Thanksgiving 1907

L. M. Glackens draws a swaggering, oversized Theodore Roosevelt—wide-brimmed hat, spectacles, orange shirt, axe raised—about to behead a turkey on a chopping block. The turkey, labeled "Flim-Flam Finance," fans tail feathers tagged "Fake Bonds," "Wild Cat Bank," "Worthless Collateral," "Fake Stocks," and "Worthless Securities." A tiny figure labeled "Small Investor" stands directly in front of the block, also gripping an axe, oblivious to his own peril. The caption reads: "For what He Is About to Receive, let us be truly thankful." The joke cuts both ways: Roosevelt performs populist reform theater against the Panic of 1907's fraudulent financial instruments, yet the small investor—the supposed beneficiary—is positioned to lose his head along with the turkey.