Cradles

Theodore Roosevelt Jr. and Eleanor Butler Roosevelt’s daughter, Grace, in her cradle.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1911-10

The “Dem. Party” donkey with six followers places “Cleveland’s cradle 1884” into a river. Pyramids are visible in the background.

comments and context

Comments and Context

This cartoon by Joseph Keppler Junior mirrors very closely — down to the poses and scenery — a Puck cartoon by Bernhard Gillam almost exactly 20 years previous. In both cartoons, the Democratic Party was desperate for a Moses to lead from the political wilderness. The party in 1883 had been out of national power for 33 years; at the time of this cartoon they had not occupied the White House for six years. Grover Cleveland had been the only Democratic president since before Abraham Lincoln. In fact, it is Cleveland’s name inside the empty cradle.