Calling out the reserve

President Roosevelt opens his cabinet, which features busts of his cabinet members, and tells them, “Come now, all of you must take the stump.” In the foreground is the “Taft campaign stump” and the following cabinet members are depicted as busts: Secretary of Commerce and Labor Oscar S. Straus, Secretary of the Treasury George B. Cortelyou, Bureau of Corporations James Rudolph Garfield, Secretary of State Elihu Root, Secretary of War Luke E. Wright, Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson, Postmaster General George von Lengerke Meyer, Secretary of the Navy Victor Howard Metcalf, and Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte.

comments and context

Comments and Context

The cabinet as a cabinet: two factors attest to the appropriate characterization of events pictured by P. B. McCord’s political cartoon during the last week of the 1908 presidential campaign.

Presidents at the time traditionally refrained from campaigning, often in their own behalf; and invariably it was considered untoward to campaign in the canvass of his putative successor. Theodore Roosevelt champed at the bit — as observers would have understood his nature — but observed precedence. He did compensate by being especially active by speaking, sharing correspondence with political overtones, defending the Square Deal, and attacking the Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan.

So he sought surrogates, and the members of his cabinet were pressed into service. It was also not routine that cabinet secretaries would engage in campaign activities, except perhaps for politically active members like the Postmaster General. Therefore, the stump-as-stump — men strategically would be placed where speeches and appearances would aid the campaign of William H. Taft.

The other thematic basis for McCord’s cartoon pertains to the timing; the cartoon was published about a week before election day. Although some cabinet members had made appearances on Taft’s behalf, the public (and cartoonists) became more aware than usual of a virtual blitz of Executive Department officials speaking at rallies, at state fairs, at banquets, at ribbon-cuttings. They were visible, and voluble.

The president, otherwise an astute politician, was always insecure about election success, whether his or his allies’. So, in late 1908, he opened wide the cabinet.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-26

Creator(s)

McCord, P. B., 1870-1908

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