From Fat Cats to Egg Heads: The Changing American "Elite"

By

Steven Conn

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Moneybag-shaped corporate interests loom over small senators in this 1889 political cartoon.

The Bosses of the Senate

Moneybag-shaped corporate interests loom over small senators in this 1889 political cartoon depicting corporations’ influence in Congress. The motto above the center door reads: “This is the Senate of the Monopolists by the Monopolists and for the Monopolists!” The door in the rear marked “Public Entrance” is boarded up while the door marked “Entrance for Monopolists” allows free access to the Senate.

Financier J.P. Morgan lashing out against a photographer.

J. P. Morgan

Financier J.P. Morgan lashing out against a photographer around 1900.

A caricature of a 'fat cat.'

Organized Big Business Interests

A caricature of a “fat cat” from the 1919 The Nonpartisan Leader magazine.

President Franklin Roosevelt surrounded by members of his 'brain trust.'

Franklin Roosevelt with “Brain Trust”

President Franklin Roosevelt, surrounded by members of his “brain trust,” signs a law restructuring the Federal Reserve in 1935.

A campaign poster for the People’s Party Candidates.

People’s Party Campaign Poster

A campaign poster for the People’s Party Candidates for President and Vice President in 1892.

L. Brent Bozell and William F. Buckley Jr. with the book they wrote together.

L. Brent Bozell and William F. Buckley Jr.

L. Brent Bozell and William F. Buckley Jr. with the book they wrote together, McCarthy and His Enemies, in 1954.

President Ronald Reagan and President Donald Trump greeting one another.

President Ronald Reagan and President Donald Trump

President Ronald Reagan and President Donald Trump greeting one another at a White House reception in 1987.

An 1879 cartoon of William Henry Vanderbilt.

The Modern Colossus of (Rail) Roads

An 1879 cartoon of William Henry Vanderbilt, the most powerful railroad tycoon of his day, with two other railroad figures at his feet, Cyrus West Field and Jay Gould. The sign at the bottom reads: “All freight seeking the seaboard must pass here and pay any tolls we demand.”

President Donald Trump.

President Donald Trump

President Donald Trump in 2017.

President Barack Obama.

President Barack Obama

President Barack Obama in 2012.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte posing with a military division.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte

President Rodrigo R. Duterte of the Philippines posing with a military division in 2016.

A 2015 demonstration in Gdansk, Poland.

Gdansk Demonstration

A 2015 demonstration in Gdansk, Poland against the ruling Law and Justice Party.

A sign supporting Britain leaving the European Union.

Vote Leave

A sign supporting Britain leaving the European Union in 2016.

A 2016 London rally in favor of remaining in the EU.

EUNITED

A 2016 London rally in favor of remaining in the European Union.

Obama arugula.

Obama Arugula

Barack Obama’s preference for arugula lettuce became a means for opponents to paint him as an elitist.

This parody presents President Obama as a snob and elitist.

SNOB

A variation on Barack Obama’s “Hope” campaign poster, this parody presents the president as a snob and elitist.

A depiction of the drafting committee presenting its work to the Continental Congress.

Declaration of Independence

A depiction of the drafting committee presenting its work to the Continental Congress in 1776.

President George Washington leading troops against a populist uprising.

Whiskey Rebellion

President George Washington leading troops against a populist uprising known as the Whiskey Rebellion in 1795.

A Harper’s Weekly cartoon depicting voter suppression.

Voter Suppression

A Harper’s Weekly cartoon depicting African Americans being denied the right to vote in 1874 by the White League.

A 1912 cartoon mocking Oregon’s election system.

Direct Democracy Cartoon

A 1912 cartoon mocking Oregon’s election system in which voters weighed in on a variety of proposed state and local laws.

Men looking at the window display of the National Anti-Suffrage Association.

National Anti-Suffrage Association

Men looking at the window display of the National Anti-Suffrage Association in Washington, D.C. in 1911.

A sign warning of the photo ID requirements to vote.

Voter ID Requirements

A sign outside a New Hampshire polling place in 2013 warning of the photo ID requirements to vote. Since 2006, 33 U.S. states have enacted voter identification requirements.

An 1883 political cartoon depicting industrialists atop their bagged wealth on a raft.

The Protectors of Our Industries

An 1883 political cartoon depicting industrialists Cyrus Field, Jay Gould, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Russsell Sage atop their bagged wealth on a raft carried by workers from various industries.

A 1925 cartoon of a 'fat cat.'

The Subsidized Mineowner

A 1925 cartoon of a “fat cat.”

A 1906 cartoon depicting Senator Nelson Aldrich as a spider.

Senator Nelson Aldrich

A 1906 cartoon depicting Senator Nelson Aldrich as a spider devouring proposed legislation, such as anti-trust regulations.

Mark Hanna depicted in an 1896 political cartoon.

“I am confident the working men are with us.”

Mark Hanna, as depicted in an 1896 political cartoon, in which the industrialist props his feet up on bags of “campaign funds” and a skull labeled “labor” lies under Hanna’s whip.

A cartoon mocking the dress and rustic qualities of delegates to the People’s Party Convention.

The People’s Party Convention—Delegates Who Were Not In It

A cartoon mocking the dress and rustic qualities of delegates to the People’s Party Convention in 1892.

An 1896 cartoon depicting Populist presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan as a snake.

William Jennings Bryan, Populist Snake

An 1896 cartoon depicting Populist presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan as a snake swallowing a donkey representing the Democratic Party.

A 1912 campaign poster for the Socialist Party Presidential candidates.

Socialist Party Poster

A 1912 campaign poster for the Socialist Party Presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs and Vice Presidential candidate Emil Seidel.

This is a 1937 photo of African Americans in a relief line in front of a billboard.

World's Highest Standard of Living

With its stark juxtaposition, this 1937 photo of African Americans in a relief line in front of a billboard presenting an idealized America became instantly iconic.

A photograph of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

A photograph of President Franklin D. Roosevelt answering reporters’ questions in 1939.

The journalist Walter Lippmann in 1914.

Water Lippmann

The journalist Walter Lippmann in 1914, the year he published Drift and Mastery in which he heralded the benefits of expertise.

Rexford Tugwell holding a press conference about a new act regulating food and drugs.

Rexford Tugwell

A member of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “brain trust,” Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Rexford Tugwell had been an economic professor at Columbia University. In this photo from the early 1930s, he was holding a press conference about a new act regulating food and drugs.

President Harry S. Truman meeting with his cabinet.

President Harry S. Truman’s Cabinet

President Harry S. Truman meeting with his cabinet in 1949.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower chatting with members of his cabinet.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Cabinet Members

President Dwight D. Eisenhower chatting with members of his cabinet while inspecting a prototype of a new plane in the early 1950s.

President John F. Kennedy conferring with McGeorge Bundy.

John F. Kennedy and McGeorge Bundy

President John F. Kennedy conferring with National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy in 1962.

President John F. Kennedy and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara meeting outside the Oval Office.

President John F. Kennedy and Robert McNamara

President John F. Kennedy and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara meeting outside the Oval Office during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

A 1952 campaign poster for Adlai Stevenson.

Vote Stevenson

A 1952 campaign poster for Adlai Stevenson that emphasizes the continuity between candidate Stevenson and Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman and the benefits for working people Stevenson would protect.

Senator Joseph McCarthy lecturing Joseph Welch.

Welch-McCarthy Hearings

Senator Joseph McCarthy (right) lecturing Joseph Welch (left), Chief Senate Counsel for the United States Army, during the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations’ McCarthy-Army hearings in 1954.

William F. Buckley Jr. addressing the National Press Club.

William F. Buckley Jr.

William F. Buckley Jr. addressing the National Press Club in 1965 as the Conservative Party’s mayoral candidate for New York City.

Sociologist C. Wright Mills with journalist Saul Landau.

C. Wright Mills

Sociologist C. Wright Mills with journalist Saul Landau, date unknown.

President John F. Kennedy with Maxwell D. Taylor and Robert McNamara.

President John F. Kennedy and Robert McNamara

President John F. Kennedy with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell D. Taylor and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara discussing a possible coup in Vietnam in 1963.

Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara lecturing on Vietnam.

Robert McNamara Press Conference

Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara lecturing on Vietnam during a 1965 press conference.

South Vietnamese women welcoming Robert McNamara to Saigon.

McNamara's Right

South Vietnamese women welcoming Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to Saigon in 1964.

Opponents of the Vietnam War demonstrating against Robert McNamara.

Protesting McNamara

Opponents of the Vietnam War demonstrating against Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in 1967.

Hard hats left on a White House table.

Hard Hat Riot

Hard hats left on a White House table after a construction trades group met with President Richard Nixon three weeks after the Hard Hat Riot between construction workers and war protesters.

President Ronald Reagan meeting with Vice President George H.W. Bush.

President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush

President Ronald Reagan meeting with Vice President George H.W. Bush in 1984.

Governor Bobby Jindal speaking.

Governor Bobby Jindal

Governor Bobby Jindal speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2013.

Richard Hofstadter.

Richard Hofstadter

Public intellectual and Columbia University professor, Richard Hofstadter published Anti-Intellectualism in American Life in 1963.

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Cite this Site

Steven Conn , "From Fat Cats to Egg Heads: The Changing American "Elite"" , Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective

February, 2017

https://origins.osu.edu/article/fat-cats-egg-heads-changing-american-elite?language_content_entity=en.