The Woods Are Full of Them
- Title:
- The Woods Are Full of Them
- Alternate Title:
- The Woods Are Full of Them
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand
- Date:
- 1889
- Posted Date:
- 2017-04-14
- ID Number:
- 2133.01
- Collection Number:
- 8548
- File Name:
- PJM_2133_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1870 - 1899
- Subject:
- Politics & Government
Satirical
Pictorial - Measurement:
- 31 x 47 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- This satirical cartoon map assails the cabinet selection process of President-elect Benjamin Harrison, who looks out across the country with a telescope at three dozen or more petitioning politicians. Below him is a sign, "Wanted 7 Cabinet Officers only."
After he was elected in early November, 1888, Harrison believed it necessary to appoint his fellow Republican, James G. Blaine, to serve as Secretary of State in order to preserve party unity. Blaine had been the Republican nominee in 1884 and remained popular among the Party faithful. However, Harrison delayed the appointment for 2-1/2 months, until January 17, to avoid the appearance that Blaine was playing a role in other cabinet decisions or otherwise serving as the power behind the throne. The delay caused substantial consternation not only to Blaine, but among the many Republicans eager for cabinet positions, and it was widely reported in the press. Robert C. Kennedy, https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1215.html, accessed August 12, 2016.
In the end, "Harrison treated other national leaders of the Republican Party as cavalierly as he had Blaine, engendering deep-seated resentment. The common characteristic of the other cabinet appointees was their membership in the Presbyterian Church, the religion practiced by the president-elect. Several cabinet officers also shared Harrison’s background as an Ohio-born lawyer who was brevetted at the rank of brigadier general for service in the Union Army during the Civil War. Thomas C. Platt believed that he should be appointed secretary of the treasury for moving New York’s Republican delegation behind Harrison at the Republican National Convention. Warner Miller, who had replaced Platt in the U.S. Senate, expected the same appointment. Wharton Barker, a Philadelphia banker who had been the first prominent Republican to back Harrison’s candidacy, also wanted the treasury post. . . . Harrison . . . turned to William Windom, a former senator from Minnesota, who resided in Manhattan . . . . The Windom appointment angered Platt, Miller, and Barker. For postmaster general, Harrison rewarded John Wanamaker, the innovative owner of a department-store chain who had raised a record amount of money for the national Republican Party during the 1888 campaign. The appointment of the Pennsylvania businessman further alienated Barker . . . . As secretary of agriculture, Harrison chose Governor Jeremiah Rusk of Wisconsin, to the disappointment of his younger rival, Henry Payne, chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party. . . . On March 5, 1889, the Senate approved all members of Harrison’s original cabinet without opposition. However, squabbling within the Republican Party continued to plague the president’s administration and helped contribute to his reelection loss in 1892." Ibid.
For further information on the Collector’s Notes and a Feedback/Contact Link, see https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/about-collection-personal-statement and https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/feedback-and-contact - Source:
- Puck Magazine, January 9, 1889.
- Cite As:
- P.J. Mode collection of persuasive cartography, #8548. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
- Repository:
- Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library
- Archival Collection:
- P.J. Mode collection of persuasive cartography
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.