As it looks today
Subject(s): Brooms and brushes, Congresses and conventions, Hanna, Marcus Alonzo, 1837-1904, Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919, Securities industry, Trusts, Industrial, Tsunamis, Wall Street
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Ohio Senator Marcus Alonzo Hanna holds an “opposition” broom and runs away from the “Roosevelt tidal wave” that has “endorsement by state conventions” in the crest of the wave. “Trust opposition” and “Wall Street” barriers break down in the water.
Comments and Context
Richard Keith Culver’s political cartoon could stand as a picture of the nation’s, or the Republican Party’s, approbation of President Roosevelt. More than a year before the nominating convention, the United States was experiencing peace and prosperity, and the young president’s personality and reform policies captured the public’s affection. It was rather unprecedented that state parties were declaring their endorsement of Roosevelt’s re-nomination so early.
The cartoonist emphasized the Roosevelt wave not only by an exaggerated drawing and labels, but also by incorporating the familiar Roosevelt features in the tidal wave.
Beyond depicting the general mood of the country, the cartoon referred to specific incidents in that week’s news. Ohio Senator Marcus Alonzo Hanna had tentative plans to challenge Roosevelt for the nomination, and members of the Republican Old Guard and Wall Street factions encouraged him. That week a maneuver by his in-state rival, Senator Joseph Benson Foraker, obliged Hanna to defer to Roosevelt or reveal himself as a rebel. which he did not do.
The cartoon portrays Hanna (in a second-rate caricature, identifiable mainly or solely by his trademark sideburns) as a latter-day King Canute, unable to bid the waves to retreat.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1903-05-27
Creator(s)
Culver, Richard Keith, 1873-1939
Language
English
Period
U.S. President – 1st Term (September 1901-February 1905)
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:
As it looks today. [May 27, 1903]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o302150. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Culver, Richard Keith, 1873-1939. As it looks today. [27 May. 1903]. Image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. April 2, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o302150.
APA:
Culver, Richard Keith, 1873-1939., [1903, May 27]. As it looks today.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o302150.
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. April 2, 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.
