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The Republican elephant collapses under the weight of Republican and/or Roosevelt policies, including a large crown labeled “Imperialism,” a “Big Stick,” a basket labeled “Odellism,” a mail pouch labeled “Postal Scandals,” a box of “Gloves & Gaunts,” a large cannon labeled “Militarism,” a question mark labeled “Philippines,” a disk labeled “Extravagance,” a thick wad of papers labeled “High Protection” bound together by “Dingley Schedules,” and finally a bloated man labeled “Trusts.”
Comments and Context
Keppler’s cartoon, published on the eve of the 1904 presidential election, is a lesson in iconography and couching political points in graphic arguments of logic. The piles of bad policies and negative issues, however, were not onerous to the elephant — the Republican Party of 1904. Indeed, Roosevelt’s foreign policy, the domestic economy, and even his position on trusts (scarcely as beneficent as Keppler’s caricatured smile would indicate) were wildly welcomed by most Republicans. Indeed, if Uncle Sam, rather than the Republican Party, had been depicted in this cartoon, he might not have felt such a load either.
The other “burdens” were in fact peripheral. “Odellism” refers to charges against Benjamin Odell, who had succeeded to the New York governorship when Roosevelt was elected vice-president. He was a reforming governor and generally respected, but he was swept up — and exonerated — in an investigation conducted by attorney Charles Evans Hughes.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1904-10-19
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 last straw. [October 19, 1904]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277866. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956. The last straw. [19 Oct. 1904]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. February 26, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277866.
APA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956., [1904, October 19]. The last straw.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277866.
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 26, 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.
