After the Spanish-American war, which ended with the Treaty of Paris ceding Puerto Rico, Guam and the Phillipines to the U.S, the later declared war to the U.S seeking independence.
The cartoon is a response from Life Magazine to the Treaty of Paris, which is seen as an act against what Washington and the forefathers declared in the Declaration of Independence. In the Treaty, the U.S pays Spain $20 million for the cession of the Philippines, which is considered in the cartoon as a statement of white supremacy and promotion of American Imperialism.
