The annual pleasantry
Subject(s): Fourth of July, Fourth of July celebrations, Kings and rulers, Labor unions, Public speaking, Wealth
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At a Fourth of July celebration, a man stands on a large podium reading the “Declaration of Independence” before a cheering crowd. He is sandwiched between two large figures wearing robes and crowns labeled “Predatory Wealth” and “Predatory Labor.”
Comments and Context
A recurring theme in Puck Magazine through the years was the Scylla and Charybdis represented by Big Business and Big Labor — not merely their bigness (the view of some latter-day Jeffersonians) but the real and potential abuses flowing therefrom. Joseph Keppler, Senior, founder of Puck, and his son Udo J. Keppler, the artist of this cartoon, perhaps more than other cartoonists, maintained this critique through the years.
In a way, these cartoons, and this cartoon specifically, can be considered as illustrations of frequently-expressed bedrock attitudes of Theodore Roosevelt. Despite his anti-trust initiatives, and his work on behalf of laborers, he always held that justice for one side over the other, or government favoritism, was not justice at all. He eschewed campaign bromides about the middle or working classes, if the upper class would be unfairly treated.
One of Roosevelt’s noted aphorisms is that “the sin of envy is as corrosive as the sin of vice.” Such views, whether stated as warnings as per Keppler’s cartoon, or as positive policies, comprised the “Square Deal.”
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1907-06-26
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 annual pleasantry. [June 26, 1907]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285761. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956. The annual pleasantry. [26 Jun. 1907]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285761.
APA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956., [1907, June 26]. The annual pleasantry.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285761.
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.
