Your TR Source
Edward Lazansky acknowledges Theodore Roosevelt’s previous letter and encloses a copy of Chapter 95 of the Laws of 1911 which contains legislation pertaining to procuring a concealed carry license for firearms.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-09-16
Theodore Roosevelt agrees with Charles G. Washburn except for the need to repeal the Sherman Act. Instead, Roosevelt suggests drawing a new act that supersedes the Sherman Act where necessary.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-10-24
Secretary of the Interior Walter L. Fisher thanks Theodore Roosevelt for his previous letter and gladly accepts his invitation to lunch. Fisher believes he and Roosevelt share the same views of Alaskan resources and working with The Outlook will allow for the adoption of the necessary legislation.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-09-30
Henry E. Huck claims he was falsely accused of misconduct at a Sanitarium in Guelph, Canada. He hopes to vindicate himself in a private trial. He encloses a list of letters sent by him, with recipients included.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-09-19
President Roosevelt stands on one side of a scaffold, holding a large sculpted arm with a huge stick labeled “The Big Stick” for placement on a large sculpture of a female figure labeled “Inter-State Commerce Laws.” On the other side of the scaffold is a man labeled “The Rail Road” directing Nelson W. Aldrich, Stephen B. Elkins, and Joseph Benson Foraker to use instead a much smaller arm labeled “Delay” and “Fines.” Caption: A difference of opinion as to what will fit the lady.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1906-04-25
Puck directs a large floodlight to illuminate a cave. Charles H. Dietrich, Joseph R. Burton, and J. Edward Addicks shy away from the light. Pennsylvania governor Samuel W. Pennypacker, as a court jester, holds up a large sheet of paper labeled “Press Gag Law.” A man running to the right holds a paper labeled “R.R. Rebates.” Another man, possibly John D. Rockefeller, stands next to containers labeled “Paper Trust, Oil Trust, [and] Gas Trust,” and a diminutive figure, possibly New York State Senator Thomas F. Grady, stands behind Pennypacker, holding up a paper labeled “Anti-Cartoon Bill.” An octopus labeled “Mormonism” is visible at the entrance to the cave on the left.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1905-01-25
President Roosevelt stands at a flag-draped podium on the right, pointing to two men on the left, each with a foot on a female figure labeled “Law” lying on the ground. One man has papers labeled “Dishonest Corporations” and the other has papers labeled “Union Tyranny” and notes extending from his pockets labeled “Bribe” and “Graft.” On the front of the podium at which Roosevelt stands is a quotation: “If alive to their true interests, rich and poor alike will set their faces like flint against the spirit which seeks personal advantage by overriding the laws, without regard to whether this spirit shows itself in the form of bodily violence by one set of men or in the form of vulpine cunning by another set of men.” – President Roosevelt’s Speech, Sept. 7.
Theodore Roosevelt, before during, and after his presidency was consistent on issues of the day — remarkably so, in that without citation of time and place, historians can be challenged to attribute many of his pronouncements as being from his twenties or then end of his life.
The remarks quoted in Keppler’s cartoon can have no truer application of this considerate of Roosevelt’s policies. He opposed unfair dominance in society at large, or in local controversies, by either labor or capital from their status alone. He consistently held that favor to, say, the middle class, implied prejudice against other strata in society. Roosevelt frequently stated that the sin of envy is as sinful as that of greed.
Consequently this cartoon by Keppler illustrates a portion of President Roosevelt’s speech on the subject, delivered on September 7, 1903. It also encapsulates Roosevelt’s larger view of public policy over his entire career. The drawing, employing the tools of cartoon iconography — dollar signs; scowls; extravagant attire — cements the point.
Three men labeled “Riot, Lynching, [and] Violence” burn a female figure labeled “Law and Order” at the stake. She is bound to the stake with ribbons labeled “Prejudice” and “Defiance.”
This powerful double-page spread by Joseph Keppler, Junior, in Puck is more than an argument against labor violence (was was indeed a public concern in the years following the turn of the century) or racial animosity (lynchings actually spiked in these years as well) but the general breakdown of law and order.
The strong statement mirrors the policies of forward-looking leaders of the time, whether editorialists like the writers and cartoonists of Puck, or politicians like President Theodore Roosevelt. A new paradigm was needed as American politics shook out; the appeal to law and order was (and often is) regarded as a conservative impulse, and commitment of social justice seen as liberal. But Roosevelt (quoting Lincoln’s appeal to “sane reform”) and Keppler, and their confreres saw no contradictions. Eventually their visions and fusion of ideals coalesced as movements called Insurgency and varieties of Progressivism.
Samuel W. Pennypacker, governor of Pennsylvania, wearing a fools’ cap, tries to block the light of “Publicity” with a sheet of paper labeled “Pennsylvania Gag Law.” The light from a lantern held by a hand labeled “Press” is exposing Matthew S. Quay, a senator from Pennsylvania.
One of the great episodes in the history of political cartooning in America occurred in 1903, and is largely forgotten today… but might repeat itself if circumstances align. Governor Samuel Pennypacker of Pennsylvania had been annoyed by gibes from two former New York City cartoonists in Philadelphia, Charles Nelan and Walt McDougall, then of the Philadelphia North American newspaper. The paper was Republican — later, in 1912, one of the most prominent papers to support Theodore Roosevelt in Republican primaries and thereafter — but recognized the state’s Republican political boss, Senator Matthew Stanley Quay, and his cousin the governor, as corrupt. It was their cartoons of Pennypacker as a parrot, repeating the words of Quay, that were especially nettling.
The Salus-Grady Act, making editors as well as cartoonists liable for supposedly defamatory drawings, actually was passed into law, although never enforced. It banned “any cartoon or caricature or picture portraying, describing or representing any person, either by distortion, innuendo or otherwise, in the form or likeness of beast, bird, fish, insect, or other unhuman [sic] animal, thereby tending to expose such person to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule.”
An over-sized female figure labeled “Law” points with her left hand to a sign that states “Contagious diseases must be reported to the Board of Health” and holds in her right hand a little old man labeled “Chr. S. Healer” who is holding a book labeled “Science and Health.”
As American society and government (and cartoonists) addressed the new movements of Mormonism and Christian Science, it usually was not tradition religion or public morals that excited reactions. Practical or legal questions, and public health, were the objects of concern and editorial attack. This Keppler cartoon addresses the matter of sickness and epidemics, as the figure representing Law confronts Ira O. Knapp, one of the early New England followers of Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Christian Science movement.
“Justice” holding her scales is being buried under an avalanche of paper labeled “Law,” as a “Legislator” at the top turns the crank spewing legislation from the U.S. Capitol.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1900-01-10
Theodore Roosevelt wants Albert H. Walker to understand that he fully believes in utilizing the Sherman Law. However, he does not feel it was sufficient.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-08-01
Charles McCarthy sends Theodore Roosevelt a clipping of interest and a complete copy of Wisconsin’s laws. He is available to discuss the Wisconsin situation during an upcoming trip to the East.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-08-14
Leonard J. Tynan informs Theodore Roosevelt he is sending him a copy of the New Jersey Law Journal, as it contains an article Tynan wrote on employers’ liability which he believes Roosevelt will be interested in.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-06-07
President Taft wishes Theodore Roosevelt well on his African safari and discusses the strangeness of being referred to as “Mr. President.” He compares his presidential and political prospects with what Roosevelt achieved in office and assures Roosevelt that he plans on furthering the same agenda.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-03-21
Uncle Sam, as the “Pied Piper,” plays a pipe labeled “Lax Immigration Laws” and leads a horde of rats labeled “Jail Bird, Murderer, Thief, Criminal, Crook, Kidnapper, Incendiary, Assassin, Convict, Bandit, Fire Brand, White Slaver, [and] Degenerate.” Some of the rats carry signs that read “Black Hand” showing a black hand print. In the background, rulers from “France, Russia, Germany, Italy, Hungary/Austria, Turkey, [and] Greece,” along with citizens of these countries, are cheering the fleeing rats.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1909-06-02
President Roosevelt speaks at a banquet given by the Palace Hotel and the citizens of San Francisco. He is pleased by the unity of the country and his visit to California. He remarks on their prosperity and future, character, and the law.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-05-12
President Roosevelt addresses a crowd in Ellis, Kansas. He compares the modern Kansas with what he remembers from his prior travels. He congratulates the citizens on their prosperity and citizenship. Roosevelt also discusses character and its relation to the Civil War, as well as the law.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-05-02
President Roosevelt speaks in Omaha on the anniversary of Ulysses S. Grant’s birth. He speaks of paying homage to ancestors and “illustrious memories.” Roosevelt also discusses the current “problems of peace” facing the nation, law, and individual character.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-04-27
President Roosevelt addresses the citizens of Kansas City, thanking them for their greeting. He discusses his command during the Spanish-American war and compares it to the Civil War. Roosevelt discusses the lessons learned from soldiers on character, brotherhood, and citizenship. He also discusses current problems facing the country after industrial development, including labor relations, class relations, and law.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-05-01