A helping hand

President Roosevelt holds a large document labeled “Roosevelt policies” as an elephant sits against a tree in the background. House Minority Leader John Sharp Williams holds a donkey and says, “If you mount isn’t on the job, try mine.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

The day after a major message was transmitted to Congress by President Roosevelt, the Democrats’ leader in the House of Representatives endorsed “most” of Roosevelt’s legislative proposals. Representative John Sharp Williams of Mississippi accurately is pictured in Clifford Kennedy Berryman’s cartoon (the suggestion that the president would switch parties is cartoonists’ license); and a major story on this same day addressed Williams’ admiration of the president’s program.

Williams was interesting in the House and in the Democrat Party. He was “Bourbon Democrat,” generally conservative, and representative of the planter class rather than the poor white plantation-worker types. Williams served sixteen years in the House and then became a senator, where he was yoked for a while with Senator James Kimble Vardaman. Williams was relatively moderate on racial matters, but Vardaman hinted a favorable attitude toward lynching, and worked to disenfranchise blacks.

Somewhat of an anomaly as a Southern Democrat leader, Williams attained his unofficial leadership roles partly because his amicable relationship with Republican Speaker Joseph Gurney Cannon resulted in occasional largesse. For instance, Cannon allowed Williams to name Democrats on House committees (at the time, it was the Speakers’ right to name all members of all committees).

Therefore, Williams’s immediate endorsement and offer to support President Roosevelt’s wide-ranging, and often radical, proposals in the consequential Special Message was in character. As a Bourbon Democrat, he still represented old Populist ground; but as a wily politician, he knew the advantage of fishing in troubled waters. The Republic Old Guard was less enthusiastic than Williams about Roosevelt’s policies as outlined in the message.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-28

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