Mexico Cartoon, 1846

This cartoon was published in New York in June 1846 as a lithograph, a month after the United States declared war on Mexico on May 13, 1846 to begin the Mexican-American War, which resulted in U.S. annexation of Mexico’s northern territory. Lithographs were printed cheaply from original drawings using crayon, limestone, and rolled-on ink. The image is both morbid and satirical, depicting three wounded Mexican prisoners of war staring in disbelief at their amputated limbs, the work presumably of American doctors. During the Mexican War, the “annexation” and “dismemberment” of Mexican territory by the United States was symbolized by images of bodily punishment of Mexican soldiers. At the time, amputation was considered the surest way to prevent the infection of an injured limb.