Introduction
Read the markers to learn more about the illustration.
This 1905 illustration, titled "The Commerical Club of Washington", shows Senator Nelson Aldrich as "king" of the Senate (Library of Congress).
- Notice that the Senate leadership, represented by Senator Nelson Aldrich, is portrayed as a king on a throne. What does this say about the power of the Senate and its leadership?
- Notice that Uncle Sam is being kept from coming into the chamber to speak with the "king."
- Notice that President Theodore Roosevelt is bowing down to the "king", hoping to deliver his message. What does this suggest about the power of the Senate and its leadership?
- This 1905 Illustration shows Nelson Aldrich as king of the "U.S. Senate" sitting on a throne with a diminutive Theodore Roosevelt kneeling before him bearing the "President's Message," around them senators ar reading ticker tape or enjoying the success of their investments. The surrounding vignettes show Chauncey M. Depew as a doorman welcoming a man labeled "The Trusts" into the "U.S. Senate," John D. Rockefeller sitting at a desk pouring over "Reports" and "Expenditures", Charles W. Fairbanks as an office boy stopping Uncle Sam at the top of the stairs demanding who he needs to see and why, and two men stuffing papers labeled "Esch-Townsend Rate Bill, Tariff Legislation, House Bill" and others into a trash can.
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