More rough riding

President Roosevelt as a “Rough Rider” carries a pike labeled “Fearlessness” and rides an elephant labeled “Administration.” He has chased many men labeled “Dishonest Official” and “Corruption” from the “Post Office” Department. There are mail bags labeled “Corruption, Scandal, [and] Bribery” and letters labeled “Bribe, Scandal, [and] Bribery” flying in the rush of wind as corrupt officials flee Roosevelt and the rampaging elephant.

comments and context

Comments and Context

When Theodore Roosevelt became president, there were few Americans in or out of his Republican Party, or the nation as a whole, who thought that he would mend his ways as a reformer. Reform was an aspect of every position he held, from the New York Assembly, to party councils beginning with the 1884 presidential convention, to “civilizing” efforts in the Western prairies, to the national Civil Service Commission, to the New York City Police Department, to the Department of the Navy and the War Department around the Spanish-American War, to the Governor’s office in Albany. The Republican Old Guard famous feared his approach to the presidency in the case of William McKinley’s death (“Don’t you realize,” cried Senator Mark Hanna, “there’s only one bullet between that madman and the president of the United States?”) — and scarcely were assured when McKinley was assassinated, by Roosevelt’s promise to “continue, absolutely unbroken, the policies of the [McKinley] administration.

Politicians and the public — and history, generally — tended to look at Roosevelt’s far-ranging goals, his inclination to see big challenges, and to anticipate new ones.

But this Pughe cartoon demonstrates that the new president might have scanned the horizon in his desire to reform problems. Despite serious problems of corruption and patronage in the Post Office, it would seem that Roosevelt’s crusade was closer to his micro-managing Civil Service Department appointments 1889-1894. But no problem was too small for Roosevelt to correct. Puck, although a Democratic newspaper, nevertheless commended the new president’s righteous zeal.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1903-07-29

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

Cartoon

Rights

These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.

Citation