cartoons, 1898–1940, a free PDF book from the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives.
