Two candidates at the door of nomination

A satire on the competition between Daniel Webster and Winfield Scott for the 1852 Whig nomination for the presidency. In the drawing, the candidates stand on opposite sides of a door, Scott on the left and Webster on the right, both futilely trying to force the door open. Webster: "Profoundly as it is to be regretted, it is my deliberate opinion some one has got hold of this door knob!" Scott: "How d----d vexatious! I shall force my way through by "Maine" strength! D------L is that you? show your god like magnanimity, and let a "starved man" through to get his "hasty plate of soup." A man with long hair stands with his back toward the viewer next to Scott, an ax marked "MAINE" over his shoulder. On the ground at his feet is a broken bottle. His presence may allude to the Maine Liquor Law (an influential 1851 temperance measure) or to the unpopularity of Webster in Maine, earned by his 1842 Webster-Ashburton treaty. Significantly, Maine was also the first state to vote in presidential elections. (For the "hasty plate of soup" reference, see "Distinguished Military Operations," no. 1846-15.) Two unidentified men stand in the background. Other unidentifiable objects lie at Scott's feet.
Drawn by August Hoppin?
Pub. at the Office of Yankee Notions 98 Nassau St. N.Y.
Thomas W. Strong Lith. 98 Nassau St. N.Y.
Title appears as it is written on the item.
Weitenkampf, p. 107.
Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)
Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1852-10.