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  1. Portrait of Clifford Berryman - Click to Enlarge
  2. Clifford Berryman Self Portrait - Click to Enlarge
  3. Drawing the Line in Mississippi - Cartoon featuring Berryman’s iconic teddy bear

“Another Such Victory and I’m Undone!”
November 9, 1922

The Republican Party desperately fought to retain control of Congress in the 1922 midterm elections. Although prepared to lose some of their seats, they lost many more than expected and emerged from the election with only a very slim majority in both houses. As the beaten and battered elephant in the cartoon suggests, another attempt to maintain the Republican majority through such a brutal election cycle would likely end in defeat.

U.S. Senate Collection
Center for Legislative Archives

From Berryman’s Recurring Cast of Characters...

The elephant is a widely recognized symbol of the Republican Party. Made popular by cartoonist Thomas Nast, the Republican elephant first appeared in Harper’s Weekly in 1874. The Republicans have embraced the elephant as their official symbol and still use it in campaigns today. See more of Berryman’s Recurring Symbolic Characters