The downfall of Mother Bank - Public domain drawing
A pro-Jackson satire applauding the President's September 1833 order for the removal of federal deposits from the Bank of the United States. The combined opposition to this move from Bank president Nicholas Bid... More
Set to between Old Hickory and Bully Nick
Satire on the public conflict between Andrew Jackson and Nicholas Biddle over the future of the Bank of the United States, and the former's campaign to destroy it. The print is sympathetic to Jackson, portrayi... More
New method of assorting the mail, as practised by Southern slave-holde...
A portrayal of the nocturnal raid on the Charleston post office by a mob of citizens and the burning of abolitionist mails found there in July 1835. Mail sacks are handed through a forced window of the ransack... More
A Democratic voter. Book illustration from Library of Congress
The artist satirizes the split in party loyalties between the Locofoco and Tammany factions of New York City Democrats. In particular he belittles the Irish immigrants widely recruited by the party at the time... More
Whig bazaar - Political cartoon, public domain image
Publd. by H.R. Robinson, 52 Cortlandt St. N-York. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1837 by H.R. Robinson, in the Clerks Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern Distr... More
Loco Foco scramble for collectors licenses
Democratic patronage in New York is parodied in a scene of Loco Foco drivers or carmen rushing for cab licenses distributed by recently appointed collector of the port, Democratic stalwart Jesse Hoyt. Hoyt repl... More
Progress of reform!!! No. 1 - Political cartoon, public domain image
A scene in New York, outside the gates of City Hall Park. Two well-dressed men with top hats overturn the table of two apple-women. One of the men (from all appearances a Loco Foco radical Democrat) shouts at t... More
The Democratic funeral of 1848 - Political cartoon, public domain imag...
Foreseeing political death for the Democrats in the election, the artist imagines a funeral of the party's standard-bearers with a procession of the faithful. Democratic senators (left to right) Sam Houston of ... More
Scene in a New Hampshire court.--General Pierce examining a witness. S...
Two humorous incidents supposedly from the life of Franklin Pierce. On the left, a repartee wherein Pierce, the distinguished trial lawyer, is embarrassed by an ignorant witness. Armed with pages of notes, Pie... More
Loco Foco hunters treeing a candidate
A satire on the Democrats' or "Loco Focos'" 1852 pursuit of Franklin Pierce for the presidential nomination. At the foot of the White Mountains in the "Dismal Swamp," an immense, swampy region of North Carolina... More
Jeff Davis on the right platform, or the last "act of secession"
A caricature of Jefferson Davis, probably issued not long after the bombardment of Fort Sumter, but certainly postdating his February 1861 election as president of the Confederacy. Davis is shown standing on a ... More
The Southern Confederacy a fact!!! Acknowledged by a might prince and ...
A biting vilification of the Confederacy, representing it as a government in league with Satan. From left to right are: "Mr. Mob Law Chief Justice," a well-armed ruffian carrying a pot of tar; Secretary of Stat... More
The old general ready for a "movement"
Confident Union propaganda from the summer of 1861, claiming dominance over Confederate troops led by generals P. G. T. Beauregard and Gideon Pillow. Union commander Winfield Scott sits on a mound in the cente... More
No more elbow room in Missouri! : Kein Ellbogen Raum mehr in Missouri
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1866, by Peter M. Pain in the Clerk's office of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Title appears as it is written on the item. Forms p... More
The Presidential fishing party of 1848
The cartoonist takes a dim view of all but Zachary Taylor's chances for the presidency in his commentary on the election campaign of 1848. The candidates fish from opposing banks of a river filled with fish bea... More
A serviceable garment--or reverie of a bachelor
Democratic presidential candidate James Buchanan is depicted as a poor bachelor in his squalid quarters. Though indeed a confirmed bachelor, Buchanan in reality was hardly needy. After serving as American minis... More
Jeff's last skedaddle off to the last ditch
Signed in stone: F. Welcker. Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress) Exhibited: "The Civil War in America" at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 2012-2013.
A bad egg. Fuss and feathers - Political cartoon, public domain image
Whig presidential candidate Winfield Scott is pictured as a fighting cock with human attributes. The cock wears fringed military epaulets, a sword, spurs, and a plumed hat. He is just emerged from an egg marked... More
Pilgrims' progress. Book illustration from Library of Congress
Democratic party war-horse Andrew Jackson appears frequently in the satires of the 1844 election campaign. Here, wearing a long frock coat and tall hat, he leads a donkey carrying Democratic candidates Polk and... More
Arms of ye Confederacie, Confederate States of America.
A small card bearing a vitriolic indictment of the Confederacy. The artist particularly attacks the the institution of slavery, the foundation of Southern economy. A large shield is flanked by two figures: a pl... More
"The impending crisis"--Or caught in the act
The print's title derives from the name of Hinton Rowan Helper's 1857 pamphlet "The Impending Crisis," an influential document in antislavery literature. Here the crisis is that of New York senator William H. S... More
The great footrace for the presidential purse (100,000 and picking) ov...
Satire on the presidential election of 1852, showing Winfield Scott, Daniel Webster, and Franklin Pierce competing in a footrace before a crowd of onlookers for a $100,000 prize (the four-year salary for a pres... More
Congressional pugilists - Engraving, Public domain image
A crude portrayal of a fight on the floor of Congress between Vermont Representative Matthew Lyon and Roger Griswold of Connecticut. The row was originally prompted by an insulting reference to Lyon on Griswold... More
Abraham's dream!--"Coming events cast their shadows before"
The artist portrays a President tormented by nightmares of defeat in the election of 1864. The print probably appeared late in the campaign. (The Library's copy was deposited for copyright on September 22.) Lin... More
The people's line--Take care of the locomotive
Incumbent President Martin Van Buren drives "Uncle Sam's Cab," a carriage pulled by a blindered horse, which wrecks on a pile of "Clay." The carriage founders in the path of a locomotive, really an assemblage o... More
Social qualities of our candidate, Political Cartoon
Reports of his alcoholism haunted Democratic candidate Franklin Pierce during the 1852 campaign. The matter is taken up here with mocking reference to the Maine Liquor Law of 1851, a landmark prohibition measur... More
Letting the cat out of the bag!!
A figurative portrayal of the rift within the Republican party resulting from the nomination of Abraham Lincoln for the presidency in 1860. Here New York senator and would-be nominee William H. Seward watches a... More
Practical illustration of the Fugitive Slave Law / E.C. del.
A satire on the antagonism between Northern abolitionists on the one hand, and Secretary of State Daniel Webster and other supporters of enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Here abolitionist William ... More
Managing a candidate - Print, Library of Congress collection
A caustic portrayal of the abolitionist Whigs' manipulation of Winfield Scott during the 1852 campaign. Influential Whigs (left to right) New York "Times" editor Henry J. Raymond, "Tribune" editor Horace Greele... More
Parody. 605,000 sour grapes - Public domain book illustration
An illustrated broadside pertaining to the controversy surrounding settlement of the State of New York's War of 1812 financial claims against former governor Daniel D. Tompkins. It was established that the ex-g... More
A minister extraordinary taking passage & bound on a foreign mission t...
The second of two prints surrounding the scandalous trial of Methodist minister Ephraim K. Avery for the brutal murder of factory girl Sarah Maria Cornell. (See "A Very Bad Man," no. 1833-13). Contrary to Weite... More
Uncle Sam sick with la grippe - Drawing. Public domain image.
A satire attributing the dire fiscal straits of the nation to Andrew Jackson's banking policies, with specific reference to recent bank failures in New Orleans, New York, and Philadelphia. The artist blames th... More
Expansion & contraction. Book illustration from Library of Congress
A ludicrous contrast of two influential Democrats, the obese Alabama Representative Dixon Hall Lewis and gaunt "Globe" editor Francis Preston Blair. The artist comments upon the unlikely alliance established in... More
The political dancing Jack: a holiday fift for sucking Whigs!!
A rare anti-Whig satire, giving a cynical view of the party's image-building and manipulation of candidate William Henry Harrison. Two influential Whigs, Senator Henry Clay (left) and Congressman Henry A. Wise,... More
Democratic simplicity or the arrival of our favourite son
A satirical attack on alleged excesses in the Van Buren administration and on the President's Loco Foco or radical Democratic supporters in New York. Martin Van Buren rides past New York's Tammany Hall in a lu... More
The North Bend farmer and his visitors
A slanderous portrayal of Democratic tactics against Whig presidential candidate William Henry Harrison. The supposedly insidious and high-living Van Buren and his minions suffer by comparison to the Whig cand... More
Virtuous Harry, or set a thief to catch a thief!
A satire on the Whig party's anti-annexation platform. The question of whether or not to annex Texas was a large issue separating candidates in the 1844 campaign. Annexation's serious implications for the futur... More
The organ kicked out - Public domain book illustration, Library of Con...
The Senate's February 1847 resolution barring reporters and editors of the "Washington Union" from the Senate floor and gallery was the basis for the artist's demeaning portrayal of the newspaper's powerful edi... More
Who's dat knockin' at de door? - Political cartoon, public domain imag...
Signed in plate: Hinckley. Title appears as it is written on the item. Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)
Fording Salt River. Book illustration from Library of Congress
An election-year satire favoring Free Soil candidate Martin Van Buren in the 1848 presidential contest. A long-legged John Van Buren carries his father piggyback through Salt River, heading toward the White Ho... More
A dish of "black turtle" - Political cartoon, public domain image
The cartoonist mocks the opportunism evident in Winfield Scott's endorsement of both the abolitionist cause and the Missouri Compromise. Scott, in military uniform, is seated at a table with a plate of soup be... More
Quartette from the new opera of the "Whig celebration at Lundy's Lane....
Winfield Scott's controversial performance as commander in the War of 1812 battle at Lundy's Lane turned to account by the artist in this parody of the general's candidacy in 1852. The battle of Lundy's Lane ag... More
I am glad, I am out of the scrape!
An optimistic Unionist boast, issued early in Lincoln's presidency, predicting the summary defeat of the Confederacy. Abraham Lincoln (at left) stands over the shield of the United States and a bald eagle, and ... More
The pending contest. Although all Copperheads call themselves Democra...
A variant of "The Pending Conflict" (no. 1863-10), evidently issued at about the same time (and deposited for copyright on the same date). Significant alterations here include: the "Neutrality" band has been re... More
An heir to the throne, or the next Republican candidate
The Republicans' purported support of Negro rights is taken to an extreme here. Editor Horace Greeley (left) and candidate Abraham Lincoln (resting his elbow on a rail at right) stand on either side of a short ... More
Union soldiers in Andersonville prison / The rebel leader, Jeff Davis,...
Published by King & Baird, Printers, Philadelphia. Signed in block: Th. Nast. Title appears as it is written on the item. Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress) Exhibited in: ... More
A bad egg. Fuss and feathers - Drawing. Public domain image.
Whig presidential candidate Winfield Scott is pictured as a fighting cock with human attributes. The cock wears fringed military epaulets, a sword, spurs, and a plumed hat. He is just emerged from an egg marked... More
The presidential sweepstakes of 1844. Preparing to start
Again, the race motif is used to parody election-year rivalries. (See "Footrace, Pensylvania Avenue," no. 1844-41). Here the artist portrays the candidates as horses, lining up before a stand from which several... More
The laying of the cable---John and Jonathan joining hands / W & P.
A crude but engaging picture, celebrating the goodwill between Great Britain and the United States generated by the successful completion of the Atlantic telegraph cable between Newfoundland and Valentia Bay (I... More
Johnny Bull and the Alexandrians / Wm Charles, Ssc.
The citizens of Alexandria, Virginia, are ridiculed in this scene for their lack of serious resistance against the British seizure of the city in 1814. At left two frightened gentlemen kneel with hands folded,... More
Can you rest one hand on the sacred altar of Liberty, and with the oth...
A strongly pro-Van Buren cartoon, espousing the antislavery platform of the Free Soil party and condemning Whigs and conservative Democrats alike. The artist also reflects the lingering bitterness among many De... More
An available candidate--the one qualification for a Whig president
Political cartoon showing man in military uniform, with epaulets and plumed hat, holding sword and seated on pile of skulls. A scathing attack on Whig principles, as embodied in their selection of a presidentia... More
Congressional scales. A true balance, Political Cartoon
A satire on President Zachary Taylor's attempts to balance Southern and Northern interests on the question of slavery in 1850. Taylor stands atop a pair of scales, with a weight in each hand; the weight on the ... More
Practical illustration of the Fugitive Slave Law / E.C. del.
A satire on the antagonism between Northern abolitionists on the one hand, and Secretary of State Daniel Webster and other supporters of enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Here abolitionist William ... More
A boxing match, or another bloody nose for John Bull / W. Charles, del...
The artist gloats over naval losses suffered by England early in the War of 1812, in particular the defeat of the warship "Boxer" by the American frigate "Enterprise" in September 1813. King George III stands ... More
"Let every one take care of himself" (As the Jack ass said when he was...
A satire attacking Andrew Jackson's plan to distribute treasury funds, formerly kept in the Bank of the United States, among "branch banks" in various states. The artist also alleges Vice-President Van Buren's ... More
Joseph E. Baker - The "rail splitter" at work repairing the union
Cartoon print shows Vice President Andrew Johnson sitting atop a globe, attempting to stitch together the map of the United States with needle and thread. Abraham Lincoln stands, right, using a split rail to po... More
The national game. Three "outs" and one "run"
A pro-Lincoln satire, deposited for copyright weeks before the 1860 presidential election. The contest is portrayed as a baseball game in which Lincoln has defeated (left to right) John Bell, Stephen A. Douglas... More
!["The government." No. 1, [Eye] take the responsibility](https://cache.getarchive.net/Prod/thumb/cdn4/L3Bob3RvLzE4MzQvMDEvMDEvdGhlLWdvdmVybm1lbnQtbm8tMS1leWUtdGFrZS10aGUtcmVzcG9uc2liaWxpdHktNjQwLmpwZw%3D%3D/40/30/webp "\"The government.\" No. 1, [Eye] take the responsibility")
"The government." No. 1, [Eye] take the responsibility
A satire on Andrew Jackson's "Kitchen Cabinet," the pejorative name given his informal circle of close advisors. The print appeared during the heated controversy incited by Jackson's discontinuation of federal ... More
Executive mercy/Marcy and the Bambers
An attack on New York governor William L. Marcy's controversial decision to surrender Irish fugitives John Bamber, Sr., and his son James to the British consul after their detention in New York. The Bambers, wa... More
Loco Foco persecution, or custom house, versus caricatures
A satire on the publisher's own troubles with the Democratic establishment in New York. In his print shop Henry R. Robinson is confronted by an unidentified man (center, arms crossed) who says, "I am determined... More
Abolition frowned down. Book illustration from Library of Congress
A satire on enforcement of the "gag-rule" in the House of Representatives, prohibiting discussion of the question of slavery. Growing antislavery sentiment in the North coincided with increased resentment by so... More
Loco Foco consternation or the orful kat-ass-trophe
Another satire on the Glentworth scandal controversy, by the same artist as "The Last Card," "Evenhanded Justice," and "O. K." (nos. 1840-60, -62, and -63). Here the artist lampoons Democratic efforts to sensat... More
O'Connell's call and Pat's reply, Political Cartoon
A condemnation of Daniel O'Connell's agitation of Irish immigrants in the United States against slavery. The artist, certainly E.W. Clay, presents a loaded contrast between turbulent conditions in Ireland and t... More
Ornithology - Engraving, Public domain image, Political Cartoon
A mild election-year cartoon portraying Whig presidential candidate Winfield Scott (left) as a turkey and Democrat Franklin Pierce (right) as a gamecock. The two face each other from opposite sides of "Mason &... More
The folly of secession, Confederate States of America.
South Carolina struggles against the outgoing Buchanan administration in an attempt to "smash the Union up!" The artist uses the age-old pictorial conceit of two parties pulling on the different ends of a cow, ... More
The Chicago platform / Th. Nast., Confederate States of America.
A deceptive broadside, ostensibly a pro-McClellan campaign piece but actually a piercing attack on the Democratic platform. In the center is a portrait of Democratic presidential candidate George B. McClellan... More
Total destruction of the Democratic platform / terrible shipwreck and ...
Title appears as it is written on the item. Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)
Breaking that "backbone", Confederate States of America.
A figurative commentary on Northern efforts to end the rebellion during the early years of the Civil War. Confederate President Jefferson Davis (far left) displays "the Great Southern Gyascutis," a dog-like mon... More
The meeting at Saratoga. "Like boxers thus before the fight, their ha...
The second of two prints by "HD" portraying scenes from President Van Buren's visit to the resort at Saratoga Springs, New York, during the summer of 1839. (See also "The Cut Direct," no. 1839-3.) The satire co... More
The Radical Party on a heavy grade / J.M. Ives, del. ; on stone by Cam...
An election-year cartoon, predicting the victory of former New York governor Horatio Seymour in the presidential race. Here, Seymour's head hovers, glowing, above the White House, complacently watching a group ... More
The balls are rolling - clear the track
A Republican boast, showing Fillmore (left) and Buchanan crushed by an electoral flood of giant balls inscribed with the names of northern and western states. Strewn on the ground around Fillmore and Buchanan a... More
The Tory mill. The original genuine experiment is published this day
A crude and unusually large woodcut, employing the metaphor of a mill to portray the spoils system under the Democrats (or "Tories" as they were labeled by the Whig press). The print may attack Andrew Jackson'... More
The rats leaving a falling house
A simpler and less animated composition on the same general idea as Edward W. Clay's ".00001" (no. 1831-1). Again Jackson is seated in a collapsing chair, with the "Altar of Reform" toppling next to him, and ra... More
![Columbia teaching John Bull his new lesson / S[amuel] Kennedy, del. ; Wm Charles, Sculp.](https://cache.getarchive.net/Prod/thumb/cdn18/L3Bob3RvLzIwMTkvMTEvMTUvY29sdW1iaWEtdGVhY2hpbmctam9obi1idWxsLWhpcy1uZXctbGVzc29uLXNhbXVlbC1rZW5uZWR5LWRlbC13bS1jaGFybGVzLXNjdWxwLTAwNTliZi02NDAuanBn/40/29/webp "Columbia teaching John Bull his new lesson / S[amuel] Kennedy, del. ; Wm Charles, Sculp.")
Columbia teaching John Bull his new lesson / S[amuel] Kennedy, del. ; ...
A War of 1812 satire on Anglo-American and Franco-American relations. England's "lesson" is about the seriousness of American determination to maintain freedom on the high seas, while France is warned of Yanke... More
Loco Foco expresses, arriving at Washington
A satiric commentary on the effects of the landslide Whig victory in New York state elections in the autumn of 1838. President Van Buren (left) greets two of his defeated allies: incumbent governor William L. M... More
Jeff. Davis in prison, Confederate States of America.
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1865 by Gibson & Co. in the Clerks Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of Ohio. Inscribed in ink below title: Filed June ... More
United States slave trade, 1830 - Public domain engraving
An abolitionist print possibly engraved in 1830, but undocumented aside from the letterpress text which appears on an accompanying sheet. The text reads: "United States' slave trade, 1830. The Copper Plate from... More
On the way to Araby! - Political cartoon, public domain image
Satire on the Jackson administration's continuing battle against the Bank of the United States. The print was specifically occasioned by the re-chartering of the Bank by the Whig-controlled Pennsylvania Legisla... More
Machines for the new pay-tent office
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1838, by H.R. Robinson, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York. Printed & published by H.R. Rob... More
Animal magnetism - A cartoon of a man sitting in a chair talking to an...
A swipe at President Van Buren's independent treasury system and his continuation of the monetary policies of predecessor Andrew Jackson. The artist, clearly in sympathy with the Whigs, links corruption in the ... More
Matty taking his second bath in Salt River
A satire published before the Democratic convention, predicting would-be presidential nominee Martin Van Buren's second "bath in Salt River" (the first one being his unsuccessful bid for reelection in 1840). O... More
Political cock fighters. Book illustration from Library of Congress
A figurative portrayal of the 1844 presidential contest as a cock-fight, in which Whig candidate Henry Clay prevails. Clay and Democratic opponent Polk battle in a pit or ring as several prominent political fi... More
Ultimatum on the Oregon question, Political Cartoon
In his typically jingoist view of Polk's handling of the Oregon question, the artist Edward Williams Clay belittles the self-interested attitudes of Europe toward the dispute. The issue of whether to settle the... More
Grand Presidential sweep-stakes for 1849
The Free Soil sympathies of the cartoonist are evident in his portrayal of the 1848 presidential contest as a race between the three major candidates. The contenders are on the course. Whig candidate Zachary T... More
Political guillotine. Book illustration from Library of Congress
A cryptic satire critical of Lewis Cass and incumbent President James K. Polk. The work probably appeared prior to the Whig national convention (June 9-10), since reference is made to a Clay-Fillmore ticket. (T... More
Eclipse & no eclipse or two views of one object
Two scenes showing the differing perceptions of Franklin Pierce's stand on the issue of slavery, as viewed by the North and South. The cartoon is divided vertically by "Mason & Dixon's Line." An arrow identifie... More
Ye conference. "Not any we thank you Mr. Davis"
Jefferson Davis's diplomatic overtures to France and Great Britain fail in an imaginary scene at court. Davis (right) bows before French ruler Napoleon III, extending toward him a tray of "bonds." Davis holds a... More
Candidates from the exempt brigade, Political Cartoon
A grim commentary on the extraordinary measures taken by some Americans to evade military service during the Civil War. A man in shirtsleeves (center) has just had his right hand mutilated by a woman who stands... More
The four years contract and its progress
One of three anti-Lincoln satires published by Nichols in Boston at around the same time. (It was deposited for copyright on June 30, 1863, along with "Oppression!! Suppressing the Press" and "The Great America... More
Union and liberty! And union and slavery!
An anti-McClellan broadside, contrasting Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln's advocacy of equality and free labor in the North to Democratic opponent McClellan's alleged support of the Southern slave system. ... More
Abe linking with his significantly named cabinet
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1864 by M.E. Goodwin in the Clerk's Off. in the Dist. Court of the United States for the Southern Dist. of N.Y. Designed by R.D. Goodwin. Title appears as it is ... More
Finding the last ditch--Running the "head" of Secession "into the grou...
Union soldier, followed by African American in broken chains, hurls Jefferson Davis (dressed as a woman) who drops a bag of "stolen gold" over the edge of a cliff; Satan waits below the cliff with a pitchfork. ... More
"As yet, I have found no difficulty in standing upon my own platform"
A puzzling caricature, probably dealing with Reconstruction under Andrew Johnson's administration. The work is quite crudely drawn. An acrobat, with mustache and sideburns and wearing a jester's cap, holds in ... More
An august convention - Political cartoon, public domain image
The National Union Convention met in Philadelphia in August 1866 to create a political party that would back President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction program and to elect a new Congress. Here, the convention ... More
Grant to Hayes - I guess that reform bait wont work this side. Better ...
A crude but charming comic send-up of 1876 Republican campaign strategy. Democratic candidate Samuel J. Tilden and an unidentified man stand fishing on the left bank of a river, their basket overflowing with th... More
Jeff's last skedaddle off to the last ditch
Signed in stone: F. Welcker. Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress) Exhibited: "The Civil War in America" at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 2012-2013.
Con-g-ss embark'd on board the ship Constitution of America bound to C...
In July 1790 Congress decided to move the seat of the federal government from its original site in New York to Washington, with Philadelphia as an interim capital. The unidentified satirist gives a cynical view... More
A scene on the frontiers as practiced by the "humane" British and thei...
Charles denounces British and Indian depredations on the American frontier during the War of 1812, alluding specifically to the practice of offering bounties for American scalps. The cartoon may have been prom... More
Uncle Sam's pet pups! Or, Mother Bank's last refuge
A crude woodcut satire showing Harrison luring "Mother Bank," Jackson, and Van Buren into a barrel of "Hard Cider." Jack Downing chases Jackson and Van Buren toward the barrel as Mother Bank crawls into it. Whi... More