| Creator |
Clay, Edward Williams, 1799-1857, lithographer. |
| Contributor |
Robinson, Henry R., -1850, publisher. |
| Title |
The great American steeple chase for 1844. [graphic] / E. |
| Publisher |
New York : [H.R. Robinson 142 Nassau St. Lithy. in all its branches] |
| Publisher |
N.Y. New York. 1843 |
| Date |
1843 |
| Physical Description |
1 print : lithograph ; sheet 32 x 47 cm (12.5 x 18.5 in.) |
| Description |
Cartoon depicting the presidential election of 1844 as a steeple chase race to the White House. Henry Clay, guided by the
American eagle as he laments about the death of Harrison, leads the chase atop his half-horse/half-alligator mount. He is
followed by: Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster, uneager to leave his cooking cauldron of "Chowder"; South Carolina Senator
John C. Calhoun, astride his "nullification Coota Turtle," which is stuck in a "Clay Bank"; former President Van Buren, on
a fox, taking a "crooked and dirty" shortcut to avoid Calhoun; an "Old Solider," possibly James K. Polk attempting to "turn"
his donkey to the "right way"; Richard M. Johnson, who has fallen off of his "old amalgamation nag," an allusion to his controversial
multiracial wife; and a fallen man, possibly abolitionist Supreme Court Justice John McLean, wishing that he had a drop of
"Democratic blood to let out." In the background, General Winfield Scott, astride a horse, and Commodore Charles Stewart,
who sails a boat, discuss their lack of desire to be president. Inside the White House, Richard Tyler, a scroll inscribed
"Irish Repeal" in his pocket, shakes and warns his sleeping father of the approaching "Philistines." Tyler responds smugly
that he will be re-elected or "veto the whole concern," an allusion to his excessive use of the veto to stop the establishment
of another national bank.
|
| Is referenced by |
Weitenkampf, p. 72 |
|
Reilly, 1843-8 |
| Notes |
Title from item. |
|
Date from copyright statement: Entered according to an act of Congress in the year 1843 by H. R. Robinson in the clerk's office
in the District court for the Sc District of N.Y.
|
|
Artist's initial lower left corner. |
|
Publication information supplied by Reilly. |
|
LCP copy trimmed. |
|
Described in Nancy Reynolds Davison's E.W. Clay: American political caricaturist in the Jacksonian era (PhD diss., The University
of Michigan, 1980), p. 249-50.
|
|
Purchase 1958. |
|
Description revised 2021. |
|
Access points revised 2021. |
|
Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the
Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom
Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
|
| Subject |
Calhoun, John C. (John Caldwell), 1782-1850 -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
Clay, Henry, 1777-1852 -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
Johnson, Richard M. (Richard Mentor), 1780-1850 -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
McLean, John, 1785-1861 -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
Polk, James K. (James Knox), 1795-1849 -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
Scott, Winfield, 1786-1866, |
|
Stewart, Charles, 1778-1869 -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
Tyler, John, 1790-1862 -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
Tyler, Robert, 1816-1877 -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
Van Buren, Martin, 1782-1862 -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
Webster, Daniel, 1782-1852 -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
Animals -- Symbolic aspects. |
|
Horse racing -- United States. |
|
Miscegenation -- United States. |
|
Presidential elections -- United States -- 1844. |
|
Vetoes. |
|
Multiracial personal relationship. |
| Genre |
Lithographs -- 1840-1850. |
|
Political cartoons -- 1840-1850. |
| Printer |
Robinson, Henry R., -1850, publisher. |
| Location |
Library Company of Philadelphia| Print Department| political cartoons - 1843-8 [6264.F] |
| Accession number |
6264.F |
