The Bosses of the Senate

The Bosses of the Senate is an American political cartoon by Joseph Keppler,[1][2] published in the January 23, 1889, issue of Puck magazine.

Robber barons representing trusts in various industries,[5] depicted as obese, domineering, and powerful figures with swollen money bags for bodies, with their nature being juxtaposed with that of the senators of the 50th Congress, who Keppler implies are under the industrialists' control.

The cartoon discusses with concern the rise of industry in the Gilded Age,[2][6] the expanding influence of monopolies and trusts, and the role of American lobbying.

[8] Historian Josh Brown has stated that it "expresses general public discontent and concern about the growing impact and power of large businesses" and "their control over the political process".

[9] Some contemporary commentators have asserted that such corporate interests still have immense power over lawmakers in modern-day America.