Practicing

President Roosevelt rides on a horse with a “Wild West show offer” in his pocket and shoots his gun between the “House” and “Senate.” He says, “I think I’ve got Buffalo Bill beaten to a frazzle!”

comments and context

Comments and Context

A frequent target, so to speak, of political cartoonists in the waning days of Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency was to speculate on the waxing days of his subsequent career or pursuits. Roosevelt was relatively young at fifty years of age, and his many accomplishments in a variety of fields provided cartoonists with fodder.

As politics perforce receded from importance in Roosevelt’s world, he turned to thoughts of a career, and, immediately, to his imminent African safari; and the attention of cartoonists shifted, too.

This cartoon by Edward Joseph McBride provides posterity with more than one more comment on his last shots at a hostile Congress, or the cartoonist’s inability properly to draw a horse’s legs in motion. The interesting key is the paper stashed under his belt. Among the flood of job offers and employment opportunities — which included editing major newspapers and magazines, university presidencies, political offices and government commissions — was to lead a theatrical Wild West show in the manner of the famous Buffalo Bill troupe, reportedly for a salary of ten thousand dollars a week.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-02

Creator(s)

McBride, Edward Joseph, 1889-

Language

English

Period

U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)

Repository

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

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