"The study examines press commentary on Latin America in U.S. newspapers and magazines during the 1920s, identifying three prevailing stereotypes: the Latin American as a political child; the backward nation that yearns for deliverance from its impoverished condition; and the exotic Latin temperament that is alien to Anglo sensibilities. Such stereotypes ostensibly served to explain Latin American behavior and political events to the U.S. public; however, these images also served to justify U.S. actions in the hemisphere and defined the United States as a mature, civilized, and rational nation." (Publisher description)