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Handout B: “The Bosses of the Senate”

Handout B: “The Bosses of the Senate”

Published in Puck
January 23, 1889
www.senate.gov
Art and History Cartoon 38.00392.001

Critical Thinking Questions

  1. How does this cartoon express the concern of “quid pro quo” corruption?
  2. What is the significance of the closed door with the sign above it in the upper left hand corner of the cartoon?
  3. Did Madison’s assertion in Federalist No. 10 (Handout A) — that the republican principle will serve as a check on the influence of factions — apply in the cartoon’s time period? Does it apply today?