Gosh, blame it all, anyway!

President Roosevelt tries to get a car labeled “Congress” to start with Uncle Sam, in the back seat, holding “needed legislation” and “urgent legislation” in his hands. A happy Democratic donkey looks on.

comments and context

Comments and Context

History knows that the volatile Theodore Roosevelt — quick both to anger and mirth — seldom cursed; and virtually never drank spirits (confirmed in a libel suit he filed) — but his emotions seemed always on display. Jay N. “Ding” Darling’s cartoon shows one attitude that was reflected in Roosevelt’s speeches and quotations; in articles and books; in letters and conversations: his frustrations with Congress.

The confrontations with the House and especially the Senate grew bitterer as his Administration progressed; and were particularly bitter when the president’s vulnerability as a lame duck was most evident during the second half of his second term (1906-1908). He generally could depend on more votes, as he gained allies from the elections of reformers and insurgents; but voting and the legislative calendar were in control of Old Guard Republicans, who were no friends of the president.

President Roosevelt’s Special Message in March 1908 was meant to review his Administration’s accomplishments, to analyze the challenges facing the Republic, and to deliver a passel of reforms that could fill the agendas of Congressional calendars to come. It was a lengthy, mature, and ambitious message.

At this point the annals of cooperation between the White House and Capitol Hill (that is to say, the leaders and agenda-setters of Congress) reveal a virtual lack of amity. Reactionary Congressional leaders sometimes ignored presidential communications, an unprecedented affront; and many initiatives were never tabled. Congress only reluctantly printed, despite routine practice, the texts of Roosevelt’s later messages and speeches, or records of commissions and events. This was the case with the Governor’s Conference on Conservation he convened. And when his authorization to create preserves and sanctuaries would not be renewed, Roosevelt and Chief Forester Gifford Pinchot burned the midnight oil signing executive orders till the last legal moment.

Although the readers’ eyes fall on the figure of Roosevelt and his expletives (“—-!” the shorthand for “Damn”), Ding’s perceptive conception reveals Uncle Sam clinging possessively, if nervously, to the passel of recommended legislation and the Democratic donkey looking on, smiling. The smile on its face points to the fact that Congressional opposition to the president’s message arose more from Republican leadership than from the Democratic caucus.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-04-09

Creator(s)

Darling, Jay N. (Jay Norwood), 1876-1962

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