The elephant is tickled, but not tickled to death
Subject(s): Bryan, William Jennings, 1860-1925, Democratic donkey (Symbolic character), Republican elephant (Symbolic character), Rockefeller, John D. (John Davison), 1839-1937, Sherman, J. S. (James Schoolcraft), 1855-1912, Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930
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William H. Taft, J. S. Sherman and an octopus representing John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil ride on an elephant while William Jennings Bryan rides beside them on a donkey.
Comments and Context
The White House scrapbooks of political cartoons from across the nation during Theodore Roosevelt’s administration are remarkable resources for what they reveal. Political cartoons were respected as legitimate and important reflections of public opinion. The president was able to keep tabs on the attitudes in the citizenry, based on local pictorial commentary. By the great percentage of negative cartoons, it suggests that Roosevelt was quite interested in diverse opinions, not only sycophants.;
Needless to say, the Democratic and partisan cartoons tended to be less than fair, and bitterly partisan, especially as in Democrat W. A. Rogers’s election-eve drawing, when parties and candidates might have felt desperate.
William Jennings Bryan was not pictured especially favorably; the Herald was Democratic, but never was reconciled to Bryan’s undying Populist views. But the Republicans William H. Taft and J. S. Sherman have gloomier faces, mirroring Rogers’s beliefs or hopes — and the octopus behind the candidates presumably tickles the Republican elephant, to no avail. Bryan is amused, not the Republicans.
Why an octopus? Since the 1880s political cartoonists had depicted the Standard Oil trust as a rapacious creature with many arms, controlling oil, gas, coal, railroads, and other industries; and reaching into every home, business, and other areas of American life.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-10-31
Creator(s)
Rogers, W. A. (William Allen), 1854-1931
Language
English
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
Page Count
1
Production Method
Record Type
Image
Resource Type
Rights
These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
The elephant is tickled, but not tickled to death. [October 31, 1908]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301904. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Rogers, W. A. (William Allen), 1854-1931. The elephant is tickled, but not tickled to death. [31 Oct. 1908]. Image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 26, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301904.
APA:
Rogers, W. A. (William Allen), 1854-1931., [1908, October 31]. The elephant is tickled, but not tickled to death.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301904.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 26, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.
APA:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.
