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As the Republican vice-presidential nominee in 1900, Roosevelt had campaigned energetically on a 21,000-mile campaign tour, delivering 673 speeches before an estimated audience of three million Americans. This cartoon humorously depicts how in 1904 he grudgingly abided by the custom that, for the sake of “Civic Decency,” incumbent presidents not campaign openly for reelection. Here, Roosevelt remembers his impassioned stump speaking from the previous campaign and seethes angrily that he is now silenced by the longstanding tradition. Nevertheless, Roosevelt managed to remain in the limelight by opening the White House to the press, making policy statements, and conducting official duties with an eye toward making headlines. Behind the scenes, he oversaw the campaign with constant orders to Republican National Committee Chairman George Cortelyou and other staff members, and sent numerous suggestions to his unofficial organ, the New York Press. In 1916, Democrat Woodrow Wilson became the first sitting president to go on a reelection speaking tour. |
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Warning
1860
