A thrilling act

William Jennings Bryan holds Oklahoma Governor Charles Nathaniel Haskell depicted as an infant and sucking from a “Standard Oil” bottle. Bryan tells Roosevelt, “You shall not touch the che-e-ild!” Roosevelt replies, “Have a care! You will rue this day!”

comments and context

Comments and Context

Herbert Johnson was destined to be a cartoonist with a national following, with enormous “reach” as political cartoonist for The Saturday Evening Post for years. In 1908 he secured his first major position as political cartoonist for the Philadelphia North American, whose publisher Edwin A. Van Valkenburg was an early and consistent supporter of Theodore Roosevelt. This cartoon, although clipped from a Montana newspaper for the White House scrapbook during Roosevelt’s presidency, likely first appeared in the North American, which operated a fledgling syndicate at the time. Johnson also drew humor cartoons for Life magazine at this time.

The cartoon addresses an issue still alive during the late stages of the 1908 presidential campaign. William Randolph Hearst, sensationalist and Muckraking publisher, had nefariously obtained correspondence between John D, Archbold, president of Standard Oil, and various politicians and elected officials. The publication of this correspondence implicated Charles Nathaniel Haskell, Treasurer of the Democratic National Party.

Haskell was a friend of Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan, and a rising star of the party, having recently been elected governor of the new state of Oklahoma. Bryan initially defended Haskell, which was particularly embarrassing as the Democratic platform made major pledges of campaign finance reform and refusal to accept donations from corporations.

President Roosevelt made more of an issue of this scandal than did William H. Taft, the Republican candidate; and months of Roosevelt-Bryan vituperation ensued. This situation, whether melodramatic as Johnson humorously pictured, or a battle royal, almost subsumed other issues of the campaign.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-12

Creator(s)

Johnson, Herbert, 1878-1946

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