The coming struggle
Subject(s): Castles, Economic policy, Free trade--Protection, Giants, Knights and knighthood, Palaces, Tariff
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President Roosevelt, as a knight on horseback, carries a lance labeled “Reciprocity” and faces a giant ogre labeled “Infant Industries” and leaning on a club labeled “Dingley Tariff.” In the background on the left is a castle flying a banner “High Protection” and with a maiden labeled “Fair Trade” standing at the top of a tower. Caption: And so the knight promised to take up his late lord’s lance and carry on the fight.
Comments and Context
This is a brilliant cartoon by Keppler, wholly reliant on its surfeit of labels and slightly inaccurate as to history. That is, it predicts that the new president, Theodore Roosevelt, would take up the late President William McKinley’s lance and battle against high tariffs. McKinley’s views on may issues evolved, but as a Protectionist, his ideas about Reciprocity — fair trade with nations, one by one — were tepid. Roosevelt, who admitted that he never fully understood tariffs and economics, would prevent his Republican Party from enacting any tariffs, upward or reductions, during his presidency. He know that every administration that did so (e.g., the previous four) suffered from the polarized public debates. His successor, William Howard Taft, presided over both a high-tariff act and reciprocity treaties, both leading to electoral defeats. With a few changed labels — for instance, trusts and monopolies instead of high tariffs and protected industries — the cartoon better could represent a major theme of the Roosevelt presidency.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1901-10-16
Creator(s)
Period
U.S. President – 1st Term (September 1901-February 1905)
Repository
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Page Count
1
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:
The coming struggle. [October 16, 1901]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o276158. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956. The coming struggle. [16 Oct. 1901]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 5, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o276158.
APA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956., [1901, October 16]. The coming struggle.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o276158.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 5, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
APA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
