Our forefathers fought for a principle – there is no fight in us
Subject(s): Boston Tea Party (1773), Dinners and dining, Food prices, Monopolies, Taxation, Trusts, Industrial
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At top left is “The Spirit of ’76,” showing a family about to sit down to tea, as boxes of tea are visible through a window in the back of the room, floating in Boston Harbor. The father, who has just entered, states: “Away with that tea or you’re no daughter of mine! Not a drop in this house until the hateful tax is taken off!” At bottom right is “The Spiritless 1907,” showing a family sitting at the dinner table where the grandfather is about to carve the beef. He states: “Ain’t it a shame the prices they charge for beef. But we’ve got to have it, Trust or no Trust.” At the bottom left, disgruntled patrons exit a “Market,” counting their change.
Comments and Context
Cartoons in journals like Puck (and since, in the field) primarily have been partisan, political, or somewhere in the middle and to varying degrees of intensity, “commentary.” The commentary can be humorous, as S. D. Ehrhart’s once were, or more biting and incisive, as his became. This was generally true of his fellow cartoonists at the time, and magazines like Puck‘s rival Life always tended toward the social-commentary mode.
This Thanksgiving cartoon is an example of the evolution. Ehrhart eschewed the traditional holiday-themed humorous vignettes. His commentary here is not aimed at a candidate or a party, but at what he sees as declining American values like self-respect and a spirit against outside dominance of private life.
The Colonial father is portrayed as resentful of the Crown’s imposition of taxes; the contemporary paterfamilias voices only perfunctory regret at the high prices imposed by that day’s monarchs — the trusts.
A vignette shows evidently eager shoppers, in silhouettes, flocking to a market, and dejectedly counting pennies as they trudge home.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1907-11-13
Creator(s)
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937
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:
Our forefathers fought for a principle – there is no fight in us. [November 13, 1907]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285921. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937. Our forefathers fought for a principle – there is no fight in us. [13 Nov. 1907]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. August 3, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285921.
APA:
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937., [1907, November 13]. Our forefathers fought for a principle – there is no fight in us.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285921.
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.
