Running for Office

Introduction

The cartoons in this press kit are from the exhibit “Running for Office: Candidates, Campaigns, and the Cartoons of Clifford Berryman,” which opens in the Lawrence F. O'Brien Gallery of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, February 8, 2008, and runs through August 17, 2008. The exhibit features 44 original pen-and-ink drawings including all of the cartoons seen here. Timed to coincide with the Presidential primaries and the 2008 campaign season, the exhibit highlights both specific and timeless aspects of the American campaign and election process.

View the Running for Office Online Exhibit

The cartoons, drawn by renowned cartoonist Clifford K. Berryman, illustrate campaigns beginning with the candidates’ decision to run for office and ending with the ultimate outcome of the election. Although many political procedures have changed, these cartoons show that the political process has remained remarkably consistent; Berryman’s cartoons from the early 20th century remain relevant today.

All of these cartoons appeared on the front page of Washington newspapers from 1898 through 1948. They are part of a collection of nearly 2,400 pen-and-ink drawings by Berryman. In 1992, in honor of former Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield, the Charles Engelhard Foundation purchased the drawings and donated them to the U.S. Senate.

This remarkable collection is now housed with the historical records of Congress in the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives in Washington, DC.