The winning of the West
Subject(s): Political campaigns, Presidents--Elections, Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919, Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930, Western horses
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William H. Taft rides on horseback during a tour of the American West where he is making a campaign stop to address a gathering of cowboys, farmers, lumberjacks, and businessmen. Taft’s clothing and the horse’s brand, saddle, and bridle are emblazoned with “TR,” the initials of Theodore Roosevelt, suggesting Roosevelt’s endorsement of Taft in the upcoming presidential election.
Comments and Context
Will Crawford, illustrator and cartoonist of Western and Native American subjects invariably depicted sympathetically, became around this a major member of Puck Magazine’s art staff. In this double-page cartoon he calls upon his familiarity with the old and new American West to make a subtle but devastating comment on the inept Republican presidential candidate William H. Taft.
The title of the cartoon calls upon the famous multi-volume historical work by Theodore Roosevelt, written years before his presidency, The Winning of the West. As Taft reluctantly took up stump campaigning, especially at the urging of Roosevelt, he ventured into territory far removed from Eastern financial circles and Midwestern centers or power.
Roosevelt’s “My Policies” — indeed, Roosevelt’s legacy and the popular man himself — were the 1908 campaign’s salient topics. The rotund Judge Taft, former Solicitor General and currently Secretary of War, was obliged (in Crawford’s hands) to dress as a drugstore cowboy and festoon himself with myriad “TR” colophons and brands, and ride a horse, into a Western scene… where cowboys have been displaced by ranchers, farmers, shop owners, miners, and businessmen.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1908-10-14
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 winning of the West. [October 14, 1908]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o288640. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Crawford, Will, 1869-1944. The winning of the West. [14 Oct. 1908]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 5, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o288640.
APA:
Crawford, Will, 1869-1944., [1908, October 14]. The winning of the West.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o288640.
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.
