Reason against unreason
Subject(s): Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1887, Clergy, Philosophers, Philosophy, Prejudices, Religion, Supernatural, Superstition, Talmage, T. De Witt (Thomas De Witt), 1832-1902
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Print shows the “Light of Reason” shining from the upper right, illuminating bust portraits of “Johannes Kepler, I. Kant, Th. Paine, Jefferson, B. de Spinoza, Franklin, Voltaire, E. H. Haeckel, Tyndall, Huxley, [and] Darwin.” The light is blocked by a large umbrella labeled “Bigotry, Supernaturalism, [and] Fanaticism,” behind which are hiding various members of the clergy, including the Pope, Henry Ward Beecher, and T. De Witt Talmage. In the upper left, a vignette shows three female figures around an infant in a crib, with caption “God made Man and Endowed him with Free Will, Memory, and Understanding.” In the lower right is another vignette showing the Pope and other members of the clergy torturing a man, filling him with “Superstition,” with caption, “But it took a Deal of Altering in the Man before he could be made a ‘Good Citizen’.”
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1882-03-08
Creator(s)
Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894
Period
New York State Assemblyman (1882-May 1884)
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:
Reason against unreason. [March 8, 1882]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o287865. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894. Reason against unreason. [8 Mar. 1882]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. February 5, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o287865.
APA:
Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894., [1882, March 8]. Reason against unreason.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o287865.
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. February 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.
