One of the assignments for this class was a visual analysis essay of our choice of image. The main images we were choosing from were political cartoons, where we would analyze the meaning of the cartoon based on context as well as visual designs. I did my visual analysis essay on Charles Green Bush’s political cartoon Civilization Begins at Home. His political cartoon was in response to the Philippine-American War and how America’s intentions were not what it seemed.

This assignment stood out to me the most because we got to analyze a part of history that is usually told from only one side and excludes other factors. Being able to look at a political cartoon from this era highlights the different responses and concerns that people had about the war. It showed a deeper context of this war and the social issues around it.