This collection uses primary sources to explore the Equal Rights Amendment. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

A comic boar game based on the Erie Railroad wars. Owner of the railroad James Fisk has slipped to the ground after trying unsuccessfully to scale the greased pole. Coins and a bill marked "Erie" fall from his pockets. Among the men who jeer at his predicament is Cornelius Vanderbilt, who, throughout 1868 and 1869, tried unsuccessfully to seize control of the Erie by buying into its stock. At right are directions for the game: "Use two Dice thrown together; if the sum of the throw is an even number, the player places his chip on the first number of the pole and is entitled to successive throws unti his throw is an odd number, in which case the chip is moved down one number, (or off, if on the first square), and the play is made by the next in turn. Doublets entitle the player to move his chip two squares. The game is completed when the successful chip has passed the highest square and is thrown off."|Crichton & Co., Publishers, New York.|Entered . . . 1869 by D.W. DeForest . . . New York.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1869-3.

This site offers geography and history activities showing how two years in history had an indelible impact on American politics and culture. Students interpret historical maps, identify territories acquired by the U.S., identify states later formed from these territories, examine the territorial status of Texas, and identify political, social, and economic issues related to the expansion of the U.S. in the 1840s.

Another in the series of "Spoodlyks's" satires on the Glentworth affair. (See also nos. 1840-60, -61, and -63). Here the artist portrays Glentworth's attempt to remove evidence in the vote fraud inquiry from the recorder's office, and the ensuing scuffle involving the sheriff, the mayor, and the recorder. In the cartoon the recorder's office has erupted in a brawl. Glentworth (center) stands clutching the package of evidence to his chest. City recorder Robert H. Morris (left) and sheriff Jacob Acker, with a writ of replevin in his pocket, try to wrest the package from Glentworth. Sheriff: "By virtue of this writ I claim the package." Morris: "No you dont Mr. Sherriff." Glentworth: "This is my property and I'll Keep it at the risk of my life." On the left Mayor Isaac Varian struggles with another man. Varian says, "The package is gone Officers shut the door." A third man comments, "I like that. Shut the door When the horse is stolen." Others lament "O.K. orful Konspiracy." and "O.K. orful Katastrophe." and "O.K. help the journal of Kommerce." The term "O. K.," standing for Van Buren's nickname Old Kinderhook, was a watchword of Loco Foco Democrats during the election campaign of 1840.|Drawn by "Spoodlyks".|Printed & published by H.R. Robinson, 52 Cortlandt St. N.Y. & Pennsa. Avenue Washington D.C.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 171.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1840-62.

An attack on New York governor William L. Marcy's controversial decision to surrender Irish fugitives John Bamber, Sr., and his son James to the British consul after their detention in New York. The Bambers, wanted by the British government in connection with the killing of an Irish police constable, had sought asylum in the United States. Marcy's decision to return them to British custody caused a furor among New York Whigs and Irish immigrants. In the title the "A" in Marcy's name is crossed out and replaced with an "E." Marcy is shown leading the two Bambers by a rope tied to their necks toward a stout British consul on the right. The prisoners are in hand and leg irons. In the background a ship sits offshore and a heavyset man with spectacles, city recorder Richard Riker, runs up waving a writ of habeas corpus and crying "Stop! Stop!" On the left is the Hall of Justice; on the right the consul's office. Marcy's trousers are mended with a "50 cents" patch, a joke regarding a tailor's voucher for fifty cents that he submitted during his governorship of New York. Marcy: "Here my dear Sir are these savage Irishmen, whom I gladly deliver over to you, to be dealt with as the Queen's most excellent Majesty may think fit." British consul: "I thank your Excellency for your promptness, and shall represent your conduct in such a light to her most gracious Majesty, that I have not a bit of doubt she will reward you with a pair of new breeches!!" The younger Bamber: "Is this the boasted liberty of the soil? Is this the law for an adopted citizen?" Bamber, Sr.: "Is this the justice of the self-styled People's Party?"|Entered . . . 1838 by H.R. Robinson.|Printed & publd by H.R. Robinson, 52 Cortlandt St & 11-1/2 Wall St. N.Y.|Signed with monogram: C (Edward Williams Clay).|The print was registered for copyright on October 8, 1838.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 55.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1838-5.

A ludicrous contrast of two influential Democrats, the obese Alabama Representative Dixon Hall Lewis and gaunt "Globe" editor Francis Preston Blair. The artist comments upon the unlikely alliance established in early 1840 between the Van Buren administration and certain Southern legislators in the circle of John Calhoun. Insinuation of Blair's corruption is also made. Lewis sits on a bench, holding his hat and walking stick before him. Blair embraces him with claw-like hands, saying, "I think Buchanan [i.e., Democratic senator from Pennsylvania James Buchanan] is making forcible illustrations of the bad effects of an inflated currency. Eh! my fat 'all y'?" Lewis responds, "Why I think, my "galvanized" friend that "you" & "I" illustrate best contraction and expansion! but d--n it Frank, it's strange you can't get fatter upon your Congressional corncrib & Treasury pap?" Blair was once called "a galvanized corpse" by South Carolina Congressman Francis W. Pickens. Two "Globe Reporters" in a gallery on the right remark, "I say Tom there is a hint in the way of geography--showing the comparative size of "Alabama" & the Globe." and "Yes! I think L--s appears quite resigned to the pressure of our lean governor's "specie claws!" "Expansion & Contraction" appears to be by the same hand as "Locofoco and Nulification Nuptials" (no. 1840-46).|Printed & published by H.R. Robinson, no. 52 Cortlandt St. N.Y. & Pennsa. Avenue Washington D.C.|Probably drawn by J. McGouldrick.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 61.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1840-47.

An anti-Jackson satire, critical of the President's federal treasury policy and of Vice-President Van Buren's influence on the administration's fiscal program. The print specifically attacks Jackson's plan to discontinue federal deposits in the Bank of the United States, and his "experiment" of placing them in selected state banks instead. The artist employs the image of a ship, a contemporary symbol of commerce, to forecast the ruination of American trade as a result of these measures. Jackson stands on a platform near the stern of the ship "Experiment," wielding a whip over eight crewmen who sit at spinning wheels. The ship is moored and upturned barrels sit on top of each of its three masts. A broom is tied to the foremost one, indicating that it is for sale. Rats scurry about the deck. Martin Van Buren stands behind Jackson near a padlocked door to the hold marked "Deposits" and "No Bank." A second ship burns in the distance. The various sailors comment: "Shiver my timbers Bob, if we ain't overrun with these blasted "Rats --" they eat up all our rations! I wish old Veto there, would drive 'em all overboard with little Martin at the head of them." "I say Jack I'm damn'd if this is like getting fifteen dollars a month is it?" "No, No, Shipmate, curse these spinning Jennies, its work only fit for lubbers and old women." "There is the old Constitution burning up! Her owners having no further occasion for her and cant afford to keep her in repair!" "Well what's the use of a Ship war? She's meant to protect "Commerce," but we've got none to protect!" Jackson: "No grumbling you lazy dogs! Perish commerce! perish trade! Andrew Jackson knows what's best for the Country, By the Eternal, Don't I Martin?" Van Buren: "To be sure you do if you mind what I tell you - Don't give up the ship General or I shall not succeed you!"|New York. Published by Anthony Imbert No 104 Broadway. |Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 30.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1833-8.

A figurative portrayal of Whig candidate Winfield Scott's failure in the 1852 presidential contest, attributed by the artist to his alliance with abolitionist interests. Scott is hoisted aloft via a pulley system by various influential supporters, including (left to right): an unidentified man, New York "Times" editor Henry J. Raymond, black abolitionist Frederick Douglass, Boston editor and abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, Pennsylvania representative David Wilmot, and New York senator William Seward. They try to haul him up to the "President's Chair," which sits on a gallows-like structure, but the rope snaps owing to the "Free Soil" and "Abolition" weights chained to Scott's waist. Scott's supporters fall in unison to the left. Raymond: "You might have known them cussed weights would break the rope!" Seward:"Thus the noble Cesar fell, and you and I & all of us fell down and bloody Locofocoism flourished over us!" Scott (falling): "It may be the effect of my imagination, but it certainly feels as if something has given way!" At left, New York "Tribune" editor Horace Greeley rides a swaybacked horse carrying a "Tariff" bundle. He shouts to Scott, "Hold on General where you are just one minute till I come to help you!" Another man runs after Greeley crying, "Whoa! whoa! I say Greely don't ride that poor old nag to death!" Entering from the right-hand corner are a black man and his wife. The wife points at Scott and says, "Law! Mr. Cesar it seems to me dat de Gemman is gevine de wrong way."|Pubd. by John Childs, 84 Nassau St. N. York.|Signed with monogram: EWC (Edward Williams Clay).|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Davison, no. 205.|Weitenkampf, p. 108-109.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1852-31.

This collection uses primary sources to explore early exploration of the Americas. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1838, by H.R. Robinson, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States of the Southern District of New York. Printed & published by H.R. Robinson, 52 Cortlandt Strt. New York.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)

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 removed from the Bank of the United States, a controversial action that utlimately led to the Bank's destruction. To the right, beneath columns marked "Pensylvania," "Virginia," "New York," and "Georgia," sits Andrew Jackson smoking a clay pipe and conversing with Jack Downing. Behind him are strong boxes of "Deposites" the topmost of which is marked "Foundation for a National Bank." Leaning on them is the figure of Liberty with a staff, liberty cap and flag reading "Public confidence in Public funds." At her feet is an eagle with shield, arrows and lightning bolts. Downing: " . . . Gineral, this is a real shiver de freeze! You've sent Clay to "pot" eny how "nullified Calhoun," made "Webster" a "shuttle cock and busted Biddle's Bank biler!" Jackson: "Aye, Aye, Major Downing they thought they'd give us a dose of Congress Water, but they find what we're "Bent on" and we've given 'em a hard Poke into the bargain!" He refers to support for his program spearheaded in Congress by Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton. On the left a marble-based water fountain explodes, hurling aside (clockwise from upper left) Nicholas Biddle, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and John Calhoun. Biddle: "The fountain from the which my current springs or else dries up to be discarded thence,--" Webster: "Thus vaulting ambition doth o'er leap itself and falls on t'other side." Clay: "Sic transit gloria mundi. "Le jeu est fait, The game is up." Calhoun (losing his cockaded hat and bayonet): "United "we" stand, divided I fall. Fonte nulla fides." Also thrown from the fountain are a "National Gazette," "Ginger bread," a bottle of "Boston Pop," and a plank "American System." ":Explosion. . ." is one of the few satires favorable to Jackson on the Bank issue. It is very similar in terms of composition and draughtsmanship to another pro-Jackson satire "The Downfall of Mother Bank" (no. 1833-9), and could easily be by the same artist. Both are signed with the commonly-used pseudonym "Zek Downing." "Explosion" was recorded as deposited for copyright on February 1, 1834.|Drawd off after natur by the real Zek Dowining Neffu . . . .|Entered Southern District of New York 1834 by Anthony Imbert. |Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 36.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1834-6.

A riot scene: German parade musicians (possibly accompanying touring ballerina Fanny Elssler) are attacked and beaten with their own instruments by a gang of toughs (or "Soap-Locks" for the long, soaped hair locks fashionable among them) on a New York street. Onlookers watch from the windows of a nearby building. The cries of the assailants and their victims appear in the lower margin. They range from "Dam you I'll make you remember new years night," "Dam the Dutch!" and "This must be the fellow who shot Armstrong" (from the assailants) to "I am Murder'd" and "Fuerst, help! help!" (from the Germans). A man in the middle of the mob shouts, "I command the Peace." The less-than-sympathetic portrayal of the victims, and the scene's unmistakable comic undertones betray a definite anti-foreigner sentiment on the artist's part. The artist is Napoleon Sarony, judging from the print's pronounced stylistic and technical similarity to his "The New Era or the Effects of a Standing Army" (no. 1840-3). "Fanny Elssler's Last Serenade" was registered for copyright on August 17, 1840.|Entered . . . 1840 by H.R. Robinson.|Printed & published by H.R. Robinson, no. 52 Cortlandt St. New York.|Probably drawn by Napoleon Sarony.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 69.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1840-2.

A scornful look at the reception of German ballerina Fanny Elssler in Baltimore. The New York artist ridicules the adulation given the touring performer by the Baltimore public. During her July 1840 visit there, an enthusiastic group of young men removed the horses from Elssler's carriage and pulled it through the streets themselves. Here Elssler dances in an open carriage driven by a black coachman in livery and drawn by well-dressed men with asses' heads, who wave their hats in the air and shout "Eehow!" A bespectacled, pipe-smoking man with a violin prostrates himself before the dancer. Coachman: "By golly dis goes ahead of Jim Crow! I tink the New Yorkers cant beat dis unless dey gib Miss Fanny de freedom ob de City in gold snuff box!" Elssler: "My friends I tank you very! I understand you! I shall remember you for long "years!"" The print is very much in the style of Edward Williams Clay's "The Almighty Lever" (no. 1840-58). |Entered . . . 1840 by J. Childs.|Probably drawn by Edward Williams Clay.|Published by J. Childs 90 Nassau St. N.Y.|The Library's impression of the print was deposited for copyright on August 31, 1840.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|McCauley, no. E24.|Weitenkampf, p. 69.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1840-51.

An illustrated anti-Whig broadside, designed to combat the "Log Cabin campaign" tactics of presidential candidate William Henry Harrison. The text warns the people of New Orleans of Whig election propaganda: "People of Louisiana, above you have an accurate representation of the federal "Log-Cabin" Trap, invented by the "bank-parlor, Ruffle-shirt, silk-stocking" Gentry, for catching the "votes" of the industrious and laboring classes, of our citizens, of both town and country. . . . The "log cabin" is raised to blind you with the belief, that they are your friends . . ." The author then goes on to describe Whig campaign techniques as relying on deception, alcohol, and visual enticements, and as an "appeal to [the people's] passions, with mockeries, humbugs, shows, and parades. . . ." In the illustration a man sucks at a barrel of "Hard Cider" linked by a trip-rod to a precariously tilted log cabin. Above is the "Federal Bank Whig Motto. We Stoop to Conquer."|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1840-24.

This collection uses primary sources to the history of food stamp programs. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

This collection uses primary sources to explore the Fifteenth Amendment. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

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 former's pursuit of a limited-currency policy and his dismantling of the Bank of the United States. In the drawing Jackson rides a pig headlong toward a precipice, followed by congressional ally Missouri senator Thomas Hart Benton, on an ass. Both pursue the "Gold Humbug" butterfly, symbolizing their efforts to restrict the ratio of paper money in circulation to gold and silver supplies. Van Buren, riding a fox, cunningly deviates from this disastrous course and follows a downward path leading toward the Bank. Jackson (reaching for the butterfly): "By the Eternal!! I'll have it, Benton!" Benton (whipping his mount with a quill pen): "Go it thou Roman!! a greater man ne'er lived in the tide of times.!!" His quill is labeled "Expunger," an allusion to Benton's extended campaign to "expunge" or remove the 1834 Senate censure of Jackson from the Congressional Record. Van Buren (losing his crown): "Although I follow in the footsteps of Jackson it is &2expedient, &1at &2this time &1to & 2 deviate & 1a little!!" Below the precipice Nicho;as Biddle, Bank of the United States president, sights Van Buren from atop his bank. The note is endorsed by the publisher, who promises "to pay Thomas H. Benton, or bearer, Fifty Cents, in Counterfeit Caricatures at my store . . . " It is dated May 10, 1837, the date of the New York banks' emergency suspension of specie payments.|Entered . . . 1837 by H.R. Robinson.|Published by H.R. Robinson, 52 Cortlandt St. N.Y.|The print was actually registered for copyright on June 10 of that year.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 50.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1837-11.

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 "Tennesse Alligator," in a wrestling contest. Clay exults, "It is no use to try to poke this nondescript "animal" (i.e., Polk) against the Peoples Coon." (Oddly, the head on the alligator here bears little resemblance to the dark horse candidate.) About the forest lurk several other animals with the heads of Democrat and Whig notables. On the right stands John C. Calhoun, as a camel, and Andrew Jackson, as a giraffe. Calhoun carries on his back a cornucopia filled with turnips and declares, "We bring peace and plenty!" Jackson: "Altho I am one of those exalted characters who can "overlook" almost everything, yet I cannot overlook this disaster to our cause!" Several rats scurry past the two Democrats, one of them being Martin Van Buren, who says "I'm off for Lindenwald, basely deserted by my friends." Lindenwald was the name of Van Buren's estate, whence he retired after losing the Democratic nomination to Polk. To the left incumbent John Tyler, as a rattlesnake, coils around a tree. Tyler, who acceded to the presidency on William Henry Harrison's death, was considered a traitor to the Whig cause. On the ground nearby is a bear, Daniel Webster, who says (referring to Polk), "I'll put my foot on him when you are done, and that will sink him out of sight." Running ahead of Webster is hard-money advocate Thomas Hart Benton, as a boar with a sack of "Mint Drops" on his back. He exclaims, "That Coon does not, evidently belong to our family, but he is a ROARER!" Perched on a branch above is an American eagle with his wings outspread, a common patriotic emblem.|Entered . . . 1844 by James Baillie.|Lith & pub by James Baillie 33 Spruce St. N.Y.|Signed: H. Bucholzer.|The Library's impression of the print was deposited for copyright on June 26, 1844.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 76.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1844-24.

An emblematic illustrated cover for a piece of Millard Fillmore campaign music, composed by Frederic Southgate and copyrighted in 1856. The figure of Columbia or Liberty, surrounded by clouds and an oval frame, stands on a globe and holds a shield and American flag. She wears classical dress and a Phrygian cap. An eagle descends toward her from the clouds. Behind Columbia is a burst of light from the rising sun. At her feet is a small bouquet.|Published by Henry McCaffrey, Baltimore.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1856-7.

Union soldier, followed by African American in broken chains, hurls Jefferson Davis (dressed as a woman) who drops a bag of "stolen gold" over the edge of a cliff; Satan waits below the cliff with a pitchfork.|Copyright by Oscar H. Harpel.|Lithograph designed by Burgoo Zac.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)