The cover of the paperback book my aunt left me has been deteriorating, and the binding is almost non-existent, but the pages are in good condition. In the interest of posterity, I plan to post some of R.C.B.'s cartoons here from time to time. I can make no claims that he was a great cartoonist, but I think it's interesting to see these old cartoons from the heartland.
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The book begins with several cartoons in a series called "The Meanderings of Willie and Little Steve." William Jennings Bryan (Willie) ran his second unsuccessful presidential campaign against William McKinley in 1900 with Adlai Stevenson (Little Steve) as his running mate. Stevenson had been Vice President in the second Grover Cleveland administration; I'm not sure why Bowman drew him wearing a dress.
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Charles Towne was a Republican Congressman from Minnesota from 1895 to 1897; he lost his reelection campaign running in 1896 as an Independent. He was a contender for the People's Party (commonly called the "Populists") Vice Presidential nomination in 1900 but ultimately turned it down. A divided Populist Party split between endorsing Democrat Bryan for a second time or running its own candidate, Wharton Butler. (Towne would be appointed to fill Minnesota's senate seat as a Democrat in December, 1900 upon the death of Cushman Davis, serving only eight weeks until his elected replacement, Moses Clapp, was sworn in. He was a Democratic Congressman from New York from 1905 to 1907.)
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The Populists were based in the agrarian south and southern plains states, started by people who thought that big banking interests in the northeast had too much influence over both the Republican and Democratic parties. There initially were Populist politicians who wanted to unite the interests of poor whites and poor blacks, but by 1900, the voices of white supremacists carried more influence within the party. The Democrats, whose coalition included Southern establishment politicians, already had a significant white supremacist base.
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Coming soon: What the hell was the Ice Trust?
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* In later posts, I do have more information about him.
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