Raising the funds to buy the presidency
Subject(s): Absolution, Brady, Thomas Jefferson, 1839-1904, Campaign funds, Clapp, A. M. (Almon M.), Clayton, Powell, 1833-1914, Dorsey, Stephen Wallace, 1842-1916, Elkins, Stephen B. (Stephen Benton), 1841-1911, Fund raising, Ingersoll, Robert Green, 1833-1899, Phelps, William Walter, 1839-1894, Political campaigns, Political corruption, Presidents--Elections, Priests, Raum, Green B. (Green Berry), 1829-1909, Reid, Whitelaw, 1837-1912, Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- ), Tetzel, Johann, approximately 1465-1519
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Puck’s Independent Party figure sits on the left next to Puck beneath a sign that states “Independent Road to the White House.” At center, A. M. Clapp, with a cash box labeled “Republican Campaign Fund” and a sheet of paper that states “Permission to Remain in Office,” appears with Green B. Raum, who is holding a box labeled “Absolution” containing papers that state “Indispensable Dispensation,” selling indulgences for absolutions and dispensations to an old woman with a broom labeled “U. S.,” a “U. S. Scrub-Woman,” a “Page,” a “Treasy. Clerk,” and a “U. S. Postman” holding a paper that is a “Guarantee against Decapitation.” In the background, Whitelaw Reid carries a banner that states “The Republican Party is the Party of Salvation,” Thomas Jefferson Brady and Stephen Dorsey carry banners that state “The Republican Party Must Stay No Matter How” and “This is Our Last Chance,” and Powell Clayton drives a wagon carrying a safe labeled “Funds for an Aggressive Campaign.” Also depicted are William Walter Phelps with a paper that states “Its Only a Matter of Money” and Robert Ingersoll holding a paper labeled “Sweet C. O. D.” Caption: In the sixteenth century, Tetzel and his corrupt fellow-priests openly sold absolutions and dispensations, and played upon the fears of the people to fill their coffers, and keep themselves in power and place and shameful luxury. A little later, they were swept under in the cleansing flood of the great reformation. Will the star-route money-leeches please take notice that history repeats itself?
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1884-08-12
Creator(s)
Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894
Period
Dakota Rancher (June 1884-1886)
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:
Raising the funds to buy the presidency. [August 12, 1884]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o288092. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894. Raising the funds to buy the presidency. [12 Aug. 1884]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. December 11, 2025. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o288092.
APA:
Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894., [1884, August 12]. Raising the funds to buy the presidency.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o288092.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
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. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. December 11, 2025. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
APA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.