Cartoon in the Washington Star

President Roosevelt holds a paper that reads, “The tariff cannot, with wisdom, be dealt with in the year preceding a presidential election.” A “standpatter” rejoices while a “tariff revisionist” says, “By heck!”

comments and context

Comments and Context

Clifford Kennedy Berryman’s cartoon (whose caption was clipped off by the custodian of the White House’s cartoon scrapbook) was a spot-on illustration of the situation regarding President Roosevelt and the nation’s trade barriers, its tariffs and import duties. It likewise correctly summarized the reaction of the high-protection and low-tariff and free-trade advocates.

The cartoon — more of an editorial cartoon, describing a situation, than a political cartoon that advocated for or against a position — might have been appropriate for any point of Roosevelt’s presidency except for the rationale — in this cartoon, an imminent presidential campaign. The president was not well versed in economics, and the subject frankly bored him. More important was the politician Roosevelt, who recognized that tinkering with the tariff, whether upward or downward rates prevailed, very often hurt the party that initiated the reforms. Disruption, uncertainty, and clashing interests almost always translated to political turmoil that negatively redounded on the party in power. It proved to be the case two years later, when the new Republican president and Republican Congress brought for the Payne-Aldrich Tariff, and the party suffered massive defeats in the next round of elections.

So, even by the general proposition of not wanting to rock the political boat, Roosevelt was happy to postpone consideration of tariff revisions. He personally was moving toward free-trade and fair-trade (reciprocity) views, yet political expediency prevailed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-12-03

Creator(s)

Berryman, Clifford Kennedy, 1869-1949

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