Moses (Biblical leader)

Harrison D. Boyer tells Theodore Roosevelt that the common people can only see Roosevelt as the next president because Roosevelt is the only one they can trust. Boyer believes the government needs to regulate business, social, educational, and political life to provide equal rights, justice, and liberty to the people and future generations. Roosevelt is the only man who might do this and Boyer hopes he will come out as a candidate for the presidency because it is his duty.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-12-14

Reverend George W. Stone preaches a sermon for the dedication of Unity Church in Redlands, California. In this extract, he discusses the “prophetic” spirit of President Roosevelt and the importance of building character for the success of the church and the nation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-01-08

William Jennings Bryan, as Moses, beams rays of “Radicalism” and “Conservatism,” and holds his own version of the Ten Commandments. Among the small group of followers in the background are James K. Jones and Tom Loftin Johnson.

comments and context

Comments and Context

On August 30, 1906, the twice-rebuffed Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan ended the months of speculation about his intentions for 1908. He and surrogates, since he returned from a lengthy world tour, and teased — albeit with little subtlety — about his habitual ambition to be president.

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.

Using Biblical parallels, George U. Young discusses the experiment of democratic government as a progressive expression of the minorities’ desires. He especially highlights the importance of having leaders who endeavor to stay on paths of “virtue and manliness.” He believes the Arizona Constitution is the most prominent expression of this experiment.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-04-14

President McKinley stands at center holding an “Inexhaustible Prosperity Hat” and surrounded by vignettes showing his accomplishments since taking office. Caption: A few of the wonders performed by magician McKinley, since his inauguration.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1897-10-06

President William McKinley appears as Moses with two rays of light emitting from his top hat, and wearing a red cape labeled “McKinley.” He stands next to a large rock labeled “Prosperity” that has split and is spewing money toward a throng of people representing mostly the working class and the poor who stream from the factories in the background. Caption: The people foolishly think that McKinley will be able to tap the rock of prosperity, à la Moses, and make money flow like water.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1897-03-10

Moses C. Wetmore and Norman E. Mack carry a shoulder pole labeled “For Contributions” from which hangs a tiny bag. They explain to William Jennings Bryan, as Moses, seated with Henry Watterson, John W. Kern, and Alton B. Parker around him, that there is very little money flowing into the Democratic campaign coffers. Standing on the left are Thomas F. Ryan and Perry Belmont. Caption: And they returned after forty days, and they said unto Moses: “Surely it is a land flowing with milk and honey, but there is nothing doing in collections.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

Puck Magazine’s artists, and many cartoonists of the era, frequently relied on Biblical analogies and stories as contexts for their drawings; and mythology, operatic narratives, legends, and Shakespeare as well. “The Return of the Scouts,” with Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan as Moses, is based on the Book of Numbers, Chapter 13.

A group of Tammany “Ward” workers and men identified as “J. R. McLean, Grady, H. O. Thompson, Spinola, [Alexander V.] Davidson, H. McLaughlin, [and a] Chicago Boss,” along with Charles A. Dana and John Kelly stand on a mountain overlooking the United States Capitol. All are wearing top hats that emit rays of light (Kelly is stomping on his hat with his left foot) as if all are Moses. They are disappointed office seekers who feel they should have been rewarded by the Cleveland administration. A large broken tablet on the ground is labeled “Old Commandments – Thou shalt divide up the spoils.” Banners atop the Capitol, “Interior Depart[ment], Treasury U.S., [and the] White House,” state “A Government for the People not for Politicians, Reform Administration, Civil Service Reform, No Removals except for Cause.” This last banner is probably in reference to the recent removal of Capt. George B. Bacon in favor of George H. Sterling for government weigher at the New York Custom House, an action that was reversed pending investigation. Caption: Disappointed Democratic Moses – “Was it worth going through so much to get so little?”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1885-04-01

President Wilson and William Jennings Bryan stand on a rock formation with a statue of a man labeled “Practical Politics,” with the U.S. Capitol in the background. Wilson, as Moses, strikes the rocks with his staff labeled “Campaign Pledges” causing waters labeled “Currency Reform” and “Tariff Reform” to flow and nourish hordes of businessmen and laborers. Caption: “And thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink.”–Exodus XVII, 6.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1914-01-14

Samuel J. Tilden, pictured as Moses with two rays of light emitting from his forehead, stands with his back to a mountainside where some rocks look like barrels labeled with “$”, and a sign that states “This Stream Stopped Running in November 1876.” He is confronted by a group of parched (for funds) political aspirants labeled “Hewitt, Watterson, Dana, [Hendricks], Cox, Bayard, Randall, N. Y. Democracy, [Kelly], Payne, Lamar, [and] Thurman,” and one man holding a jug labeled “For Campaign Funds.” They implore him to strike the rocks and make the money flow.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-04-02

Black and white cartoon of Theodore Roosevelt dressed as Moses with devil horns and a white beard. He is standing on a rock, holding a tablet labeled “The Law by T. R.,” and speaking to the people below.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

Creation Date

1912-09-07

Moses, holding the Ten Commandments, is confronted by an angry mob of capitalists, businessmen, and politicians, some shaking their fists at him. Caption: Chorus of “Conservatives” – Dangerous, socialistic, un-American doctrines!

comments and context

Comments and Context

This powerful indictment of endemic corruption at the upper levels of American society was drawn by Udo J, Keppler, whose father Joseph (founder and chief cartoonist of Puck) had addressed the same issues with classic drawing like They Can’t Stand the Light, showing United States Senators shrinking from spotlights in the dark. But his son’s cartoon — of this evergreen subject — encompassed more than political corruption.

Theodore Roosevelt, on his way to the “Hall of Fame,” passes between two rows of kings, emperors, military leaders, statesmen, and others, including, on the left, “Alexander, Nimrod, Caesar, Joshua, Solomon, Moses,” and possibly Ramses I, King of Egypt; and on the right, “Wellington, Washington, Napoleon I, Frederick the Great, Cromwell, Shakespere [sic], Luther,” and two unidentified kings, possibly William I and Richard I, kings of England.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1912-09-04