Troops Entering Ponce

Troops Entering Ponce

The Porto Rican Campaign is an article about the successes of the military campaign in Puerto Rico. The item I chose is a drawing of a photograph of U.S. troops entering Ponce. The photograph was taken by the author of the article. The article was written by Richard Harding Davis who was a prominent magazine journalist at the time. He is known for his work in the Spanish-American War, WWI and for promoting the political career of Theodore Roosevelt. This is important because he was known for his journalism on war. The image shows a sense of US nationalism due to the pomp and circumstance that is the invasion of a Puerto Rican city. The US Army was met with little resistance and the image shows them parading through the streets with American flags held high. The image embodies the article it is in. Instead of talking too much about the losers of the fight or the politics behind the fight, it focuses much on the pageantry of the Army. This shows how many New Yorkers had strong national pride and enjoyed seeing their nation celebrate their power. On the stores in the city, signs are hanging which read “English Spoken Here”. This is a sign that perhaps even the Puerto Rican people wanted the U.S. to invade. This justifies the actions of the U.S. Army and further shows the idea of nationalism. Another example of this is the women in the balconies looking down on the parade of troops, signifying the acceptance of U.S. intervention.

Richard Harding Davis

November 1898 issue of Scribner’s Magazine (Vol. XXIV)

Scribner's Magazine

11/2/15

Tim Bontempi