Mr. Sisyphus Cortelyou rolling it up
Subject(s): Allegiance, Boulders, Cortelyou, George B. (George Bruce), 1862-1940, Presidents--Elections, Republican National Committee (U.S.), Sisyphus (Greek mythology)
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George B. Cortelyou, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, appears as Sisyphus rolling a large boulder labeled “Majority for Roosevelt” up a steep hill.
Comments and Context
George B. Cortelyou is one of the most neglected of the important figures in the career and accomplishments of Theodore Roosevelt. He worked for the United States Post Office and rose through the ranks until he was recommended to President Grover Cleveland to serve as his chief clerk. When William McKinley assumed the presidency in 1897 he named Cortelyou as personal secretary to the president upon the recommendation of Grover Cleveland, despite the part differences between the presidents.
As president, Roosevelt nominated Cortelyou to be the nation’s first Secretary of Commerce and Labor in 1903. The following year Cortelyou resigned to become the Chairman of the Republican National Committee during the Roosevelt re-election campaign. After the spectacularly successful canvas, Cortelyou served as Postmaster General of the United States (for a time overlapping the roles), traditionally a dispenser of federal patronage.
Cortelyou had shifted to become Secretary of the Treasury by 1907, when a brief but dangerous panic swept Wall Street and financial markets. His management of the department and role in fashioning deals with J. P. Morgan, U. S. Steel, and other interests, averted am economic depression.
Keppler’s cartoon depicted any campaign’s wise avoidance of over-confidence. however, and as the overwhelment Republican victory affirmed, Cortelyou had reason to be confident of prevailing.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1904-09-14
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:
Mr. Sisyphus Cortelyou rolling it up. [September 14, 1904]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277855. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956. Mr. Sisyphus Cortelyou rolling it up. [14 Sep. 1904]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. April 2, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277855.
APA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956., [1904, September 14]. Mr. Sisyphus Cortelyou rolling it up.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277855.
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. April 2, 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.
