The politician hides a bill marked "$100 bribe" behind his back, and he holds a bloodied knife marked "argument" in front of him. He stands at table with a contract on it. The border features a woman embracing a man; the pair resemble Commedia dell'arte characters. At the bottom is a pack of matches marked "Lucifer's matches.", Text: Oh! you're a political rough, rough, / With your bowie-knife, pistol, and bribe. / Now the ballot-box better can stuff, rough, / Than you and your elegant tribe. / And 't is you, who, unless I mistake, take / Proper measures for winning the trick, / And keep your own voters awake, wake, / By touching them with a sharp stick., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
Cartoon analogizing the victory of 1866 Radical Republican Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate John W. Geary with the Biblical story of Moses's passage of the Red Sea (Exodus) to signify the election result as a moral and political conquest over the Conservative Republicans who supported the policies of President Andrew Johnson. Shows Johnson as "Pharaoh," riding a chariot labeled "My Policy." His crown has been knocked off his head, and the sea rushes around the horse-drawn chariot. Conservative Republicans, including William Seward, are washed away around him. In the distance, "the people" trek across the land of "Pennsylvania" holding a "Geary and Victory" flag., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of views of Philadelphia.
Creator
Magee, John L.
Date
[ca. 1866]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1866 Des [(2) 1322.F.20]
