“The overshadowing Senate”
Subject(s): Hoar, George Frisbie, 1826-1904, Legislators, Lodge, Henry Cabot, 1850-1924, Morgan, John Tyler, 1824-1907, Platt, Thomas Collier, 1833-1910, Presidents, Quay, Matthew Stanley, 1833-1904, Stewart, William M. (William Morris), 1827-1909, Tillman, Benjamin R. (Benjamin Ryan), 1847-1918
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Seven men dressed as Roman senators are labeled “T.C. Tillman, Lodge, Stewart, Morgan, Quay, [and] Hoar.” George F. Hoar is speaking to the others while pointing at a diminutive President Roosevelt standing in their midst. Caption: Senator Hoar’s Decree–Hereafter, when he wants to talk, let him ask us and say “please.”
Comments and Context
At the time of this cartoon, Senator George Frisbie Hoar of Massachusetts was having one of his perennial dust-ups with President Roosevelt. Their intra-party clashes had begun in 1889, when Roosevelt was appointed to head the Civil Service Commission. Roosevelt always considered Hoar to be honest and acknowledged him as distinguished, but in private correspondence referred to him as a silly and self-absorbed Mugwump. Hoar, a Republican, was nevertheless an ardent anti-imperialist, and in this context he took up the cause of Apolinario Mabini, Filipino insurrectionist. Old and feeble, Mabini was nevertheless denied return to the Philippines from exile unless he declared allegiance to the American-backed administrations there. Hoar was a thorn in Roosevelt’s side on the issue, and the senator went public with his disdain for the young president. In Pughe’s cartoon, one of the senate’s leaders, observing the denigration of Roosevelt was Hoar’s fellow senator from Massachusetts — Henry Cabot Lodge, probably Roosevelt’s closest friend.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1903-02-25
Creator(s)
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909
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 overshadowing Senate”. [February 25, 1903]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277195. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909. “The overshadowing Senate”. [25 Feb. 1903]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. February 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277195.
APA:
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909., [1903, February 25]. “The overshadowing Senate”.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277195.
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. February 12, 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.
