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Several vignettes illustrate the difficulty of catching a vice presidential candidate, including offering some “Possible Premiums,” such as a “Cabinet Portfolio,” a “Carnegie Hero Pension,” use of the “Vice Pres’ yacht Tailenda,” and a “10 years lease for pedestal in the Hall of Fame.” Caption: What’s the matter with the Vice-Presidential Chair?
Comments and Context
As the presidential nominating conventions of the political parties approached in 1904, Puck asked a question regarding the vice presidency that was not only humorous but legitimate. The country had been without a vice president since Theodore Roosevelt succeeded the assassinated William McKinley in September of 1901.
Before Roosevelt himself was nominated as McKinley’s running mate in 1900, the office was vacated by the death of Garret Hobart of New Jersey the previous year.
It is a traditional fact that the vice presidency has held little appeal for politicians despite the number who have succeeded to the White House, more upon the death of their predecessors than efforts of their own; in fact for most of United States history, the vice presidency has been regarded as a virtual graveyard. It was called a “fifth wheel” by some of its placeholders. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first vice president, John Nance Garner of Texas, reportedly likened it to “a warm bucket of spit,” or some rhyme thereof.
Even in 1904 the respect for the office did not spike. One of the reluctant figures in Pughe’s cartoon, Senator Charles W. Fairbanks of Indiana, was the convention’s choice to be Roosevelt’s running mate. His cartoon expression fairly depicts his reported enthusiasm for the nomination and his subsequent four years as vice president. The Democrats’ nominee — after spirited competition for the top spot on the ticket — was a hot potato ultimately tossed to Henry Gassaway Davis, an 80-year-old former senator from West Virginia, 20 years retired, “honored” by the nomination in hopes that he would share some of his millionaire’s fortune with the campaign.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1904-06-08
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:
Wanted: an occupant. [June 8, 1904]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277825. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909. Wanted: an occupant. [8 Jun. 1904]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 24, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277825.
APA:
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909., [1904, June 8]. Wanted: an occupant.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277825.
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 24, 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.
