Present Presidential position. Book illustration from Library of Congr...
Once again Polk's handling of the Oregon territorial dispute between the United States and Great Britain is criticized. (See "Polk's Dream" and "War! or No War!" nos. 1846-2 and 1846-4). Here the artist seems t... More
The would-be mayor preparing to quell a riot
A disparaging portrayal of New York Tammany Democrats and their candidate for mayor in the April 1837 municipal elections. Here the angular, aristocratic candidate John J. Morgan presents a striking contrast to... More
The three mares/mayors, New York course, spring races, 1838
A satire on the 1838 New York mayoralty contest, here shown as a horse race between (left to right) Whig candidate Aaron Clark, Democrat Richard Riker, and Loco Foco Democrat Isaac L. Varian. Clark is clearly i... More
The almighty lever. Book illustration from Library of Congress
E. W. Clay's apocalyptic allegory has public opinion as a giant lever, tilting decisively in favor of the Whigs late in the presidential campaign of 1840. In a symbolic landscape masses of people climb onto the... More
The last card. Tip overthrown - Public domain book illustration
A satire on the controversy surrounding charges of election fraud against New York State tobacco inspector James B. Glentworth and other Whigs during the election of 1838. The allegations were made two years l... More
Specie claws. Book illustration from Library of Congress
A melodramatic portrayal of the plight of the tradesman during the Panic of 1837, whose financial distress the artist ascribes to Loco Foco politics and the effects of the Specie Circular, or "Specie Clause." T... 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
Evenhanded justice of the breaking up of the star chamber
Another in the series of "Spoodlyks's" satires on the Glentworth affair. (See also nos. 1840-60, -61, and -63). Here the artist portrays Glentworth's attempt to remove evidence in the vote fraud inquiry from t... More
O.K. - Political cartoon, public domain image
A postelection Whig satire, "Respectfully dedicated to the members of the Eighth Ward Tippecanoe Club and inscribed to their Patriotic Chairman Charles H. Delavan, Esqr." The artist shows a crowd of Whigs assem... More
The two bridges - Political cartoon, public domain image
As in "Texas Coming In" (no. 1844-28), a bridge over Salt River is the central motif, making the difference between the Whigs' successful crossing to the "Presidential Chair" and the disastrous route taken by t... More
Loco Foco triumphal honors - Public domain book illustration, Library ...
A mock triumphal procession ridiculing "Loco Foco" or radical Democratic support of candidates James K. Polk and George M. Dallas. The Loco Focos are portrayed as ragged Irishmen, carrying the two candidates on... More
Balloon ascension to the presidential chair
Reflecting Whig preelection confidence in the campaign of 1844, the artist portrays that party's ascendancy over the Democrats in the race for the presidency. Bucholzer uses the metaphor of a hot-air balloon ra... 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
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
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
The death of locofocoism - Political cartoon, public domain image
In his satire Johnston celebrates the defeat of "Loco Foco," i.e., radical Democratic interests, in the presidential election of 1840. The "Loco Focos" were the largely working-class constituency who supported... More
Major Joe Bunker's last parade, or the fix of a senator and his 700 in...
Democratic senator Nathaniel P. Tallmadge of New York was the leader of the conservative or pro-Bank Democrats. Here Clay satirizes Tallmadge's attempts to undermine party support for Van Buren's hard money fis... More
The masked battery or Loco-Foco strategy
Another commentary on the Texas question (see "Texas Coming In," no. 1844-28), illustrating Democratic campaign strategy as advanced by Andrew Jackson. The idea of the annexation of Texas, repudiated by many of... More
Specie claws - Public domain dedication image
A melodramatic portrayal of the plight of the tradesman during the Panic of 1837, whose financial distress the artist ascribes to Loco Foco politics and the effects of the Specie Circular, or "Specie Clause." T... More
The little magician invoked - Public domain book scan / drawing
Martin Van Buren, known as "the Little Magician" for his remarkable political agility, summons spirits to divine the Democratic or "Loco Foco" prospects for election in 1844. He sits in an astrological circle, ... More
How to make the mare/Mayor go - Public domain book illustration, Libra...
Another satire on the 1838 New York mayoral contest, this time suggesting collusion between Whig candidate and incumbent mayor Aaron Clark and conservative Democrat Richard Riker. Here Clark sits on his stalled... More
Not a drum was heard nor a funeral note . . .
The erosion of Democratic support for presidential hopeful Martin Van Buren is portrayed as the funeral of "the Kinderhook fox." The print was deposited for copyright on May 22, 1844, one week before the Democr... 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
Loco Foco expresses. Book illustration from Library of Congress
A commentary on the Whigs' disappointment of "Loco Foco" Democratic expectations in the New York municipal elections of spring 1838. Successful Whig mayoral candidate Aaron Clark holds two horses by their tails... More
The mountain in labor - Public domain book illustration, Library of Co...
The artist employs Aesop's fable about the mountain which was said to be in labor, its dreadful groans attracting expectant crowds only to be disappointed when it issued forth a small mouse. Here the mountain i... More
A gone case. A scene in Wall-Street
A comic scene representing two New York city political factions, the Whigs and the radical Democrats (or "Loco Focos"), as scuffling newsboys. The scene takes place before the half-built Customs House, where se... More
Going to Texas after the election of 1844
A comic scene anticipating a Whig victory in the upcoming presidential election. The date is 1845, after an election supposedly decided on the Texas question, the tariff issue, and Democratic identification wi... More
Sale of dogs - Political cartoon, public domain image
Seeking a middle course between the issues of the annexation of Texas on one hand and abolitionism on the other, Van Buren lost the support of southern Democrats, including elderly statesman Andrew Jackson. Her... More
The death of old Tammany and his wife Loco Foco
A satirical view of the heavy losses suffered by Loco Foco and Tammany factions of the New York City Democratic party in the municipal elections of April 1837. The vote brought about not only the defeat of Tam... More
The ship of state on a lee shore, experienced hands coming to her res...
The artist forecasts a Whig electoral victory and dramatizes the politically ruinous effects of Van Buren's fiscal policy and his alignment with Loco Foco forces in New York. Whig candidate William Henry Harri... More
Balloon ascension to the presidential chair
Reflecting Whig preelection confidence in the campaign of 1844, the artist portrays that party's ascendancy over the Democrats in the race for the presidency. Bucholzer uses the metaphor of a hot-air balloon ra... More