“The nightmare that disturbs their slumbers”

Eight men sleep in a bed with sweat on their forehead as they all dream about “third term sentiment.” The men include Ohio Senator Theodore E. Burton, Benjamin B. Odell, South Carolina Benjamin R. Tillman with a pitchfork, William Randolph Hearst, Ohio Senator Joseph Benson Foraker, Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks, Edward Henry Harriman, and John D. Rockefeller of Standard Oil.

comments and context

Comments and Context

The “Third Term” question was for President Roosevelt like a bad penny or a stray dog that he could not shake. He declared on election night, 1904, that he would not stand for re-election in 1908. He made this clear to politicians and friends and, by implication — for instance, by promoting William H. Taft as a favored successor — but seldom reasserted his intentions to the public. He felt that to say it too often — and the demands to do so were incessant — would have weakened the force of the declination or seemed like “protesting too much.” He said it, and that should have been enough.

It was not enough, of course. Enjoying unprecedented popularity, the president was aware that the public clamored for a third term. Among politicians, most Republicans, especially a growing number of insurgents and progressives, desired that he run again.

Other politicians and powerful figures dreaded another four years. Ambitious Republicans, reactionary officeholders, and, of course, Democrats wished for his retirement.

Some of the latter group, opponents of the president, are pictured in John T. McCutcheon’s Chicago Tribune cartoon. Among those present is the corrupt Senator Theodore E. Burton; New York State’s former governor, a onetime ally but now opponent of Roosevelt, Benjamin B. Odell; newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst, then a radical Democrat and member of Congress (the only real rival of William Jennings Bryan for the 1908 Democrat nomination); and Senator Joseph Benson Foraker of Ohio, who bitterly jousted with Roosevelt over several issues. Edward Henry Harriman and John D. Rockefeller were trust magnates who felt the wrath of Roosevelt on many occasions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-10

Creator(s)

McCutcheon, John T. (John Tinney), 1870-1949

Language

English

Period

U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)

Page Count

1

Production Method

Printed

Record Type

Image

Resource Type

Cartoon

Rights

These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.

Citation