Puck, v. 61, no. 1572

President Roosevelt takes a walk with a male companion. The page is broken into five numbered frames. Roosevelt is speaking in each frame and becoming more and more animated. As he does so, he rapidly outdistances his companion. In the last frames, Roosevelt says, “I tell you, sir, Congress is a weakling-g-g!” “They are all deliberate and unqualified falsifiers.” However, his walking companion is left far behind.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

Creation Date

1907-04-17

A woman labeled “Wall Street,” appearing as Little Bo Peep, has pulled all the petals, labeled “Tight Money” and “Easy Money,” off a paper flower. The center of the flower, on the ground among the petals, shows a medallion that states “In Cortelyou We Trust.” Her bodice is labeled “Stock Exchange.” George B. Cortelyou, dressed as an Elizabethan suitor, is standing behind her. They are embracing as he holds aloft a diamond ring labeled “Treasury Aid.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

There had been little doubt (except, evidently, in Puck‘s editorial eyes) that President Roosevelt’s nominee for Secretary of the Treasury, George B. Cortelyou, would follow, completely unbroken, the policies of his predecessor Leslie M. Shaw. In politics, anything can change; and at least in Wall Street’s view Roosevelt was wildly unpredictable. However, Shaw’s stewardship of the economy oversaw unprecedented prosperity, so there seemed little reason to rock the boat.

Theodore Roosevelt as Martin Luther drafts his “Message to Congress Series H No. 4723.” He is standing at a desk and is about to throw an ink pot at the devil who is hovering to the right, holding up a crown labeled “3rd Term” while shying away from possible injury.

comments and context

Comments and Context

“Martin Luther Roosevelt” is one of Udo J. Keppler’s most famous cartoons. Starkly simple yet powerful in presentation, it requires modern readers to know something of Theodore Roosevelt’s position on another presidential race, in 1908; and of a momentous event in the life of Protestant reformer Martin Luther.