Treed!

President Roosevelt holds a rifle and aims at a “presidential aspirations” apple in an “Ohio” tree that a bear–Ohio Senator Marcus Alonzo Hanna–happens to be in. Hanna says, “Don’t shoot! I’ll come down.” There is a sign in the background: “Private grounds. Keep off!” Caption: The president’s got a bear at last.

Comments and Context

This political cartoon by Walter R. Bradford was drawn early in his career, after drawing humorous panels for Life Magazine, and become a frequent contributor to Socialist publications. In Baltimore he also drew for the International Syndicate, which distributed his cartoons to radical outlets.

The genesis of this cartoon was the recent capitulation by Ohio Senator Marcus Alonzo Hanna, who was obliged by circumstances engineered by his in-state Republican rival Senator Joseph Benson Foraker, to issue an early endorsement of President Roosevelt’s reelection, or, by declining, to appear as a party mutineer.

The victory was as much Foraker’s, who sought to embarrass Hanna, as it was Roosevelt’s. In fact the squelching of Hanna’s nascent campaign, however it benefitted the president, was done without his foreknowledge or connivance.

But a good cartoon is a good cartoon, and Bradford found humor in portraying Hanna as a treed bear, caught solely by Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-05-28

Creator(s)

Bradford, Walter R., 1872-1925

Language

English

Period

U.S. President – 1st Term (September 1901-February 1905)

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