De-lighted! You’re a grand old bird!
Subject(s): New York (State), Population, Registers of births, etc., Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919, Storks
Click on image to zoom in
President Roosevelt shakes a stork’s hand and says, “De-lighted! You’re a grand old bird!” He holds a paper in his hand that reads, “Births in 1906 in greater New York 111.772 an increase over 1905 of 8.000.”
Comments and Context
The motif of cartoonist Felix Mahoney’s drawing in the Washington Star is one of Theodore Roosevelt’s peripheral crusades, but one of fierce advocacy, “race suicide.” He believed that hardy races in world history advanced in numbers and territory, as well as cultural achievements; and he was alarmed at falling birth rates among European and American populations.
Roosevelt therefore frequently spoke and wrote about race suicide, and he praised parents who had many children and reared large families. His crusade grew to the point of parents sending photographs and lists of their broods, even naming sons Theodore; and in some cases Roosevelt sending gifts or cash in commendation.
Mahoney, who soon would be supplanted by Clifford Kennedy Berryman as the Star‘s cartoonist, depicted the stork — traditional symbol of birth delivery — accepting Roosevelt’s thanks.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1907-01-02
Creator(s)
Language
English
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
Page Count
1
Production Method
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:
De-lighted! You’re a grand old bird!. [January 2, 1907]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301398. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Mahony, Felix, 1867-1939. De-lighted! You’re a grand old bird!. [2 Jan. 1907]. Image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. August 3, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301398.
APA:
Mahony, Felix, 1867-1939., [1907, January 2]. De-lighted! You’re a grand old bird!.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301398.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. August 3, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.
APA:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.
