Setting a presidential pace
Subject(s): Corporations, Equality before the law, Fairbanks, Charles W. (Charles Warren), 1852-1918, Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919, Tariff
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President Roosevelt, mounted on a horse, jumps over a fence with poles labeled “Square Deal,” “Equal Rights,” “Corporation Control,” and “Tariff Reform” as Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks watches in the background.
Comments and Context
Cartoonist Jack H. Smith of the Washington Herald frequently copied from photographs, and even from the cartoons of others, as he does here. The image of a confident President Roosevelt on horseback clearing a hurdle was too good to neglect, and too inviting not to copy, if not quite as well as other cartoonists.
Nevertheless the striking cartoon in the reliably Republican daily, Washington Herald, is a predictable graphic presentation of the president’s accomplishments (with a mild note that tariff policy was, perhaps, unfulfilled) — but is more of a comment on Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks than of Roosevelt. The perpetually reticent Fairbanks was a presidential aspirant in 1907, despite Roosevelt having anointed William H. Taft as his chosen successor; and the utter absence of any encouragement of any sort from the president. Smith’s depiction of Fairbanks as befuddled and hesitant is a spot-on characterization.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1907-02-09
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:
Setting a presidential pace. [February 9, 1907]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301429. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Smith, Jack H., -1935. Setting a presidential pace. [9 Feb. 1907]. Image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301429.
APA:
Smith, Jack H., -1935., [1907, February 9]. Setting a presidential pace.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301429.
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. March 12, 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.
