Session half over, too

President Roosevelt sits at his desk with a long list for his “next message!!!” On the desk is his big stick–“coaxer”–and on the wall is a calendar with half the days of March checked off. Roosevelt tells Rhode Island Senator Nelson W. Aldrich and Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon, “Now go–and get busy.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

March 1908 marked the beginning of the last year of President Roosevelt’s administration, and a period of increased activity. Other presidents might have, and did, see a possibility to rest in the waters of a lame-duck status, but it was not Roosevelt’s style.

After having delivered speeches, written articles, and submitted his Annual Message to Congress, he prepared another and “Special” Message to Congress, to be transmitted on March 25. It was Roosevelt’s practice (contrary to the perception of his ego) to submit drafts of his works to many people, and solicit opinions. Twice in March, for instance, on the sixth and the sixteenth, he had Senator Nelson W. Aldrich of Rhode Island to the White House, and discussed his policy prescriptions. Aldrich was de facto leader of the Senate, and manager of the Republican caucus. His counterpart in the House of Representatives was Speaker Joseph Gurney Cannon.

Joseph Harry Cunningham’s cartoon shows Roosevelt and his long list of agenda items — not new, but areas he wanted addressed. The Big Stick has been re-Christened “the Coaxer,” and Aldrich and cannon cower in the doorway.

The scene does not accurately reflect the situation, because the two chambers, especially members of their Old Guard, and specifically Aldrich and Cannon, were increasingly obstreperous regarding Roosevelt’s reforms. As congressmen and senators grew more reform-minded, and newly elected solons generally were insurgents and progressives, the veteran legislators were “Stand-Patters,” sometimes in open defiance of the president as 1908 unfolded.

Roosevelt’s reform agenda was so long that cartoonists resorted to listing the topics on long scrolls, as here, or on pasteboards or wall posters.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-14

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