“Not Afraid”
August 9, 1905
Secretary of War William Howard Taft told President Theodore Roosevelt that his highest ambition was to serve as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, but Roosevelt hoped Taft would run in the 1908 election as his successor. With Roosevelt’s encouragement, Taft began to consider the option. In this cartoon Taft blocks the buzz of a potential Supreme Court nomination to better hear the enticing buzz of the Presidential bee. Berryman speculates that Taft may be succumbing to Roosevelt’s wishes and is “not afraid” of running for President.
U.S. Senate Collection
Center for Legislative Archives
From Berryman’s Recurring Cast of Characters...
The bee was a common character in Berryman‘s cartoons representing political aspirations as the “buzz” in a potential candidate‘s ear Berryman used the bee to symbolize the lure of political office. See more of Berryman’s Recurring Symbolic Characters