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This Puck cartoon dramatizes the battle for the 1912 Republican presidential nomination with an analogy to Napoleon’s return from exile. Theodore Roosevelt, the ex-president (1901-1909), appears as the former self-proclaimed emperor of France. Napoleon Bonaparte first abdicated on May 4, 1814, and was exiled to the island of Elba, off the Italian coast of Tuscany. On February 26, 1815, he escaped and landed at Cannes, France, with a small army of 600. He was met by the 5th Regiment of the French Army, which had orders to arrest him. As the cartoon caption explains, Napoleon confronted them alone, allowing them the opportunity to “shoot your emperor if you dare.” They did not, and his army multiplied as he advanced through France. On March 19, the Bourbon royal family fled to Belgium, and the next day Napoleon resumed control of France. |
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1860
