No occasion for general alarm

President Roosevelt holds a vicious-looking dog labeled “federal law” as men labeled “corporation,” “business,” “combination,” “wealth,” and “enterprise” run away or hide. Caption: President Roosevelt — “Don’t be afraid, gentlemen; he will hurt only the crooks.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

The second term of Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency represents a period of reform that was unprecedented in American history, and arguably matched by not exceeded by the flurry of executive and legislative activity of the New Deal (1934-1938) and Great Society (1964-1965) in subsequent decades.

During those Roosevelt years, surely spurred by Roosevelt’s own initiatives like trust-busting, there were state and city investigations like the insurance hearings in New York State, municipal ownership of utilities and reform mayors elected, the rise of Muckraking journalism, serious Congressional hearings and major reforms enacted upon the banking, railroad, mining, steel, and food-processing industries, the beginnings of the “Regulatory State,” where standards and transparency were addressed by sub-cabinet commissions, the commencement of Congressional blocs of reformers called Insurgents — the birth of the Progressive movement.

President Roosevelt was the instigator or manager — at least a virtual godfather — of many of these things. In fact, with certain aspects of railroad and pure-food legislation, he found himself trying to persuade some of his followers to moderate their efforts.

Largely, however, the situation in the United States was perceived by citizens and politicians, journalists and businessmen, as cartoonist W. A. Carson of the Utica (New York) Saturday Globe presented. Roosevelt was quite comfortable with his attack dog, despite the animal scaring everyone — bankers and “malefactors of great wealth” — in sight.

Although the president had confident control of all the reforms that cartoonist labelled “Federal Law,” American business was indeed sufficiently unnerved to sustain a Wall Street Panic within four months of this cartoon. It was milder than a Depression, yet stocks lost fifty per cent of their value.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-08

Creator(s)

Carson, W. A. (William A.), 1862-

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