Prosperity
Subject(s): Balloons, Big business, Hand
Click on image to zoom in
A hand labeled “Collections” holds a pin, about to pop a big red balloon labeled “Big Business Orders.”
Comments and Context
“Coming events cast their shadows before” is a proverb so obvious as almost to be trite. It was first used in these words in the poet Thomas Campbell’s Lochiel’s Warning, 1801. Even back in ancient Rome, Cicero had written similarly, “Certain signs precede certain events.” Everyday people can call those events “warning signs,” or ascribe a sense of foreboding to “intuition.”
Cartoonist Udo J. Keppler was prescient and a first-rate analyst — necessary traits for one of America’s prominent political cartoonists — yet he needed no mysterious crystal ball to portray in simple, direct, bright-red graphics an imminent financial crisis.
Political leaders from Theodore Roosevelt to William Jennings Bryan for years had been criticizing Wall Street for stock watering, manipulation of shares and assets. Reformers and investigators discovered corporate corruption in many financial areas. Muckraking journalists in magazines and books exposed frauds and secret deals through the financial system. On the crest of a wave of public outrage, the previous Congress passed laws and established regulatory commissions to correct widespread systemic abuses.
Nevertheless, Keppler’s cartoon “Prosperity” was a perfect depiction of the current situation in the United States, and the imminent explosion. A major Panic, with dangers of a Crash, and the possibility of another Depression, hit America in October, only three months in the future.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1907-07-31
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:
Prosperity. [July 31, 1907]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285773. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956. Prosperity. [31 Jul. 1907]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. August 3, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285773.
APA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956., [1907, July 31]. Prosperity.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285773.
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.
