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- Title
- Jeff . Davis in prison
- Description
- Anti-Davis cartoon invoking the travesties at Confederate war prisons to satirize the incarcerated former Confederate president as a pompous, sniveling ingrate. Shows Davis, attired in a suit, and his feet shackled, in his cell, in front of a table containing his modest meal and complaining to the prison doctor. He bemoans his being unaccustomed to such living and that "you must order some more healthy food, or I shall starve to death." The doctor responds it is "good healthy food, such as our soldiers are fed on" and that their recent achievements prove it is "tolerably healthy." In the left, an older African American man cook, portrayed in racist caricature, announces in the vernacular "Massa Jeff! de dinner is ready." Two Union soldiers retort and reply "It's unhealthy is it! You didn't think that a pint of cornmeal was unhealthy when we were at Andersonville." The other angrily remembers "Rotten sowbelly and mouldy hard tacks was considered 'healthy food' when I was in "Libby" and Belle Island., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1865 by Gibson & Co. in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of Ohio., Purchase 2008., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., 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.
- Date
- 1865
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1865-Jef [P.2008.5.1]
- Title
- "I say Billy, do you know why I'm doing this? Cause, I'm going to run for Congress soon!"
- Description
- Satire belittling the increasing rights of African Americans following the Emancipation Proclamation and depicting a white shoe shine boy shining the shoes of an African American man, portrayed as a racist caricature of a Black dandy. On the street corner, the white boy shines the shoes of the African American man, attired in a top hat with a decorative band, a white collared shirt, a black bowtie, a plaid waistcoat, a checked jacket, striped pants, and black shoes. The shoe shiner speaks to another white boy, who is barefoot and attired in torn and worn clothes, "I say Billy, do you know why I'm doing this? Cause, I'm going to run for Congress soon!" In the left, a carriage passes by., Title from item., Date of publication supplied by Weitenkampf., Lib. Company. Annual Report, 1972, p. 63., Purchase 1972., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., 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.
- Creator
- Potomac, artist
- Date
- [1863?]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1863-13W [8033.F.3]
- Title
- How free ballot is protected!
- Description
- Racist cartoon accusing the Republican party of electoral fraud and obstructionism in the presidential election of 1864. Depicts a ballot office where an armed African American man, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in torn and worn clothing, prevents a disabled white Union soldier from voting for McClellan. In the left, the African American man holds a bayoneted rifle and says in the vernacular, "Hallo dar! You can't put in dat you copperhead traitor, nor any oder 'cept for Massa Lincoln!! [A copperhead refers to a Democrat who wanted peace with the South]. In the right, the Union veteran, attired in uniform, wears an eye patch and has an amputated left arm with an artificial limb and an amputated right leg. He leans on a crutch and holds a ballot reading "McClellan" in his right hand. He replies, "I am an American citizen and did not think I had fought and bled for this, alas my country!" In the background, election workers comment about the potential trouble and the need to ignore the situation., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Possible place of publication supplied by Reilly., RVCDC, Purchase 1960., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., 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., Baker was a New England etcher and lithographer who drew many Civil War caricatures.
- Creator
- Baker, Joseph E., approximately 1837-1914, artist
- Date
- [1864]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1864-35R [6395.F]
- Title
- Political caricature no.3. The abolition catastrophe, or the November smash-up
- Description
- Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1864 by Bromley & Co. New York in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York., Text printed on recto: Single Copies sent pr. mail post paid 25 cts; 5 Copies $1.00; 50 express $9.00; 100 $16.00. Express charges paid by purchaser. Address: Bromley & Co., Box 4265 New York City. Write your address: Post Office, County and State plainly., Third in a series of four., McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., 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., Cartoon criticizing the Republican's self-destructive support of abolitionism during the presidential election of 1864 depicting the "Union" train of Democrats steaming toward the White House passing the wrecked Republican train. Candidate George McClellan engineers the smooth running Democratic train powered by "Democracy" and adorned with the flag "Constitution." Several of the passengers including Horatio Seymour praise McClellan as others mock the Republican Party's demise. The Republican train has crashed into several rocks symbolic of the war including "Abolitionism," "Confiscation," and "Emancipation." The crash ejects Abraham Lincoln. Several African Americans, who are depicted in racist caricature and speak in the vernacular, are crushed and maimed. Tossed and injured prominent Republican passengers include Edwin Stanton; Horace Greeley; Henry Ward Beecher who holds an African American baby; Charles Sumner; William Seward; John McKeon; Benjamin Butler and Thurlow Weed; many of whom pray for help. "John Bull," Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, and France's Napoleon III observe and comment on the crash's effect on the puppet empire of Mexico. Another observer, recently resigned Secretary Salmon P. Chase, expresses relief that he left the Republican train in the "nick of time."
- Date
- 1864
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1864-39R [5793.F.2]
- Title
- The dis-united states. Or the Southern Confederacy
- Description
- Cartoon mocking the inherent dissension within the newly formed Confederacy depicting the Confederate state leaders as conniving self-opportunists led by the Governor of the first state to secede, South Carolina's Francis Pickens. Pickens, armed with a whip and pistol, is astride the back of an enslaved African American man on all fours, and demands as a "file leader," obedience from Stephen R. Mallory of Florida, William Yancey of Alabama, Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, Joseph Brown of Georgia, and an unidentified white man from Louisiana. The Confederates seated upon representations of their state interests (a wrecked hull, bales of cotton, and a barrel of sugar) ignore Pickens and demand acquiescence to their different state needs including coastal control, control of profits from the sale of cotton, and increased bonds and duties as compensation for separating from the Union., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Date of publication supplied by Reilly., Purchase 1964., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., 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.
- Creator
- Currier & Ives
- Date
- [1861]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1861-6R [6612.F]
- Title
- Scent to the legislature
- Description
- Racist cartoon expressing disdain for African Americans who were elected to office as a result of Reconstruction. Depicts a bust-length portrait of an African American man legislator, portrayed in racist caricature with grotesque features, attired in a white collared shirt, a plaid bowtie, a waistcoat, and a jacket, smiling. He is flanked by two white men legislators who hold their noses as though he had a bad "scent." Many African American legislators were targeted as the source of corruption in politics during the era., Title from item., Date of publication of 1868 is used as the content suggests that the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment has occurred. Weitenkampf suggests an earlier date of 1865 arguing that African Americans were elected to office during the early era of Reconstruction, Originally part of American political caricatures, likely a scrapbook, accessioned 1899. Collection primarily comprised of gifts from Samuel Breck, John A. McAllister, and James Rush., RVCDC, 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.
- Date
- [1868?]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1868 Sce [5760.F.117]
- Title
- Republican platform, or the political montebank
- Description
- Cartoon critical of the inequity of the 1868 Republican platform's post-war monetary policy. Depicts pensioners and bond holders witnessing Republican presidential nominee General Ulysses S. Grant, attired in his military uniform and spurs, balancing himself on a plank using a baton inscribed "U.S. Treasury" from which gold pieces shoot out from the one end as greenbacks (paper money without gold backing) shoot out from the other. The gold falls in the direction of the smug, well-dressed, white men bond holders who gladly accept such reimbursement for their government bonds. The greenbacks land on the pensioners, which include a white disabled veteran with an amputated arm and leg and a white, widowed mother with a baby who bitterly question such a form of payment for their war services. The plank is supported by a kneeling Horace Greeley, the New York Tribune editor, and a kneeling African American man, portrayed in racist caricature and speaking in the vernacular, "you as got to carry dis chile on dat platform, Massa Grant, too." Greeley warns that "we must not let this Election go by default, so hurry up you stump speakers.", Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to act of Congress by John McDermott in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York., Purchase 1958., RVCDC, 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.
- Date
- 1868
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1868-13W [6270.F]
- Title
- Fate of the radical party
- Description
- Cartoon predicting that the radical members of the Republican Party will be responsible for the party's defeat in the 1868 presidential election. Depicts a steaming locomotive in the shape of a bottle labeled "A Radical Cure - Lowell Bitters" in which Massachusetts representative Benjamin F. Butler is encased. The train heads toward the "Dutch Gap" being dug by incumbent Andrew Johnson holding a shovel of "Veto" dirt (reference to Johnson's numerous vetoes of radical reconstruction policies). Riding on and in the train are: Presidential nominee Ulysses S. Grant who smokes from the pipe-shaped train's smoke stack which is adorned with the head of an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature; Thaddeus Stevens as the engineer; and Vice-Presidential nominee Schuyler Colfax. On the tracks in the background, an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature, sits on a stool and writes atop the pedestal "Fame," and the "Constitutional Line" train proceeds to the White House "Depot.", Title from item., Date of publication supplied by Weitenkampf., Purchase 1979., RVCDC, 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.
- Date
- [1868]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1868-14w [P.8503]
- Title
- The precarious situation
- Description
- Cartoon addressing the tenuous position of Republican presidential nominee General Ulysses S. Grant as the candidate of a party whose radicals support African American civil rights and Reconstruction under military rule. Depicts Grant holding up a knife inscribed "military despotism" as he straddles the "radical platform" rope that is stretched across the "Salt River" (i.e., political disaster). One end of the rope is tied to a rifle labeled "military reconstruction." The other end is held by "Negro supremacy" depicted as an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature, barefooted, and attired in torn and worn clothes, who sits upon the tombstone of "Southern Confederacy." He asks in the vernacular, "Whar you be Massa Grant if I lef' go, yah! yah!!" Grant replies, "I'll fight it out if it takes all summer.", Title from item., Date of publication supplied by Weitenkampf., Accessioned 1979., RVCDC, 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.
- Date
- [1868]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1868-19aW [P.2275.3a]
- Title
- A " dodge" that won't work
- Description
- Satire of 1872 Liberal Republican presidential nominee Horace Greeley's attempt to court the African American vote despite his condemnation of civil rights policies under Reconstruction. Depicts Greeley with former Confederate President Jefferson Davis hovering behind him holding shackles and a whip (a reference to Greeley's partial payment of Davis' prison bond). Greeley asks the two African American men if they will vote for him, "Of course Sam and Ceasar, you’ll vote for me your old friend Horace Greely?" The men reply that they will vote for Ulysses Grant. "No Mr. Greely we can’t vote for you, for behind you we see Jeff Davis and behind him is the old lash and bondage." "We vote, as all true hearted colored men will vote; for Mr. Lincoln’s friend General Grant who conquered the rebellion & secured our freedom.", Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1872 by Currier & Ives in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington., Accessioned 1979., 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., John Cameron was a Scottish lithographer who worked for several years with the renowned New York lithographic firm Currier and Ives.
- Creator
- Cameron, John, approximately 1828-, lithographer
- Date
- 1872
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1872 - 6W [P.2275.2]
- Title
- The great November contest. Patriotism vs bummerism
- Description
- Racist cartoon depicting the 1868 Presidential Election as a carriage race between the "patriotic" Democrats and the "bum" Republicans who support Reconstruction. Depicts the elegant Democratic carriage with the banner "This is a White Man's Government" pulled by the horses with the heads of Horatio Seymour and Francis P. Blair racing passed the stalled Republican wagon steered by the asses with the heads of nominees Ulysses Grant and Schuyler Colfax. In the Democrats' carriage are four allegorical figures: Liberty, depicted as a white woman holding the Constitution and a banner which reads "Our Glorious Union Distinct, like the Billows, One, Like the Sea' This is a White Man's Government!"; Navigation, depicted as a white woman holding a miniature ship; Agriculture, depicted as a white woman holding sheaves of wheat and a scythe; and Labor, represented by a bearded white man with a hammer and flywheel. The Republican wagon passengers include radical Thaddeus Stevens, the grim reaper, and an African American man and woman couple, portrayed in racist caricature and speaking in the vernacular. Massachusetts Republican representative Benjamin F. Butler tries to push the stalled wagon passed the bones of those who paid "The Price of Nigger Freedom" and the rocks of "Ruined Commerce," "Debt," and "Negro Supremacy.", In the background, a cheering crowd brandishing American flags near the U.S. Capitol await the winning Seymour and Blair while on the building's other side a group of African American men dance. In the left foreground, Henry Ward Beecher and Horace Greeley play a shellgame looking for Grant and an African American man and woman, attired in torn and worn clothes, discuss another man returning to his former enslaver. In the right foreground, an African American man sits behind a table labeled, "Pompey Smash, Salt River Line Ticket Agent" and sells tickets to "Salt River" (i.e., political disaster) to a white man with a bag labeled, "J.G.B. Boston Carpet Bagger." Behind them, two African American men and a drunken white man holding a bottle talk about the Republican wagon., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to an Act of Congress in the year 1868 by Bromley & Co. in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the U.S. for the southern District of New York., Originally part of American political caricatures, likely a scrapbook, accessioned 1899. Collection primarily comprised of gifts from Samuel Breck, John A. McAllister, and James Rush., RVCDC, 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.
- Date
- 1868
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *Political Cartoons - 1868-15 [5760.F.125]
- Title
- Jeff. Davis., the compromiser, in a tight place
- Description
- Cartoon expressing Northern exasperation with Jefferson Davis's attempt to negotiate for peace in 1865. Depicts Davis being slammed between the doors of the "United States Senate" by Uncle Sam and an armed Zouave soldier. Davis carrying on his back a bundle of "Compromise Goods. Latest Styles" begs the unsympathetic soldier to let him alone as Uncle Sam holding a noose declares that Davis has cheated him too often and deserves execution. In the left, an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature, holds a "Trinkets" box and says in the vernacular, "It pears to me, Massa Davis bring his goods to de wrong market dis time. All de better for cullored folks, Yah! Yah!", Title from item., Date of publication supplied by Weitenkampf., McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., 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.
- Date
- [1865]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1865-1W [5795.F.a]
- Title
- Congressional surgery legislative quackery
- Description
- Cartoon addressing the defeated South's resistance to the pending post war amendments which would declare equal rights for African Americans. Depicts a doctor's office where the seated "Dr. North" counsels "Patient South," who stands before him with his arm in a sling. He proposes that after the removal of the South's legs the "Constitutional Amendment" peg leg, which rests on his desk, will support him well. The South states that he "Can't See it." In the left, a young African American person crouches on the floor beside the doctor's chair. Behind the desk stands a bookshelf labeled "Congressional Surgery, Legislative Quackery" where a skull and a bottle of "Black Draught" are displayed. Contains three lines of dialogue below the image., Title from item., Date of publication supplied by Weitenkampf., Date of publication suggested by Reilly is 1860 as the content suggests that the cartoon was published following the proposed Crittenden and Douglas Compromises., Originally part of American political caricatures, likely a scrapbook, accessioned 1899. Collection primarily comprised of gifts from Samuel Breck, John A. McAllister, and James Rush., RVCDC, 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.
- Date
- [1866?]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1866 - 10W [5760.F.115]
- Title
- Congressional surgery legislative quackery
- Description
- Cartoon addressing the defeated South's resistance to the pending post war amendments which would declare equal rights for African Americans. Depicts a doctor's office where the seated "Dr. North" counsels "Patient South," who stands before him with his arm in a sling. He proposes that after the removal of the South's legs the "Constitutional Amendment" peg leg, which rests on his desk, will support him well. The South states that he "Can't See it." In the left, a young African American person crouches on the floor beside the doctor's chair. Behind the desk stands a bookshelf labeled "Congressional Surgery, Legislative Quackery" where a skull and a bottle of "Black Draught" are displayed. Contains three lines of dialogue below the image., Title from item., Date of publication supplied by Weitenkampf., Date of publication suggested by Reilly is 1860 as the content suggests that the cartoon was published following the proposed Crittenden and Douglas Compromises., RVCDC, Accessioned 1981., 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.
- Date
- [1866?]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1866 - 10aW [P.8698]
- Title
- The national game. Three "outs" and one "run" Abraham winning the ball
- Description
- Cartoon influenced by the 1860 presidential candidates' position on the extension of slavery and comparing the results of the 1860 presidential election with a completed baseball game. In the right, Lincoln, the winner who represents the "Wide Awake Club," stands on “Home Base” and holds a rail-shaped bat labeled, "Equal Rights and Free Territory." He speaks in baseball terms to his competitors and declares "a good bat and strike a fair ball to make a clean score & home run." In the left is Constitutional Unionist John Bell of the "Union Club" with his "Fusion" bat who cries “foul.” Northern Democrat Stephen Douglas of the "Little Giant Club" with his "Non-Intervention" bat says, “I thought our fusion would be a short stop to his career.” Southern Democrat John C. Breckenridge of the "Disunion Club" carries his "Slavery Extension" bat and holds his nose with his left hand as he states that he “better leave for Kentucky…we are completely ‘skunk’d.’” In the center, a skunk lifts its tail and sprays., Probably drawn by Louis Maurer., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1860, by Currier & Ives, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern Distt of N.Y., Purchase 1967., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., 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.
- Creator
- Currier & Ives
- Date
- c1860
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1860-42 [7612.F]
- Title
- The battle of Bull's Run
- Description
- Pro-Confederate cartoon containing eighteen numbered figures and scenes to satirize the mayhem at the Battle of Bull Run in July 1861. Figures include: (1) Beauregard's (2) Jefferson Davis's and (3) Johnston's Confederate Headquarters; (4) Maryland Elzy's Battiry [sic]; (5) Union General Irvin McDowell; (6) Union General Daniel Tyler; (7) the Bull's Run; (8) New York Fire Zouaves; (9) New York 12th Regiment; (10) Union Sherman's Battiry [sic]; (11) Congressman Alfred Ely; (12) barricade for Members of Congress; (13) civilian spectators Lovejoy & Co. and (14) ladies as sputatiers; (15) Biddle, Brown & Co., members of Congress; (16) Union Blenker's Brigade; (17) Senator Wilson; (18) and the U.S. Dragoon. Depicts in the foreground: the Zouaves driving a bull that holds the American flag in its tail and is labeled, "Expenses for 100 Mill., Bad Business, Property, but no Security" in front of the retreating General Tyler and the New York regiment. The troops flee on the road to Washington past Union soldiers who lay dying and lamenting their foolishness near a "fat left-tenant" stating "God Save the Union" and Senator Wilson. Wilson refuses the pleas of a wounded soldier as he has "a wife and children to care for." In the background, Confederate troops march over a hill and mock the Union's abolitionist stance and lack of ammunition; Sherman's Battiry [sic] loads a cannon; Congressmen seek shelter behind a barricade of "U.S." wagons; civilian spectators Brown & Company flee by carriage as they deny aid to a white man who hollers, "you are more unmerciful then the overseer"; Congressman Ely, captured by the Confederates, offers a monetary bribe in exchange for his "liberty"; and the Union's Blenker's Brigade march into the battle in front of their retreating fellow soldiers General Irvin McDowell and the "U.S. Dragoon" who gallop "Home, Sweet, Home." Contains a key to depicted figures below the image., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Accessioned 1979., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., 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.
- Date
- [1861]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1861-42W [P.2275.11a]
- Title
- The man that blocks up the highway
- Description
- Cartoon satirizing President Andrew Johnson and his reconstruction policies as sympathetic to Southerners and an obstruction to Radical Republican policies and African American civil rights. Depicts Johnson with jackass ears standing at a road block labeled "veto" and greeting pardoned former Confederates, including an unrepentant white man counterfeiter and two white men ruffians. The ruffians brag about the murder of major-generals, curse the Yankees, and threaten an overthrow of the North and nullification of civil rights after the re-establishment of a Southern presence in the Congress. As Johnson welcomes the Southerners, he orders Secretary of State William Seward, attired as a servant, to pass around whiskey, belittles the barred "Radical Republicans," and boasts about his veto power. Behind the "veto" barricade, carriages driven by Republicans and labeled "Freedman's Bu[reau]," "Civil Rights," and "[Recon]struction," including one attended by an African American man portrayed in racist caricature, stand idle (an allusion to Johnson's vetoes of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the renewal of the Freedman's Bureau). The drivers compare Johnson with Marc Anthony who was "blowing before the People about his great love for the Constitution while conspiring with Caesar for the overthrow of the Republic." In the right, near crates of "Southern Appointments" and "Southern Pardons," John Bull and French dictator Napoleon III stand. Napoleon praises Johnson, proclaiming him "Emperor Americane." Also includes, a shack adorned with the sign "Andy Johnson Tribune of the People" in the background., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Originally part of American political caricatures, likely a scrapbook, accessioned 1899. Collection primarily comprised of gifts from Samuel Breck, John A. McAllister, and James Rush., RVCDC, 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.
- Date
- [1866]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1866-5W [5760.F.111]
- Title
- Abraham's dream! "Coming events cast their shadows before."
- Description
- Cartoon lampooning Lincoln's belief in prophetic dreams and fear of losing the presidential election of 1864. Above the dreaming, sleeping body of Lincoln, Democratic candidate George McClellan arrives at the White House. He witnesses Liberty, depicted as a white woman, hurling the decapitated head of an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature, at a fleeing Lincoln as he states, "This don't remind me of any joke!!" Lincoln is attired in a plaid Scotsman's cap and cape, an allusion to his disguise in response to an assassination threat before his first inauguration, and carries an inscribed scroll, "To whom it may concern," a reference to his written edict that he would only receive, not seek, offers of peace from the Confederacy., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to act of Congress, A.D. 1864, by Currier & Ives, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York., Probably drawn by Louis Maurer., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., 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.
- Creator
- Currier & Ives
- Date
- 1864
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1864-41 [6374.F]
- Title
- Oh! Massa Jeff. dis sesesh fever will kill de nigger
- Description
- Cartoon depicting the ill effect of secession on enslaved people. In the dwelling of the enslaved African American men, Jefferson Davis, attired in a broad-brim hat and with the Union flag hanging from his pocket, checks the pulse of an emaciated, bedridden African American man with "Bond Plasters" on his chest. An angst-ridden enslaved African American man stands behind the bed and weeps as he holds a bottle of medicine. On the wall behind him are three posters advertising various medicines: "Dr. Jeffy's Celebrated Bond Plasters ...," "The Great Southern Remedies," "Dr. Jeffy's Celebrated Lettres du Marque A Radical Remedy for all Constitutional Afflictions.", Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1861 in the Clerks Office of the District Court of the Southern District of Ohio., Purchase 1961., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., 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.
- Date
- 1861
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1861-22W [6449.F]
- Title
- I'm not to blame for being white, sir!
- Description
- Critical satire portraying the humanitarian sympathies of Massachusetts senator and abolitionist Charles Sumner as hypocritical toward whites. Depicts a well-dressed Sumner walking down a city street. He has stopped to hand coins to a barefoot, African American child carrying a basket. A white girl, attired in torn and worn clothes, carries sticks and holds out her hand to him, as well. Behind Sumner, two young white women witness the scene., Title from item., Publication information supplied by Weitenkampf., Probably drawn by Dominique C. Fabronius., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1972, p. 63., Purchase 1972., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., 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.
- Date
- [1862]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1862-11 [8033.F.2]
- Title
- Northern coat of arms
- Description
- Racist cartoon expressing anti-abolitionist sentiment within the North by depicting a "Northern Coat of Arms," in which only the rights of African Americans are represented. Depicts a Phrygian cap from which an African American man's large feet protrude. The cap, inscribed "Liberty," is adorned with the American symbols of stars and the eagle with an arrow and olive branches., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1864 by j.E. Cutler in the clerk's office of the district court of the dist. of Mass., Series no. printed on recto: 159., Probably drawn by Joseph E. Baker, Boston., Accessioned 1979., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., 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.
- Date
- 1864
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1864-36R [P.2275.4]
- Title
- "Your plan and mine."
- Description
- Racist satire criticizing the 1864 presidential candidates, Democrat General George McClellan's and incumbent Abraham Lincoln's, divergent peace policies depicting each in a scene with Jefferson Davis and an African American Union soldier. The first scene depicts McClellan offering an olive branch, a frightened kneeling African American soldier, and a promise of non-interference to a scowling, armed Jefferson Davis, attired in torn and worn clothing. Davis acknowledges the branch, accepts the soldier, and expresses his satisfaction about the renewed ability for Southern domination of the government. The soldier, whose head Davis clutches, questions with horror McClellan's proposition to send him back to slavery after his service to the Union. The opposite scene depicts Lincoln pointing a bayonet at a cowering Davis who begs for readmission to the Union. Lincoln, on behalf of the nation, demands unconditional surrender and declares the end of slavery. The observing African American soldier replies in the vernacular that Davis will not have anything to do with him anymore., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to act of Congress A.D. 1864, by Currier & Ives, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of N.Y., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of materials related to George McClellan and Abraham Lincoln. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., 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.
- Creator
- Currier & Ives
- Date
- 1864
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1864-18W [5793.F.4]
- Title
- "The irrepressible conflict" or the Republican barge in danger
- Description
- Cartoon predicting doom for the Republican Party whose moderate antislavery factions intentionally caused radical abolitionist William Seward to lose the presidential nomination at the National Convention in 1860. Depicts the "Republican Barge" with Lincoln at the helm being tossed on rough sea near a rocky shore. Within the boat Horace Greeley, Missouri Congressman Edward Bates, and Globe editor Francis Blair disparage Seward and the "Irrepressible Conflict" (a catchphrase from an 1858 Seward speech referring to the conflict within the Union over slavery) he has caused as they throw him overboard. The hoisted Seward warns that he alone can save the boat. An African American man, portrayed as a racist caricature and attired in a white collared shirt, a bowtie, a striped waistcoat, pants, and a "Discords Patent Life Preserver" wrapped around his chest, says in the vernacular, “if de boat and all hands sink, dis Nigger sure to swim, Yah! Yah!” Additional passengers, including Massachusetts Governor Nathaniel Banks and "Courier" editor James Webb, comment on the breakers ahead and the improbability of being saved. Brother Jonathan (predecessor to Uncle Sam) anxiously stands on the shore admonishing them not to throw out Seward but to “heave that tarnal Nigger out.”, Probably drawn by Louis Maurer., Verso stamped: L.A. De Vries., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1860 by Currier & Ives in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern Distt of N.Y., Purchase 1960., RVCDC, 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.
- Creator
- Currier & Ives
- Date
- 1860
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1860 - 28 [6418.F]
- Title
- An heir to the throne, or the next Republican candidate
- Description
- Racist cartoon using African American side-show performer William Henry Johnson to lampoon the extent to which the Republican party supported the rights of African Americans as a part of their Election Platform of 1860. In the left, depicts editor of the Tribune, Horace Greeley, who says, "Gentlemen, allow me to introduce to you, this illustrious individual in whom you will find combined, all the graces, and virtues of Black Republicanism, and whom we propose to run as our next Candidate for the Presidency." In the center, Johnson, depicted with a bald and tapered head and attired in a long-sleeved shirt, shorts, and black shoes, leans on the spear that he holds in both hands and asks in the vernacular, "What, can dey be?" In the right, candidate Abraham Lincoln leans on a rail and says, "How fortunate! that this intellectual and noble creature should have been discovered just at this time, to prove to the world the superiority of the Colored over the Anglo Saxon race, he will be a worthy successor to carry out the policy which I shall inaugurate." In the background is a poster that reads, "Barnum’s What is it. Now exhibiting." William Henry Johnson was born in Liberty Corners, New Jersey to William and Mahalia Johnson, who were formerly enslaved. As Johnson’s head was smaller and sloped, agents from van Emburgh's Circus in New Jersey exhibited him with a story that he was caught in Africa and was a "missing link." P.T. Barnum then exhibited him with the names "Zip the Pinhead" and "What is it.", Probably drawn by Louis Maurer., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1860, by Currier & Ives, in the Clerk's office of the District Court for the Southn Distt of N.Y., Accessioned 1970., RVCDC, 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.
- Creator
- Currier & Ives
- Date
- 1860
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1860-33R [7922.F]
- Title
- Political "Blondins" crossing Salt River
- Description
- Cartoon lampooning the perilous nature of the platforms of the 1860 presidential candidates caused by the divisive issue of the extension of slavery to the territories. Depicts the candidates' various methods to cross the "Salt River" (i.e., political disaster) between the "North" and "South." Republican Abraham Lincoln, near the "South," wobbles at the end of a too short rail. The rail, balanced on the "Abolition Rock," is unsuccessfully weighed down by the precariously balanced "Tribune" editor, Horace Greeley. Lincoln curses Greeley who is "accustomed" to the "Salt River." Northern Democrat Stephen Douglas attempts to balance on the tightrope "Non Intervention," and yells for "Help" from the excessive weight of "Squatter Sovereignty" on his balancing pole. Southern Democrat Samuel Breckenridge rides the shoulders of the President and "old public functionary" James Buchanan as he crosses the tightrope "Slavery Extension." Constitutional Unionists John Bell and running mate Edward Everett stand on the "Constitutional Bridge" mocking and pitying the other candidates who are not satisfied with the bridge built by the "patriots of 76" which connects the "two shores in an indissoluble bond of union.", Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1860, by Currier & Ives, in the Clerk's office of the District Court, for the Southn Dist of N.Y., Manuscript note on recto: "Blondin celebrated for having walked over Niagara Falls on a tightrope, gave the idea for this caricature." On June 30, 1859, Jean Francois Gravelet Blondin, a professional tight-rope artist trained under P.T. Barnum, was the first man to successfully cross the falls., 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.
- Creator
- Currier & Ives
- Date
- 1860
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1860-30W [6428.F]
- Title
- Columbia's noblest sons
- Description
- Memorial print published after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in April 1865 containing portraits, allegorical figures, vignettes, and pictorial details. Depicts Columbia, depicted as a white woman and attired in classical garb and a Phrygian cap, crowning a bust-length portrait of George Washington (left) and bust-length portrait of Lincoln (right) with laurel wreaths. Flagpole finials with flags appear as wings behind her. Documents, partially rolled, associated with Washington and Lincoln, the "Declaration of Independence 1776" and the "Emancipation Proclamation 1863," appear below the portraits of the presidents. Each president's life dates are inscribed on the edge. On the left are vignettes with scenes from the Revolution depicting the Boston Tea Party "Dec. 18th 1773"; the signing of the Declaration of Independence "July, 1776"; and the British surrender at Yorktown "Octr. 19, 1781." On the right, are vignette scenes of the Civil War depicting the bombardment of Fort Sumter "April 14th, 1861"; an encounter between an ironclad and two wooden ships ("Progress"), and Lincoln's triumphant arrival via coach with an African American driver in Richmond "6th April 1861." Latter vignette also includes an African American man cheering in the crowd. Vinery details frame the vignettes. Columbia's right foot rests on the British lion, and an American eagle emerges from behind her other leg. On the ground, near her feet, rest cannons, cannon balls, and broken shackles., Title from item., Name of publisher and date from copyright statement: Entered according to Act of Congress in year of 1865 by Henry & Wm. Voight [illegible] D[istrict of] N[ew York]., Reproduced and described in The Lincoln image, p. 194-195, 197., Gift of Gordon Wright Colket, 1970., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
- Creator
- Lang, Manson, artist
- Date
- 1865
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons 1865-9 [7879.F]
- Title
- The triumph
- Description
- Print predicting the Union's triumph over the Confederacy using an allegory of "Humanitas" (i.e., Humanity) depicted as a white woman holding a child astride an eagle, reaching to save a shackled African American held on the ground by the evil "King Cotton." From a break in the clouds an apparition appears behind "Humanitas," including "Freedom" depicted as a woman wearing a crown of feathers holding a large American flag and a Liberty cap; "Christianity" depicted as a white woman holding a bible; "Justitia" depicted as a white woman holding scales; George Washington; Thomas Jefferson; and Benjamin Franklin. The oppressed enslaved person reaches up as "King Cotton," portrayed with an alligator head with a body composed of a bale of cotton with a holster of pistols, raises his hands in horror as the eagle clutches his cloak and shoots lightning bolts at his throne. To his right a column labeled "Lecompton", "Fugitive Slave," and "Missouri Compromise" is set aflame from the lightning. In the left, the "Hydra of Discord" accompanied by a hound "Fugitive Slave Law," a group of white men enslavers, and a Spaniard, who drops a package marked "Cuba $50,000,000," flee from the vision to the sea where a boat of enslaved African American men are docked. Contains eighteen lines of verse from Lord Byron's 1813 poem "The Giaour" below the image., Title from item., Date of publication supplied by Reilly., Per Reilly, published key to print exists., Copyright statement: Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1861 by M. H. Traubel, in the Clerks Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Penna., Accessioned 1999., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., 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.
- Date
- 1861
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *political cartoons - 1862-15 [P.9654]
- Title
- The Rail candidate
- Description
- Political cartoon questioning candidate Abraham Lincoln's ability to succeed in the presidential election of 1860 with the controversial antislavery plank as a part of the Republican Party’s platform. Depicts Lincoln with an expression of discomfort on his face and straddling a wooden rail labeled, "Republican Platform." He complains, "it is true I have split Rails, but I begin to feel as if this Rail would split me, it's the hardest stick I ever straddled." Carrying the front end of the rail is an African American man, portrayed as a racist caricature, who says in the vernacular, "Dis Nigger strong and willin, but it's awful hard work to carry Old Massa Abe on nothing but dis ere rail!!" The back end of the rail is carried by New York Tribune editor, abolitionist, and Lincoln supporter, Horace Greeley, who ensures that they will prove Lincoln can split rails and be elected President., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1860, by Currier & Ives, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern Distc. of N.Y., Probably drawn by Louis Maurer., Stamp on verso: L.A. DeVries., Purchase 1960., RVCDC, 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.
- Creator
- Currier & Ives
- Date
- 1860
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1860-31R [6419.F]
- Title
- "The Nigger" in the woodpile
- Description
- Racist political cartoon satirizing the Republican Party platform during the 1860 presidential election. In the right, shows Abraham Lincoln saying, “Little did I think when I split these rails, that they would be the means of elevating me to my present position" as he sits on top of a woodpile labeled, “Republican Platform.” An enslaved African American man, portrayed as a racist caricature with exaggerated features, sits within the intertwined rails of the platform. In the left, New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley is confronted by "Young America," depicted as a white man, who represents the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Greeley reassures him, "...you can safely vote our ticket, for we have no connection with the Abolitionist party, but our Platform is composed entirely of rails split by our candidate." "Young America" protests "It's no use old fellow! You can't pull that wool over my eyes, for I can see 'the Nigger' peeping through the rails," and he points his finger to the African American man in the woodpile., Title from item., Date from the copyright statement: Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1860, by Currier & Ives, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern Distt. of N.Y., Library Company, Annual report, 1967, p. 53., Accessioned 1999., RVCDC, 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.
- Creator
- Currier & Ives
- Date
- 1860
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1860-30R [P.9677]
- Title
- The ( Fort) Monroe doctrine
- Description
- Abolitionist cartoon depicting enslaved African Americans fleeing to Fort Monroe, which was occupied by Union General Benjamin F. Butler who had declared freedom seekers to be "contraband" of war. In the right, a white man Virginia enslaver brandishes a whip and says, "come back you black rascal." A bare-chested, barefooted, African American man attired in white shorts, responds in the vernacular, "can't come back nohow massa Dis chile's contraban." To the right of the enslaver, a barefooted African American man, attired in a brimmed hat, a white collared shirt, and striped pants with the cuffs rolled up, watches as he leans on a hoe. A number of other African American freedom seekers run toward the Fort, including a woman with a child., Title from item., Date of publication supplied by Weitenkampf., During the Civil War, the U.S. government declared African American freedom seekers as “contraband of war.”, Purchase 1986., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., 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.
- Date
- [1861]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1861-3W [P.9127]
- Title
- John Bull makes a discovery
- Description
- Racist cartoon reflecting the Northern fear that Britain's economic ties with Southern cotton growers would cause the British government to relinquish its abolitionist stance in order to support the Confederacy. Depicts a plump John Bull, representing Great Britain, centered between a kneeling enslaved African American man and a bale of cotton in a storage shed. Bull touches the hair of the African American man with his right hand and holds a piece of the cotton from the bale in the other. He declares, "it is certain that Cotton is more useful to me than Wool!!" In the left background, two African American men stand and cry. In the right background, a Southern white man plantation owner looks on and smiles., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Possible publisher supplied by Murrell., McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., RVCDC, 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.
- Creator
- Currier & Ives
- Date
- [1861]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1861-40R [5780.Fa]