Click on image to zoom in
A large red hand labeled “Organized Murder” drips blood over the western states on a map of the United States.
Comments and Context
Cartoon iconography at its best lets a picture substitute for a thousand words. When drawn for a weekly magazine, and sold to a society which relatively illiterate, at least in English, symbols play a great role.
The precision with which symbols are employed can be as important as the objects themselves: vital to the purpose and effectiveness of the cartoon. For instance, if this cover cartoon in Puck had a black hand over the Eastern portion of the United States’ map, readers immediately would have recognized a condemnation of violent Italian Americans in New York and Boston, the early Mafia.
But in 1907, a map of America west of the Mississippi, and a red hand overshadowing it, was clearly understood by most readers to address, and condemn, twin specters on the American landscape. At this time there was a rise in racial violence in West Coast cities, generally directed against Asian immigrants. President Roosevelt attempted to intervene in many ways, motivated by his spirit of tolerance and a Square Deal for all citizens. He also was concerned about resentment in the home nations represented in railroad crews and urban shops — Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, etc.
Also in 1907 was another flash-point of tension and violence. After years of labor unrest in mines and fields and factories, “Big Bill” Haywood, whose radicalism placed him as head of the “Wobblies,” the Industrial Workers of the World, went on trial for ordering the assassination of Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg. With Eugene V. Debs and other labor leaders pledging support, and with Clarence Darrow as his attorney, Haywood was acquitted, but the trial set off demonstrations and local violent confrontations between radicals and police.
Puck clearly referred to these two waves of events, in what was a very troubling year in American society.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1907-07-03
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 red hand. [July 3, 1907]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285762. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Unknown. The red hand. [3 Jul. 1907]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 5, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285762.
APA:
Unknown., [1907, July 3]. The red hand.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285762.
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 5, 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.
