Signatures of President William McKinley's Cabinet and Notable Political Figures, circa 1877-1900

Elihu Root; Henry Cabot Lodge; Charles Bonaparte; Kijuro Shidehara; Ethan A. Hitchcock; James Wilson; Charles Emory Smith; John W. Griggs; John Tyler Morgan; Oliver P. Morton; McCormick

Ephemera, 1877

[A collection of signatures of President William McKinley's Cabinet and notable political figures, circa 1877-1900] 11 signatures mounted in a modern framed case. Wood-backed glass case, bordered with velvet compartments.  13 x 16 in. Signatures include the following: 1. Elihu Root (1845-1937): Secretary of War (1899-1904), Secretary of the State (1905-1908), Senator (1909-1915). Root was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1912.; 2. Henry Cabot Lodge (1850-1924): Congress (1887-1893), Senator (1893-1924). Lodge is best known for his positions on foreign policy, especially for his opposition to the treaty of Versailles. The failure of that treaty ensured the US would not join the League of Nations.; 3. Charles Bonaparte (1851-1921): Sec. of the Navy (1905-1906), Attorney General (1906-1909). Bonaparte created the Bureau of Investigations, the precursor to the FBI. He was a great nephew of the French Emperor Napoleon.; 4. Kijuro Shidehara (1872-1951): Prime Minster of Japan (1945-1946), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1924-1931). He was a leading proponent of pacifism in Japan before and after World War II, and was also the last Japanese Prime Minister who was a member of the kazoku.; 5. Ethan A. Hitchcock (1835-1909), Sec. of the Interior.; 6. James Wilson (1835-1920): US Congress (1872-1877); Sec. of Agriculture, 1897-1913.; 7. John W. Griggs (1849-1927): Governor of New Jersey (1896-1898), US Attorney General (1898-1901).; 8. Charles Emory Smith (1842-1908), Postmaster General; Minister to Russia (1890-1892).; 9. John Tyler Morgan (1824-1907): Senator (1877-1907), Brigadier General in the Confederate Army (1863-1865). After the death of James Clanton in 1872, Morgan allegedly succeeded him as the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan in Alabama.; 10. Oliver P. Morton (1823-1877): Governor of Indiana (1861-1867), Senator (1867-1877). Morton was a stalwart ally of Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. He exceeded his constitutional authority by calling out the militia without approval, and during the period of legislative suppression he privately financed the state government through unapproved federal and private loans. He was criticized for arresting and detaining political enemies and suspected southern sympathizers.; 11. And an unidentified signer named McCormick.