Pilgrims' progress - Political cartoon, public domain image
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
![Riot in Philadelphia, June [i.e. July] 7th 1844 / H. Bucholzer.](https://cache.getarchive.net/Prod/thumb/cdn18/L3Bob3RvLzIwMTkvMTEvMjIvcmlvdC1pbi1waGlsYWRlbHBoaWEtanVuZS1pZS1qdWx5LTd0aC0xODQ0LWgtYnVjaG9semVyLWM4YjdjYy02NDAuanBn/40/26/webp "Riot in Philadelphia, June [i.e. July] 7th 1844 / H. Bucholzer.")
Riot in Philadelphia, June [i.e. July] 7th 1844 / H. Bucholzer.
Tensions built up in 1844 when the Roman Catholic bishop persuaded school officials to use both the King James and Latin Vulgate bibles. Protestant mobs burned two Catholic churches on May 7, 1844. On July 7, 1... 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
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
Footrace, Pennsylvania Avenue. Stakes $25,000, Political Cartoon
The race for a $25,000 prize (the president's salary) is a metaphor for the 1844 campaign. The favored contender here is Henry Clay. The other runners are James K. Polk and John Tyler, while commentaries are of... More
Uncle Sam and his servants - Political cartoon, public domain image
An anti-Tyler satire, lampooning the incumbent's efforts to secure a second term against challengers Henry Clay and James Polk. With his shoulder to the door Tyler bars the entry of (left to right) John C. Cal... 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
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
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
The fox hunt. Book illustration from Library of Congress
Again Van Buren's flirtation with radical interests is portrayed as his downfall. As in "The Modern Colossus" (no. 1848-56) antislavery activist Abby Folsom (here "Abby Fulsome") is prominently featured. Here s... More
Whig harmony - Political cartoon, public domain image
A severe split within the Whig ranks, between partisans of Henry Clay and those of Zachary Taylor, preceded the party's convention in June 1848. Here Horace Greeley, one of Clay's most influential northern supp... More
Questioning a candidate - Political cartoon, public domain image
Zachary Taylor's stubborn resistance to declaring his views on the major political issues during his candidacy in the 1848 presidential campaign was a favorite theme of the opposition. Here Taylor, in uniform, ... More
Polk in his extremity - Political cartoon, public domain image
Henry Clay's easy ascent to the presidency here is in contrast to the serious difficulties experienced by his Democratic opponent James K. Polk. Clay has reached the top of a large pole and has the "Civic Crow... 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
Fight between the Kentucky coon & the Tennessee alligator
A woodland fantasy satirizing the prominent figures of the 1844 election campaign. The artist again favors Whig candidate Henry Clay, the "Kentucky Coon," who is shown overwhelming Democrat James K. Polk, the ... 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
Sold for want of use - Public domain book illustration, Library of Con...
Bucholzer again uses animal characterizations to poke fun at the respective faults of prominent Democrats in the 1844 presidential race. In an interior, Whig nominee Henry Clay conducts a livestock auction, off... More
Texas coming in. Book illustration from Library of Congress
A pro-Democrat cartoon forecasting the collapse of Whig opposition to the annexation of Texas. James K. Polk, the expansionist candidate, stands at right near a bridge spanning "Salt River." He holds an America... More
Tyrants prostrate liberty triumphant, Political Cartoon
A polemic applauding Democratic support of the Dorrite cause in Rhode Island. (See also "Trouble in the Spartan Ranks," and "The Great Political Car and Last Load of Patriots," nos. 1843-6 and 1845-5). 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
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
Matty meeting the Texas question, Political Cartoon
A satire on the Democrats' approach to the delicate question of the annexation of Texas. In marked contrast to his portrayal of the issue as a beautiful woman in "Virtuous Harry" (no. 1844-27), the artist here ... More
Anti annexation procession. Book illustration from Library of Congress
A cynical look at the opposition to American annexation of Texas during the 1844 campaign. At the head of a motley procession is Whig candidate and professed anti-annexationist Henry Clay, riding a raccoon (wh... More
The blessings of liberty or how to "hook" a "gentleman of color"
A diverse group of abolitionists try to drag an unwilling black man toward the left with a large gaff hook. Holding the hook are (left to right) an old hag, a Quaker man, and two other homely men. The hag dec... More
![Riot in Philadelphia, June [i.e. July] 7th 1844 / H. Bucholzer.](https://cache.getarchive.net/Prod/thumb/cdn18/L3Bob3RvLzIwMTkvMTEvMjIvcmlvdC1pbi1waGlsYWRlbHBoaWEtanVuZS1pZS1qdWx5LTd0aC0xODQ0LWgtYnVjaG9semVyLTRlYTkxZC0xMDI0LmpwZw%3D%3D/40/29/webp "Riot in Philadelphia, June [i.e. July] 7th 1844 / H. Bucholzer.")
Riot in Philadelphia, June [i.e. July] 7th 1844 / H. Bucholzer.
Tensions built up in 1844 when the Roman Catholic bishop persuaded school officials to use both the King James and Latin Vulgate bibles. Protestant mobs burned two Catholic churches on May 7, 1844. On July 7, 1... More
Polk in his extremity - Public domain dedication image
Henry Clay's easy ascent to the presidency here is in contrast to the serious difficulties experienced by his Democratic opponent James K. Polk. Clay has reached the top of a large pole and has the "Civic Crow... More
Inklings of travel, up Salt River
A broad satire, ridiculing all of the candidates in the 1848 presidential campaign. Swimming up "Salt River" and pulling the "Salt River Barge" is fox Martin van Buren. Seated in the barge are (left to right):... More
Inklings of travel, up Salt River
A broad satire, ridiculing all of the candidates in the 1848 presidential campaign. Swimming up "Salt River" and pulling the "Salt River Barge" is fox Martin van Buren. Seated in the barge are (left to right):... More
A peep at the future - Public domain book illustration, Library of Con...
A Whig fantasy on the supposed outcome of the 1844 election. Here Henry Clay and Theodore Frelinghuysen occupy the White House. They watch from a window as John Tyler plays a hand organ and leads a group of mi... More
Jamie & the bishop - Political cartoon, public domain image
One of James Gordon Bennett's perennial editorial campaigns against the Catholic bishop of New York John Hughes is the subject of "Jamie & the Bishop." On the left Scottish-born "Jamie" Bennett, a quill pen beh... 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
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
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
Cleansing the Augean stable - Public domain book scan / drawing
A pro-Whig satire, envisioning the cleansing of the "Augean Stable" of government corruption by presidential candidate Henry Clay and other Whigs. The title derives from one of the twelve mythical labors of Her... More
Polk & Co. Going up Salt River - Public domain book illustration, Libr...
The artist foresees a Democratic defeat in the 1844 presidential election. Party figures Martin Van Buren, Thomas Hart Benton, vice-presidential candidate George M. Dallas, Andrew Jackson, and presidential nomi... More
The little magician & the modern witch of Endor
Another satire on Van Buren's alliance with extremists, here personified by radical abolitionist Abby Folsom. Van Buren's emergence as candidate of the Free Soil party in the 1848 presidential race was viewed a... More