Marschall, Richard

Richard (Rick) Marschall examines a famous political cartoon from 1884 that features one of the earliest depictions of Theodore Roosevelt. Marschall focuses on Bernhard Gillam’s Phryne Before the Chicago Tribunal which depicts various leaders of the Republican Party pondering the political fate of James Gillespie Blaine, the eventual Republican nominee in the 1884 presidential contest. Marschall chronicles the highs and lows of Roosevelt’s life in 1884, and he identifies many of the prominent Republicans depicted in the cartoon which is based on the French painting Phryne Before the Areopagus. The political cartoon supplements the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2018

Creator(s)

Marschall, Richard

Richard (Rick) Marschall finds much to admire in J. Lee Thompson’s Never Call Retreat: Theodore Roosevelt and the Great War, especially the book’s fairness in dealing with Germany and its allies and in pointing out the shortcomings and extremity of some of Theodore Roosevelt’s wartime positions. Marschall finds it refreshing that Thompson does not shy away from criticizing Woodrow Wilson and validating some of Roosevelt’s assertions against his opponent, and he notes that Wilson is often given preferential treatment by historians. Marschall places Thompson’s work in the context of other treatments of this time period of Roosevelt’s life, and he admonishes Thompson for failing to adequately summarize his findings and for flawed writing.

The book’s cover and three political cartoons from Marschall’s collection supplement the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal