Cartoon in the Washington Herald

President Roosevelt and Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon shy away from scary toys, as William Loeb watches from behind an iron fence. Frightened also are Senator Philander C. Knox, and Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks. William Jennings Bryan holds a “tariff revision” snake and a children’s toy labeled, “death to trusts.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

For a cartoon in the reliably Republican Washington Herald, Joseph Cunningham’s cartoon critically but realistically depicts Republican leaders as frightened little boys as the neighborhood bully scares them with a toy snake and a phony spider.

It was the case that Republicans, as a party, made a habit of avoiding downward tariff revision and confronting trusts (the labels on the toys); however, drawing President Roosevelt as one of the scared boys was unfair. The president spent much of his presidency crusading, and rather effectively, in those areas.

William Jennings Bryan, the bad boy of the cartoon, should realistically not surprise anybody with these issues — boys or men; cartoon figures or actual politicians — since these were his political hobby-horses for almost a decade. William Loeb, passively observing from behind the fence, was the president’s private secretary who was being given a few political assignments at the time. Cunningham — perhaps absent-mindedly — drew Loeb without his mustache.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-21

Creator(s)

Cunningham, Joseph Harry, 1865-1946

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