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John T. McCutcheon (1870-1949)

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In 1904, William H. Taft, the newly appointed Secretary of War with a reputation for pacifism, was especially interested in the governance of the America's new territories, The Philippines and the Canal Zone in Panama. While Taft endorsed the emancipation of The Philippines from American occupation, he also worked with Roosevelt to design the Panama Canal, where debates raged over whether the canal should have locks or be dug at sea level, raising costs by $50 million. At the same time, governance of the Canal Zone was in question, and Taft was instrumental in quelling resistance to American involvement. Public sentiment, as illustrated in this cartoon, believed that Taft performed admirably and was a likely successor to Roosevelt as President in the 1908 election.

McCutcheon began cartooning for the Chicago Morning News in 1889. He produced humorous illustrations before becoming a political cartoonist in 1896. He went to the Chicago Tribune in 1903 where he won the Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Cartooning in 1932. His autobiography, Drawn from Memory, was published posthumously in 1950.

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