John T. McCutcheon Collection

Title

John T. McCutcheon Collection

Subject

McCutcheon, John T. (John Tinney), 1870-1949
Political cartoon
Political corruption
Editorial cartoons--Political aspects
Elections
Presidents
World War (1914-1918)
Chicago tribune
Newspapers
Chicago record

Description

John T. McCutcheon worked as a political cartoonist for Chicago newspapers including the Chicago Record (1889-1903) and the Chicago Tribune (1903-1946). His cartoons focused on several themes including political campaigns, the Phillippines insurrection, and World War I. McCutcheon created a series of cartoons based on Midwestern American life called Bird Town while he worked for the Chicago Record which he continued after moving to the Chicago Tribune. McCutcheon, known as the Dean of American Cartoonists, received the Pulitzer Prize in 1932 for a cartoon dealing with bank failure.

The cartoons in this collection include images focusing on political corruption, presidential and Illinois elections, and World War I.

Collection Items

The Lincoln League
The Lincoln League positions a recruiting station in front of a statue of Abraham Lincoln next to the Illinois State House while members of the public hurry away. President William Taft attempts to stop one man from leaving by grabbing his…

Cheaper Gas
This seven-panel cartoon shows a cheaper gas pump followed by a drawing of a city filled with automobiles. The third panel shows a man asleep under a sign labeled "Electrify the Terminals. Smoke Costs Chicago Millions Annually." The following panel…

Its Coming in America!!!
The top panel shows soldiers on the battlefield firing cannons in rapid succession. The bottom panel shows business men celebrating a business boom in front of an operational factory and mill. A sign on the left side of the lower panel shows a…

All the Insurgents Will Now Want Cannon to Speak Against Them
Insurgents in states surrounding Kansas write letters to Representative Joseph Cannon asking him to denounce them while Cannon-approved men lie on the ground throughout the state. Two insurgents in Kansas claim "Alas! Poor Cannon! I knew him well" in…

In the City of Brotherly Love
Two men walk through a cemetery adding names from the headstones to the Philadelphia voting list while an angry mob protests outside the cemetery wall.Republican machine politics drove the city of Philadelphia during the early twentieth century under…

Crisp Passages from the President's Message
A group of men stand before a large billboard filled with President Woodrow Wilson's proposals for big business and government regulation. The billboard reads: "The Great Insurance Companies Should be Curbed. The Inter-State Commerce Commission…

The Farmer's Revolt Against Corruption in Public Office
A farmer complains to Uncle Sam about political corruption in Washington, D.C. declaring farmers are beginning to support a third party candidate. In the lower panel Uncle Sam shows the farmer two voting booths labeled "For Governor- A Candidate with…

Governor's Veto of Funds
The top panel shows men watching Lady Justice attempt to walk while her legs are bound by wrapping labeled "Governor's veto of funds." The second panel shows a train approaching a man tied to the railroad tracks. The final panel features a couple…

Here Comes the Pride of Illinois, Thirty Third Degree Soldiers
Crowds of people lean out of every window in a building straining to see an oncoming parade of American flags and a marching band.

A Small Army Invites Invaders
Professor Windjammer speaks before an audience on maintaining a small army. In the lower panel, men representing China and Korea stand up and leave the speech pointing out the problems they encountered as a result of maintaining a small army when…

Sherman's March to the Sea
A club labeled "Progressive Sentiment" chases three men representing boss rule into the sea of defeat at the New York Republican Convention.

Insurgent Bristow of Kansas and Stand Hatter Aldrich, of the Intercontinental Rubber Co.
Senator Joseph L. ALdrich yells "Robber!" at Senator Nelson W. Aldrich who sits contentedly in his seat. The man thinks of another way to attack Aldrich, finally yelling "Rubber!" which shocks Aldrich.Kansas Senator Joseph L. Bristow locks his sights…

Is This Why Hawaii Wants Independence?
Hawaii, in the form of an ethnic charicature, walks with Uncle Sam while holding his hand. A newspaper boy runs up to the pair with a newspaper reading "Extra- All about the epidemic of lynchings! RaceWar! Blacks driven out of town!", shocking…

Senator Penrose and Nemesis Hearst
Unseen people push Senator Boies Penrose onto a theater stage to explain $25,000 in donations from the Standard Oil Company. Penrose tries to divert attention onto Theodore Roosevelt, but then sees William Randolph Hearst sitting in a box set holding…

Will the Voter Allow Himself To be Chamberized?
A person wearing a mask and women's clothing sits next to a man representing the voter. The voter states "She loves me! She loves me for myself alone!" while holding a vote which the woman reaches for. A man labeled "Prince $$$ski" hides behind a…

Why the Lusitania Broke the Record
A man rushes into the Turbine Steamship Company's office offering $1 million if they could take him across the Atlantic Ocean in four days. The second panel shows him asking the captain about the boat's arrival time. The third panel shows the man…

When the Senate Considers Our Duty to the Phillipines
The upper panel illustrates a partially-filled Senate where legislators are reading the newspaper and yawning during debate on the Phillippines. In the lower panel, the full Senate attends and actively participates in discussion on a ship subsidy…

The Way They Have in the Senate
A man presents the U.S. Senate with a railroad rate Regulation bill approved by the president, pupit, press, and people which the Senate rejects. A tycoon then brings a ship subsidy bill condemned by the president, press, and public and the Senate…

The Double Patriots at Rockford
A large line of soldiers stand in line to subscribe for war bonds in front of a baseball-like scoreboard tracking war bond subscriptions by infantry and batallion. A soldier in the lower left corner states "They are willing to give their money as…

A Day in the Life of Mr. Ballinger
Six vignettes feature people asking Secretary of the Interior Richard Ballinger if there is truth to rumors of his pending resignation. In the final vignette he responds "Not a word of truth in it."On March 11, 1911, the Secretary of the Interior…

Cartoons of the Day
In the top panel several bulldogs with tags reading "food control," "coal control," "profits control," "price control," "drink control," and "ships and R.Y. control" guard the public funds building while profiteers wonder if the dogs will stay after…

Cartoons of the Day
In the top panel a man representing the Monroe doctrine stands at a train station while the station master, labeled "Constructive Criticism" flags fown the approaching League of Nations Covenant train. The second panel shows two American soldiers on…

Cartoons of the Day
Large crowds race into Chicago's City Series between the Cubs and the White Sox where the stadium marquee reads "ciTy seRies." A political representative chases one crowd member labeled "Silent Voter" and bearing a striking resemblance to Theodore…

The Great Parker Meeting in New York. Where Does He Come In?
A large crowd cheers for Grover Cleveland, lending their support for a possible third nomination for president in 1904.Alton B. Parker, a New York judge, ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1904 against newspaper tycoon William R.…

In the Congressional Waiting Room
In the top two panels, a man representing the World War Adjusted Compensation Act, also known as the Bonus Bill, sits in the waiting room of "Dr. Congress" for several years. In the bottom panel, a man rushes in carrying papers labeled "Tariff Bill"…
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