Explosion of Biddle & Cos. Congress water fount
A satire on the failure of the combined efforts of Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John Calhoun, and Nicholas Biddle to thwart Andrew Jackson's treasury policy. In 1833 Jackson ordered that federal deposits be remo... More
Grand match between the Kinderhook poney and the Ohio ploughman
A satire on the presidential contest of 1836, using the metaphor of a billiards game between Whig candidate William Henry Harrison (left) and Democrat Martin Van Buren. The artist is clearly on the side of Harr... More
6 cents. Humbug glory bank - Public domain book illustration, Library ...
Another mock bank note parodying the "shinplasters" of the 1837 panic. Such small-denomination notes were based on the division of the Spanish dollar, the dominant specie of the time. Hence they were issued in ... More
Fifty cents. Shin plaster - Public domain scan / drawing
Another mock shinplaster (see also nos. 1837-9 and -10 above). Again the artist attributes the shortage of hard money to the successive monetary programs of presidents Jackson and Van Buren, particularly to the... More
Thomas H. Benton, senator from Missouri Chs. Fenderich del
Print shows Thomas Hart Benton, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing right; includes a facsimile signature. Caption continues: Solitary & alone, and amidst the jeers and taunts of my opponents, I put this ball ... More
Uncle Sam sick with la grippe - Drawing. Public domain image.
A satire attributing the dire fiscal straits of the nation to Andrew Jackson's banking policies, with specific reference to recent bank failures in New Orleans, New York, and Philadelphia. The artist blames th... More
Treasury note, Washington, D.C., Political Cartoon
A parody of the often worthless fractional currencies or "shinplasters" issued by banks, businesses, and municipalities in lieu of coin. These fractional notes proliferated during the Panic of 1837 with the eme... More
Thomas H. Benton, senator from Missouri Chs. Fenderich del
Print shows Thomas Hart Benton, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing right; includes a facsimile signature. Caption continues: Solitary & alone, and amidst the jeers and taunts of my opponents, I put this ball ... More
Thomas H. Benton, senator from Missouri Chs. Fenderich del
Print shows Thomas Hart Benton, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing right; includes a facsimile signature. Caption continues: Solitary & alone, and amidst the jeers and taunts of my opponents, I put this ball ... More
Full tilt for the Capitol - Public domain book illustration
The artist envisions public repudiation of Democratic hard-money policies, and the triumph of administration opponent Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, a conservative Democrat. Tallmadge, on horseback and armed with a l... More
This is the house that Jack built
The Van Buren administration's record, particularly with regard to the handling of public finances, is condemned as corrupt and a perpetuation of unpopular Jacksonian policies. The artist echoes perennial Whig ... More
Caricature, An interesting family, public domain cartoon image
A caricature of Martin Van Buren as an opossum. The marsupial, with a smirking Van Buren's head, rises on its hindquarters and displays in its pouch three of its "young." They are administration insiders (left... More
Matty's dream. Book illustration from Library of Congress
Clay portrays Martin Van Buren driven from the White House by nightmares of cider barrels and Whig presidential challenger William Henry Harrison. Van Buren flees the presidential mansion in his nightshirt, dro... More
Clar de kitchen. Book illustration from Library of Congress
Another Whig campaign satire, picturing incumbent Martin Van Buren and his Democratic advisers or "Kitchen Cabinet" routed by Whig candidate William Henry Harrison. In a domestic kitchen Harrison, dressed as a ... 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
The shipwreck. Book illustration from Library of Congress
A Whig vision of the rout of Van Buren in the presidential election of 1840. In a stormy sea Van Buren grasps the mast (labeled "Maine") of a foundering vessel "O.K." (the initials for "Old Kinderhook," a Van ... 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
The little magician's sleight of hand performance. An absquabulating s...
Again the theme of corruption in the Van Buren administration, here centering on the President's "Sub-Treasury" or independent treasury program, passed by Congress in July 1840. A large frigate "United States,... More
North Bend game cock - Political cartoon, public domain image
A Whig campaign print glorifying presidential candidate William Henry Harrison. The title derives from the candidate's farm on the North Bend of the Ohio River. The game cock has a dual significance: as an all... More
A political movement. Book illustration from Library of Congress
The artist forecasts with obvious relish the ouster of Van Buren and his cronies from office by William Henry Harrison. Van Buren is shown leaving Washington in a large cart drawn by supporters (left to right) ... More
Granny Harrison delivering the country of the executive Federalist
A satire on the Van Buren administration challenged by Whig presidential candidate William Henry Harrison. Harrison, dressed as a woman, tries to remove Van Buren from his throne with a midwife's forceps. Van... 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
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
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 hunter of Kentucky - coin, public domain photograph
Henry Clay is the hunter, and various Democrats his quarry. Clay wears a fringed buckskin outfit and coonskin cap reminiscent of Davy Crockett and the Western characters of the contemporary stage, such as Nimro... 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
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
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
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
Cass & his cabinet in 1849 - Political cartoon, public domain image
The satire imputes to the Democrats of 1848, led by candidate Lewis Cass, the corrupt practices of the Van Buren-era party. The artist also criticizes Whig repudiation of stalwart party leader Henry Clay in fav... More
The modern Gilpins. Love's labor lost
A parody of Democratic politics in the months preceding the party's 1848 national convention. Specifically, the artist ridicules the rivalry within the party between Free Soil or anti-slavery interests, which u... More
Grand set to between rough and ready and Genal. Gas
Zachary Taylor and Lewis Cass engage in a bout of fisticuffs in their battle for the presidency in 1848. Taylor, clearly getting the better of his opponent, seizes Cass by the lapels saying, "A little more gra... More
The Democratic funeral of 1848 - Political cartoon, public domain imag...
Foreseeing political death for the Democrats in the election, the artist imagines a funeral of the party's standard-bearers with a procession of the faithful. Democratic senators (left to right) Sam Houston 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
Scene in Uncle Sam's Senate. 17th April 1850
A somewhat tongue-in-cheek dramatization of the moment during the heated debate in the Senate over the admission of California as a free state when Mississippi senator Henry S. Foote drew a pistol on Thomas Har... More
The Clay statue. A model of a man. Designed by the goddess of liberty
The artist lionizes Kentucky senator Henry Clay, author of the Compromise of 1850, and slams his political foes and critics of the compromise, particularly those in the Taylor administration. A text in the lowe... More
The sad parting between two old friends
Senators Thomas Hart Benton and Henry S. Foote are paired here in a facetious farewell scene, as Benton departs the "Shop of the Senate." In reality Benton lost his Senate seat in a January 1851 election, large... More
Capability and availability - Political cartoon, public domain image
Sharply critical of both the Democratic and Whig choice of presidential candidates in 1852, the artist laments the nomination of two soldiers, Winfield Scott (center) and Franklin Pierce (far right), in prefere... More
