Uncle Sam’s hallowe’en
Subject(s): Belmont, Perry, 1850-1947, Bliss, Cornelius Newton, 1833-1911, Bryan, William Jennings, 1860-1925, Cortelyou, George B. (George Bruce), 1862-1940, Davis, Henry Gassaway, 1823-1916, Fairbanks, Charles W. (Charles Warren), 1852-1918, Halloween, Hill, David B. (David Bennett), 1843-1910, Masquerades, Odell, Benjamin B. (Benjamin Barker), 1854-1926, Parker, Alton B. (Alton Brooks), 1852-1926, Presidents--Election, Shaw, Leslie M. (Leslie Mortier), 1848-1932, Swallow, Silas Comfort, 1839-1930, Taggart, Thomas, 1856-1929, Uncle Sam (Symbolic character), Watson, Thomas E. (Thomas Edward), 1856-1922
Click on image to zoom in
At center, Uncle Sam looks into a mirror while descending a stairway in a hall. “Swallow” and “Watson” are standing in the hall, holding candles. In the vignette at lower left, the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, Roosevelt, Fairbanks, Parker, and Davis, arrive in costume. On the lower right they are unmasked and engaged in a game with Columbia. On the middle left is “Bryan” as “An Old Timer,” and on the middle right “Taggart” and “Belmont” play a prank on an elderly woman with a “Bogie Man” labeled “Militarism.” At top left, bobbing for “Campaign Funds” are “Taggart, Bliss, Cortelyou, [and] Belmont,” and at top right “Odell, Shaw, [and] Hill” are “Jumping the Issues.”
Comments and Context
Puck, a major Democratic publication, seems extremely unconcerned with the outcome of the imminent presidential election: little more than a week before balloting, its center-spread cartoon — traditionally a forum for powerful, persuasive political cartoons — instead published genre cartoons on a Halloween theme. Yes, with politicians as the characters, but more humorous than partisan. It possibly saw the writing on the wall, a massive Democratic defeat.
The cartoons are compelling to modern readers, at least for the peripheral and subtext aspects. For instance, the “find me” game of people with mirrors (once a popular pastime) features Uncle Sam seeing, or seeking, the face of Democratic candidate Alton Brooks Parker — but, presumably, seeing the combined faces of President Roosevelt and Parker. It is interesting, moreover, to see two figures depicted who virtually were unmentioned in the 1904 campaign, in Puck and few other places, despite winning presidential nominations: Thomas E. Watson of the nearly moribund Populist Party; and the delightfully-named Silas Comfort Swallow of the Prohibition Party.
Other vignettes feature stereotypical depictions of politicians jumping over issues; of part chairmen and finance chairs bobbing contributions; and attempts to scare voters with fake or outworn issues like bimetallism and militarism.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1904-10-26
Creator(s)
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937
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:
Uncle Sam’s hallowe’en. [October 26, 1904]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277868. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937. Uncle Sam’s hallowe’en. [26 Oct. 1904]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. August 3, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277868.
APA:
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937., [1904, October 26]. Uncle Sam’s hallowe’en.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277868.
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. August 3, 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.
