Against the rules
Subject(s): Cigars, Oklahoma, Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919, Statehood (American politics)
Click on image to zoom in
President Roosevelt, standing on the threshold of “Statehood School, T. Roosevelt, Principal,” holds a paper and says, “Your credentials are all right, but you’ll have to throw away that cigar,” as he looks at a boy labeled “Oklahoma” holding an enormous cigar labeled, “objectionable laws.”
Comments and Context
Oklahoma Territory (sometimes called “Indian Territory”) was granted statehood in 1907, officially adding its star to the American flag on November 16. It had a vestigial reputation as a wild and wooly place, so legislators and Eastern powers were careful to voice hesitations and restrictions, as pictured by the Post‘s new and interim cartoonist Robert Isbell (Clifford Kennedy Berryman has just left for the crosstown rival Star).
Stronger objections and hesitations were held against two other territories that were waiting as Oklahoma did for statehood: New Mexico and Arizona. In the cases of those territories, the obstacles were: mild enmity between the two; ethnic compositions; desolate stretches that caused some advocates to merge them as one state; etc. They each achieved statehood in 1912.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1907-02-04
Creator(s)
Language
English
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
Page Count
1
Production Method
Record Type
Image
Resource Type
Rights
These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
Against the rules. [February 4, 1907]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301421. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Isbell, Robert. Against the rules. [4 Feb. 1907]. Image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 24, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301421.
APA:
Isbell, Robert., [1907, February 4]. Against the rules.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301421.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 24, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.
APA:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.
