On to Washington!
Subject(s): Cannon, Joseph Gurney, 1836-1926, Elections, Gompers, Samuel, 1850-1924, Hot air balloons, Legislators, Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- ), Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919
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A large hot air balloon with Theodore Roosevelt’s face flies a banner of “Republican Congressional Candidates” and carries a basket overflowing with election hopefuls (and a small conventional balloon labeled “Cannon’s Boom,” referring to a short-lived effort to have Joseph Gurney Cannon contest the 1908 presidential nomination. On the ground, Samuel Gompers is using a sling-shot in an effort to shoot down the balloon.
Comments and Context
Campaigns for the presidency and seats in Congress were much, perhaps mercifully, shorter in the Roosevelt Era. The cartoon by Udo J. Keppler marks the October commencement of the elections in November.
Despite a “boomlet” urging Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon to vie for the presidential nomination, he and virtually every other Republican candidate were tethered to the administration and popularity of Theodore Roosevelt, like it or not. Most, from the old guard to the insurgents, did like it.
On the ground is the small figure of Samuel Gompers, who had led many unions and then headed the American Federation of Labor. He probably was the most conservative of all labor leaders between the 1870s and his death in 1924, but he was the most successful in organizing and, through negotiations and tenacity, extracting concessions for workers. In 1906, despite having allied himself with Democrats and with President Roosevelt, issue by issue, he published an article registering distaste for all political parties.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1906-10-10
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:
On to Washington!. [October 10, 1906]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o279018. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956. On to Washington!. [10 Oct. 1906]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o279018.
APA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956., [1906, October 10]. On to Washington!.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o279018.
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.
