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JM-154: Huerta and Félix Díaz
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This cartoon shows McCutcheon’s interpretation of events occurring in Mexico in 1913. In 1911, Francisco Madero was elected as President of Mexico defeating Mexico’s long time dictator, Porfirio Diaz. After a period of Civil War in Mexico, Madero gained full control of the country from Diaz, who eventually fled to France. Francisco Madero appointed one of Porfirio Diaz’s generals, Victoriano Huerta, to his inner circle. Shortly after this appointment, Huerta seized power and killed Madero and his vice president, Pino Suarez. Huerta partnered with Felix Diaz, the brother of Porfirio Diaz, to successfully complete his coup. Huerta and Diaz are drawn laughing at the claim an investigation will be made into the deaths of Madero and Suarez. Huerta eventually sought to take complete control of Mexico and forced Felix Diaz from power soon after they overtook the government. Huerta's violent betrayal sparked international outrage, causing most countries to condemn Mexico’s new government. The United States denounced Huerta’s regime, and the United States government would later support the Mexican revolutionaries who would fight against Huerta. The cartoon also directs the viewer’s attention to a conversation between Huerta and Sir Lionel Carden, Great Britain’s diplomat to Mexico. The drawing shows Great Britain's support of Huerta and his regime despite his vicious actions against leaders in Mexico. (Summary created by Mary Delano, MU History Intern, Spring 2018)
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JM-156: There will be some vacant chairs at today's meeting
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This cartoon depicts a meeting between Turkey, Bulgaria, Austria, Russia, and Germany. Germany stands at the head of the table. All the countries present are part of the Central Powers with the exception of Russia. The Central Powers are countries that fought against the Allied Powers or supportive of the Allied Powers (England, France, Italy, the United States, etc.) in World War I. World War I began July 28, 1914, a few months before this cartoon was drawn. These countries are having a meeting about declaring an armistice to end fighting in WWI. The Central Powers wanted the terms of the armistice to be the countries of Europe would return to their original states before the war began. This was seen as unacceptable to the Allied Powers, due to the immense loss of life and unacceptable behavior of the Central Powers in starting WWI. All the empty seats of the Allied Powers demonstrate their complete lack of willingness to negotiate the end of the war with the Central Powers on their terms. The Allies would eventually win World War I in 1918 and place harsh war reparations on the Central Powers, particularly Germany. (Summary created by Mary Delano, MU History Intern, Spring 2018)
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JM-129: Will It be Conservative or Progressive?. 129
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This cartoon depicts President Taft creating a message regarding railroad freight rates. In the 1910, a large portion of goods was transported on railroads in the United States. Railroad owners made large profits by charging rates to ship cargo from one location to another. One of the books in the cartoon is titled, “injunction”. This likely refers to the injunction granted by Judge David P. Driver against 25 western railroads located throughout the Midwest to the West Coast, who were all members of the Western Traffic Association. This injunction was granted in Hannibal, Missouri, as a result of an executive order from President Taft. This injunction prevented any of these railroads from raising or adjusting their rates in anyway. The special assistant to the Attorney General, Edwin Grosvenor, presented charges against these railroad companies in St. Louis, Missouri. These charges allegations of price-fixing and conspiracy between these companies to collectively raise rates. President Taft’s administration is known for a hard stance against trusts. Taft's predecessor, President Theodore Roosevelt, began this practice during his own administration. Another project begun during President Roosevelt's administration: the construction and governance of the Panama Canal is also shown in this cartoon. (Summary created by Mary Delano, MU History Intern, Spring 2018)
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JM-167: Two crimes
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This cartoon depicts the Lusitania, an American ocean liner destroyed by German naval forces in World War I on May 7, 1915. The ship was carrying American passengers and ammunition intended for the British armed forces. The top panel of the cartoon features the periscope of the German submarine spying on the Lusitania. Eventually the German submarine fired a torpedo, which killed 1,198 passengers aboard the ship. The bottom panel of the cartoon shows the 173 tons of ammunition carried on board the Lusitania and the innocent, most likely unaware passengers standing above it. The sinking of the Lusitania caused international outrage, but blame for the attack was passed back and forth between various parties. Many, particularly those in Great Britain, blamed the Germans who committed this attack. Others blamed the United States and the passengers, who ignored Germany’s repeated warning that any ship attempting to enter Great Britain would be subject to attack. Many, including journalists for the Chicago Tribune, claimed Great Britain was responsible for this tragedy. Great Britain had placed immense pressure on the United States to deliver arms, and the British government assured the Lusitania it would be protected from German attack. The Chicago Tribune featured an entire article placing responsibility for the sinking of the Lusitania on Great Britain. After detailing Great Britain’s interest in the Lusitania, the author of the article wrote, “England and England alone is to be held responsible for the loss of life because England lured Americans to death, hoping that the presence of Americans would protect the ship against German attack.” (Summary created by Mary Delano, MU History Intern, Spring 2018)
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JM-187: Political
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This cartoon depicts various events during the Wilson administration. The top two panels imply a lack of force of the part of President Wilson. After World War I, President Wilson was an outspoken advocate for peace. One of his proposals to accomplish peace was the League of Nations. The League of Nations was an international body, which sought diplomacy and compromise between nations. The United States would never join the League of Nations, because many felt the League would compromise the sovereignty of the United States. The bottom panel of the cartoon shows a woman worrying about meeting the high standards set before her. In 1920, the United States government passed the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. Women had first found a place in politics by engaging with moral and/or social issues such as education, prohibition, and abolition. By continuing to take a role as protectors of morality women were able to gain enough support to win the right to vote. While the federal government did not allow women to vote in elections until 1920, some states allowed women to vote in state elections. (Summary created by Mary Delano, MU History Intern, Spring 2018)
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JM-138: Well, Gentlemen. 138
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This cartoon depicts Richard Achilles Ballinger, the Secretary of Interior, sweating during a cabinet meeting with President Taft. Ballinger was part of a controversial affair in 1910 that went down in history as either the Pinchot-Ballinger Controversy or the Ballinger Affair. The Ballinger Affair began over an investigation into Clarence Cunningham, who was suspected of illegally transferring land ownership in Alaska to commercial third parties. This investigation began under the Roosevelt administration. Ballinger, the General Land Office Commissioner, eventually concluded the investigation without the approval of his the Secretary of Interior, as he was required. Ballinger left his position for private practice as Cunningham’s personal counsel, but he returned to served as Secretary of Interior under President Taft. Ballinger tried to resolve the allegations against Cunningham, but faced great backlash from other members of the administration, including Chief Forester, Gifford Pinchot. Pinchot, among others, accused Ballinger of negligence and endangering public lands. A committee was formed to determine Ballinger’s guilt. With the exception of one Republican, all the Republicans on the committee ruled in favor of Ballinger, and all the Democrats on the committee ruled against Ballinger. The Ballinger Affair led to mass criticism of the Taft administration.The dispute between Ballinger and United States Forest Service Chief Gifford Pinchot that contributed to the split of the Republican party before the 1912 presidential election. (Summary created by Mary Delano, MU History Intern, Spring 2018)
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JM-131: Well, I think I am going to have a white Christmas. 131
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This cartoon depicts Richard Achilles Ballinger, the Secretary of Interior, acting smug over the whitewashed Republican majority report that declares him guiltless while the Democratic insurgent minority report declares him guilty and unfit. Ballinger was part of a controversial affair in 1910 that went down in history as either the Pinchot-Ballinger Controversy or the Ballinger Affair. The Ballinger Affair began over an investigation into Clarence Cunningham, who was suspected of illegally transferring land ownership in Alaska to commercial third parties. This investigation began under the Roosevelt administration. Ballinger, the General Land Office Commissioner, eventually concluded the investigation without the approval of his the Secretary of Interior, as he was required. Ballinger left his position for private practice as Cunningham’s personal counsel, but he returned to served as Secretary of Interior under President Taft. Ballinger tried to resolve the allegations against Cunningham, but faced great backlash from other members of the administration, including Chief Forester, Gifford Pinchot. Pinchot, among others, accused Ballinger of negligence and endangering public lands. A committee was formed to determine Ballinger’s guilt. With the exception of one Republican, all the Republicans on the committee ruled in favor of Ballinger, and all the Democrats on the committee ruled against Ballinger. The Ballinger Affair led to mass criticism of the Taft administration.The dispute between Ballinger and United States Forest Service Chief Gifford Pinchot that contributed to the split of the Republican party before the 1912 presidential election. (Summary created by Mary Delano, MU History Intern, Spring 2018)
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JM-133: Portugal goes Republican
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This cartoon depicts King Manuel II fleeing Portugal after the Republican Revolution, which occurred in 1910. Before the revolution, Portugal had a constitutional monarchy, modeled in a similar fashion to that of Great Britain. In the decades before the revolution, the monarchy faced adversity by lower factions of society. The monarchy ruled Portugal in combination with aristocratic oligarchies, which maintained a relatively stable political status quo. Eventually, these oligarchies failed to maintain power, and the political situation in Portugal became increasingly unstable. Hatred for the monarchy grew to the point when King Carlos and his first son where jointly assassinated in 1908. Manuel II began to rule Portugal in his father’s place, but failed to quell the urge to rebel among his people. On October 5, 1910, the violent revolution began in Lisbon, leaving hundreds dead in the struggle. Manuel II and his family fled, hoping to receive news that loyalist forces managed to overcome the revolutionaries. After realizing the revolutionaries had succeeded, Manuel II fled to England. The English government sympathized with the Portuguese monarchy. The new republican government maintained power and Portugal never returned to a constitutional monarchy structure. (Summary created by Mary Delano, MU History Intern, Spring 2018)
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JM-189: Compromises
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The top panel of this cartoon depicts President Woodrow Wilson meeting with other world leaders at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. The Paris Peace Conference began after the armistice agreement for World War I, and it eventually produced the Treaty of Versailles. The four men meeting depict the leaders of the “Big Four” Allied powers of WWI. The Big Four nations were the United States, led by President Woodrow Wilson, England, led by Prime Minister David Lloyd, France, led by Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau, and Italy, led by Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando. These men are creating secret treaties, which is in contradiction with Wilson’s “14 Points” speech. The first point in this speech is “Open covenants of peace, openly arrived at, after which there shall be no private international understandings of any kind but diplomacy shall proceed always frankly and in the public view”. This point was created to address the practice of secret treaties between nations, which many contributed to the beginning of World War I. The 14 points are conspicuously placed in the garbage at this meeting. The bottom panel depicts Uncle Sam showing Woodrow Wilson ways to protect the United States while signing treaties with other nations. This panel is captioned, “he ought to be able to compromise now to satisfy the interests of his own”. This caption is used to suggest there may have been conflict between President Wilson’s interests and the interests of the United States. (Summary created by Mary Delano, MU History Intern, Spring 2018)
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