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Frederick B. Fetherstonhaugh asks Theodore Roosevelt to speak to the Empire Club of Canada in Toronto, possibly on the subject of world problems and solutions through the eyes of John Bull and Uncle Sam. The club is affiliated with the Royal Colonial Institute and has many prestigious members.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-12-16
President Roosevelt encloses a letter from William Wiegand to Martin A. Knapp. Roosevelt likes to assist the enlisted men in the military and wants to help Wiegand. He asks Knapp for the facts.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-27
President Roosevelt gestures to the figure of Secretary of War Taft, dressed in his Rough Rider hat and armed with his Big Stick, and asks Uncle Sam if he would take Taft for his third term.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-03-23
President Roosevelt holds up his “latest message showing how Congress has fallen down on much needed and much promised legislation!” to Uncle Sam–“The Country.” An old man labeled “Congress” says “Oh! Yaw-w-w-ah! Now Theodore–surely–not another one!–Heavens, man! How you bore me!!” Caption: Roosevelt–“Oh, very well! I guess the country will be interested!”
Albert Wilbur Steele was a pedestrian cartoonist whose reputation was enhanced by a few of his political cartoons about Theodore Roosevelt being reprinted as illustrations in history books. Therefore his legacy outshone his work; or perhaps he benefitted from drawing in Denver, one of the most fiercely competitive newspaper cities of his day.
Uncle Sam looks up at the sky and sees several eclipses: a “partial eclipse in New York” with Charles Evans Hughes, a “partial eclipse in Penns.” with Philander C. Knox, a “partial eclipse in Wisconsin” with Robert M. La Follette, a “partial eclipse in Indiana” with Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks, a “partial eclipse in Illinois” with Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon, a “total eclipse in Chicago,” and a “partial eclipse in Ohio” with William H. Taft. “My world” with President Roosevelt is about to overshadow Taft.
Things were looking up in 1908. . .or at least people were looking up to the heavens. An unusually high number of solar and lunar eclipses were due that year, and the spectacular once-in-a-lifetime Halley’s Comet was due to brighten the skies in 1910. All were matters of public discussion and newspaper feature stories.
President Roosevelt tries to get a car labeled “Congress” to start with Uncle Sam, in the back seat, holding “needed legislation” and “urgent legislation” in his hands. A happy Democratic donkey looks on.
History knows that the volatile Theodore Roosevelt — quick both to anger and mirth — seldom cursed; and virtually never drank spirits (confirmed in a libel suit he filed) — but his emotions seemed always on display. Jay N. “Ding” Darling’s cartoon shows one attitude that was reflected in Roosevelt’s speeches and quotations; in articles and books; in letters and conversations: his frustrations with Congress.
Secretary of War William H. Taft sits at his desk filled with “official business” papers as the shades of Uncle Sam and President Roosevelt stand behind him. Roosevelt points out the window at cannons firing for Wisconsin Senator Robert M. La Follette, Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks, Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon, Philander C. Knox, New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes, and the most for Taft.
More than two months before the Republican National Convention convened to nominate a presidential cabinet, cartoonist Joseph Harry Cunningham of the Washington Herald presumed that William H. Taft would be the party’s choice; as did most of the country.
President Roosevelt begins sweating as he attempts to keep a “third term” demon in a box. Uncle Sam watches on and says, “Your match at last.”
This cartoon appeared in the Washington Herald, and despite its local publication, was clipped and pasted alongside cartoons from across the United States (and the world) in scrapbooks compiled by the White House staff. It was a clever and commendable method for President Roosevelt to maintain contact with opinions across America, and perhaps to assist him in forming his opinions.
Uncle Sam and President Roosevelt look at a variety of graves: Frank Steunenberg, Arthur L. Collins, and others. In the background is a skeleton that says, “murder,” “ruin”; and explosions at Vindicator Mine, Independence Depot, and Bunker Hill Mill. There is a handwritten note under “Lest we forget!”: “…[t]hat I was with you as newspaper correspondent in Victor when you were mobbed there by this same outfit. Harold Baxter E.M. Consulting Engineer for Davis [,] Goldfield.” Caption: Uncle Sam–“Must we have murder and destruction before we need troops?”
The long, sensational trial of “Big Bill” Haywood and other radical labor organizers in Idaho, for acts ranging from wildcat strikes to deadly violence to the assassination of the state’s governor, ended in late 1907. But agitation and violence in Western mines did not end.
There was labor violence at the Goldfield mines in Nevada, where agitators had turned their attention, and where official feared an escalation in the fashion of bloodshed in Colorado mines, or in the notorious cases in Idaho. These factors and factors inspired the cartoon plea in the local Goldfield Chronicle, a newspaper that, like many Western mining towns, lasted but a few years.
President Roosevelt runs away from the shade of Uncle Sam.
Rather awkward for a J. H. Donahey cartoon in drawing and concept, “As It Looks In Washington” depicts the situation that the whole nation knew and had been talking (and drawing) about for four years: President Roosevelt declines to run in 1908 to succeed himself, despite the affection and desires of most citizens.
A woman in a “G.O.P.” dress holds a dancing card with “T.R.” under 1 and 2. The “3” is left blank. President Roosevelt bows to her, but puts his hands up. In the background are a variety of men with flowers: Secretary of War William H. Taft, Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks, Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon, Philander C. Knox, New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes, and Ohio Senator Joseph Benson Foraker. Uncle Sam stands in a doorway.
A reversal of the social convention of the day shows the lady at the dance asking a man — in this case, President Roosevelt — to sign her dance card and reserve a dance with her during the evening’s entertainment. Cartoonist Archibald G. Allan displays the usual cast of characters of the months preceding the 1908 Republican convention, aspirants for the presidential nomination.
President Roosevelt holds a large “message to Congress” in the shape of a big stick. Several men lie on the ground with stars around their heads: “lumber vandalism,” “gov’t land grabbers,” “wreckers,” “stock gambling,” “corporate dishonesty,” and “swollen fortunes.” Uncle Sam stands in the background.
President Roosevelt forwarded his seventh Annual Message to Congress on December 3, 1907. It was not until 1913 that presidents began delivering these reports in person — now called the State of the Union address — and Roosevelt’s was one of the longest documents of his presidency. He was nearing the end of his presidency, and he meant to sum up the Administration’s accomplishments, at least for posterity; and charter a course for the next Administration and beyond.
With a large question mark near his head, Uncle Sam leans against a door. On the other side, President Roosevelt sweats as he writes his message to Congress. Above him is a vulture wearing overalls that ponders, “I wonder if he will mention my pants?”
Frederick Morgan’s cartoon portrays Theodore Roosevelt in an unusual attitude for a political cartoon — in solitude, nervously sweating and somewhat flummoxed. He labors over his annual message to Congress — today called the State Of the Union Address — away from the anxious curiosity of Uncle Sam; that is, the nation.
A man looks at “Doctor Cortelyou” and holds a bag of “$: Dr. Hayseed’s pills” while Uncle Sam lies incapacitated in a bed. Cortelyou says, “I’ve made a careful diagnosis of Uncle’s case, and I think your pills will put him on his feet.” President Roosevelt looks on and says, “I hope Uncle will get no worse.” J. Pierpont Morgan says to John D. Rockefeller, “They are very much alarmed about the condition of Uncle. I’m afraid John, the last dose you gave him didn’t do him any good. They don’t seem to think much of your skill when they called in a country practitioner.”
The focus of this cartoon was that of the entire nation itself, a bare month into the Wall Street Panic of 1907. Cartoonist J. F. Collins had greater fame and a longer career as a strip cartoonist for Sunday newspapers than for political cartoons. “A Serious Case” is indeed a case study of why the case was so serious.
Depicted as football players, President Roosevelt, Secretary of the Treasury George B. Cortelyou, and Uncle Sam, holding the “prosperity” football, charge ahead past the man labeled “panic.”
Jay N. “Ding” Darling’s cartoon addressed the Wall Street Panic then threatening to turn from a panic to a rout in brokerage houses and banks, or to a full-scale Depression. That the cartoonist was one of the most ardent admirers of Theodore Roosevelt explains the hyperbolic portrayal of the financial crisis then barely a month old.
Uncle Sam eyes “Wall St.,” J. Pierpont Morgan, and John D. Rockefeller holding up a large “financial panic” rock. The man labeled Wall St. says, “It’s o.k. We have it safe.” President Roosevelt also looks on, holding a bear under his right arm and a rifle in his left hand.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-10-24
President Roosevelt fills out papers on his desk, his suitcase with tags reading, “Oyster Bay” and “Washington.” Uncle Sam says to Roosevelt, “Bid me ‘howdy’ before you go.” Presidential secretary William Loeb has a bag over his shoulder and reads a paper, “R.R. Time Table: Next train (presidential) leaves Oct.” A teddy bear reads “23 Jingles”: “In again, out again, presidential train!” In the background is the Washington Monument.
President Roosevelt, as pictured in this drawing by Clifford Kennedy Berryman, was set to embark on one of the longest trips of his presidency. As depicted in this cartoon, published on September 25, 1907, Roosevelt’s plans would take him to Ohio (for the funeral of President William McKinley’s widow), Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Tennessee, to deliver speeches. Then he planned speeches and a two-week bear hunt in the canebrakes of Louisiana, followed by speeches and appearances in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia, before returning to Washington.
President Roosevelt holds a net and chases the “Harriman bug” that looks like a locomotive. On Roosevelt’s shoulder is the “presidential bug” and in the “specimen case” across his shoulder is the “oil bug,” “powder bug,” “tobacco bug,” “securities bug,” and “marine bug.” In the background is a building with the label, “hay all stored,” and a group of people cheering him on — “other varieties of bugs.”
Sometimes cartoonists employ icons for clarity’s sake, or to be a “crutch” to convey a point; and sometimes a cartoonist will load a drawing with numerous signs, symbols, and icons out of desperation. Such, it appears, was the motivation of Joseph Harry Cunningham.
President Roosevelt carves up the “presidential nomination” watermelon with his “self esteem” knife, discharging two slices to the side—”first term” and “second term.” He starts to carve up “third term 1908” as he says to William H. Taft who is standing somewhat hidden in brush, “Hello, Bill!” Behind Taft is his half-brother Charles P. Taft holding his “wife’s money.” William H. Taft says to Charles P. Taft, “Good heavens! Charlie, I thought Teddy didn’t care for that anymore.” Meanwhile, Uncle Sam watches on the other side, “I thought I understand that gap to say he was tired of that fruit.” Caption: Roosevelt—“Bill, I don’t think I will need any help eating this melon.”
Cartoonist J. F. Collins, straying from his minor comic strip for the World Color Printing Company, drew political cartoons for a short-lived journal, The Meddler. His drawings were of almost painful exactitude and invariably anti-Roosevelt. They were so partisan that the publishing effort possibly chose its name as an in-your-face brand, like Puck imitators including Judge, The Wasp, The Bee, and The Verdict. Or its title might have been inspired by a current nickname for Theodore Roosevelt, the “Meddler,” for his reformist and iconoclastic activities as president.
President Roosevelt and Uncle Sam stand on the shore of the ocean. In Roosevelt’s pocket is a handle labeled, “lately discovered,” and Uncle Sam says, “Just a squall, Ted,” as they look out on the “Japanese jingoism” waves.
President Roosevelt had long been troubled by the ugliness surrounding Japanese immigration in California, specially around San Francisco. He opposed prejudice and violence; he resented the agitation of politicians and newspaper publishers like William Randolph Hearst (of the San Francisco Examiner), and worried about the malign effects on America’s foreign policy and role in Pacific affairs.