Laocoön 1924

"Laocoön", a 1924 political cartoon by Clifford K. Berryman, satirizes the Teapot Dome scandal. It depicts President Warren G. Harding (wearing a suit adorned with stars and stripes) as the Trojan priest Laocoön, struggling against a serpentine tangle of corruption that represents the scandal. The donkey and elephant, symbols of the Democratic and Republican parties respectively, are also caught in the grasp of the scandal. The image satirically uses the classical art reference to highlight the political turmoil of the time. Berryman's drawing is a powerful example of editorial cartoons used to critique the political climate.