The rising waters
Subject(s): Cost and standard of living, Families, Family, Floods, Middle class, Sharks, Wealth
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A man, woman, and infant wearing ragged clothing labeled “The American Middle Class” sit on a rock labeled “Opportunity” above the rising waters of “Centralized Wealth” in which sharks are circling. In the background, only the head and shoulders of the Statue of Liberty are visible above the water.
Comments and Context
“The Rising Waters” by Carl Hassmann is a masterpiece of editorial-cartooning iconography, and a slight example of period hyperbole. It relied on few labels, and the expressions of the couple and the storm clouds easily conveyed the intended flavor. The spirit of the times believed that corporate abuses and an unregulated economy represented a threat to average Americans and liberty itself.
On the other hand, in the very years of the Roosevelt administrations, American was enjoying unprecedented prosperity. Employment, population expansion, wages, technological innovations, leisure activities — all rose during these years of the century’s first decade. If the “middle class” (a new term at the time) felt discomfited by wealth disparity it was more philosophical — compared to the real problems of the lower and immigrant classes.
The problems facing lower classes were less theoretical. American prosperity opened employment opportunities, and America’s greatest decade of immigration was 1900-1910, but the system absorbed newcomers, even those who found jobs, awkwardly. One might have imagined Hassmann’s cartoon with the struggling couple labelled as “Lower Class” more properly, every other element remaining.
It is interesting that a dystopian novel about the decline of America, written by John Ames Mitchell, the publisher of Puck‘s competitor Life Magazine, appeared about this time and used a similar motif, the Statue of Liberty crumbling and swallowed by New York Harbor. Despite Life‘s occasional flirtation with socialist complaints, the enemies in his book about the future were invading Moslems.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1906-06-06
Creator(s)
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
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 rising waters. [June 6, 1906]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278544. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Hassmann, Carl, 1869-1933. The rising waters. [6 Jun. 1906]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278544.
APA:
Hassmann, Carl, 1869-1933., [1906, June 6]. The rising waters.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278544.
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 12, 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.
