The teddy bear, the big stick, and the market
Subject(s): New York Stock Exchange, Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919, Stock exchanges, Teddy bears
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A large teddy bear hits the “New York Stock Exchange” with a big stick, sending several men flying out as well as “securities” and “stocks.”
Comments and Context
This clipping in the White House scrapbook represents a measure of journalistic schizophrenia. The headline reports brokers “wild with joy” after the first collapses of the 1907 Wall Street Panic. Harold Tucker Webster’s cartoon, however, shows the bear — then, as now, the nickname for retreating market values — destroying the Stock Exchange.
It was likely that the full story under the headline referred to brokers’ relief that sell-offs leveled off and were not as severe as first feared. The Panic, thanks in large measure to the difficult and lengthy intervention of J. P. Morgan — and the latitude granted him by President Roosevelt — did not transform itself into a major Depression, as the nation experienced in 1893, or would sustain in 1929.
This cartoon was an early work of Webster, who also drew political and humor panels for the crosstown Chicago Daily News (this was drawn for the Inter-Ocean) but later gained fame for decades-long production of many panel cartoon masterpieces (Life’s Darkest Moment; Boyhood Ambitions; Bridge) and the character Casper Milquetoast of The Timid Soul.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1907-03-16
Creator(s)
Webster, Harold Tucker, 1885-1952
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:
The teddy bear, the big stick, and the market. [March 16, 1907]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301469. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Webster, Harold Tucker, 1885-1952. The teddy bear, the big stick, and the market. [16 Mar. 1907]. Image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. February 26, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301469.
APA:
Webster, Harold Tucker, 1885-1952., [1907, March 16]. The teddy bear, the big stick, and the market.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301469.
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. February 26, 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.
