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| “Whither?” by Howard Pyle (1904) |
...Now the fate of the nation lies with us voters to determine.
It does not lie with the Republican Candidate nor with the Democratic Candidate. They are our servants and only do our bidding when we elect them to office.
The VOTER must decide which of these two parties to put in power, and he alone.
He is the sovereign, and upon him lies the entire responsibility of that decision. So we had better take care what we are about when we cast our ballot. Don’t let us be too quick about it; let us take time to think!...
So how are we going to vote this year? THAT is the question!
—From “How Are We Going To Vote This Year?” by Howard Pyle, published anonymously in Collier’s Weekly for November 5, 1904 (and subsequently reprinted in various newspapers). Theodore Roosevelt wrote, “I think it is as good a thing as we have had in this campaign, and I want to thank you for it with all my heart.” And journalist Richard Victor Oulahan later remarked, “I have been told that the cartoon entitled ‘Whither?’ with the accompanying reading matter entitled ‘How Are We Going to Vote This Year?’ was more effective as a campaign advertisement than anything else put out in behalf of President Roosevelt by the Literary Bureau of the National Committee.”
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3 comments:
Wonderful piece of history Ian. Thanks. And glad so many of us voted, too.
Great stuff. Incidentally, the graphic novel Uncle Sam (illustrated by Alex Ross) is a beautiful descendant of this.
Alex Ross --> learned on Andrew Loomis' books
Andrew Loomis --> learned from Howard Pyle, and printed some of Pyle's rules on light and shadow in his book "Creative Illustration"
Hmmmm... nice, and certainly well drawn, but what, no Hind-sight Irony that only one of those three beings in the art will be able to vote in 1904? :) 1920: Women get the Vote... It's not a hobby horse I ride, but when it is right there... geeee...
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