A grim commentary on the extraordinary measures taken by some Americans to evade military service during the Civil War. A man in shirtsleeves (center) has just had his right hand mutilated by a woman who stands at left, holding a hammer and knife. On a stump before the woman lies the man's severed index finger. "Oh Lord! Oh Lord! how it hurts," howls the man, as he dances about holding his bleeding hand. On the right, another man with an amputated finger extends his hand and reassures him, "Tˆü_ˆüąwont hurt but a minute and then you can get one of those." He refers to a certificate in his left hand, signed by "Dr. Syntax," certifying that "I have examined Adam Cowherd, Esq. and find that he has lost the first finger of his right hand. He affirms that it was cut off while digging post holes. I recommend that he be sent to the Army or to Fort Lafayette." During the Civil War, Fort Lafayette was used as a prison for political offenders.|Entered . . . 1862, by Wm. E.S. Trowbridge . . . Southern District of New York.|The Library's impression of the print was deposited for copyright on August 27, 1862.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Wm. E.S. Trowbridge, del.|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 1862-6.

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 preference to several more "capable" statesmen who appear at left. The latter are (left to right): Samuel Houston, John J. Crittenden, Thomas Hart Benton, Millard Fillmore, John Bell, Lewis Cass, Stephen A. Douglas, and Daniel Webster. Most prominent in the group are Fillmore, Cass, and Webster, who also sought the presidential nomination in 1852. Fillmore: "I have sought more anxiously to do what was right; than what would please, and feel no disappointment, at finding that my Conduct has, rendered me an unavailable candidate." Cass: "We have been partizans where we differed in opinions as to the best means of promoting the prosperity and happiness of our native land, but we cast aside, party when we stood Shoulder, to Shoulder, for the Constitution & the Union." Webster: "It is not our fortune to be, or to have been successful Millitary Chieftains. We are nothing but painstaking, hardworking, drudging Civilians, giving our life, and health, and strength, to the maintenance of the Constitution and upholding the liberties of our country." Columbia, draped in stars and stripes and grasping the hands of Scott and Pierce, responds: "I acknowledge your noble services, worth and Constant devotion most Illustrious sons, and that you have the long experience, Sound sense and practical wisdom which fit you to receive the highest honor in my power to bestow, but you are "not Available." " "Availability," in the contemporary lexicon, meant the quality of broad popular appeal. Scott and Pierce were both distinguished in the Mexican War. Scott, holding a liberty staff and Phrygian cap, proclaims: "You see Gentlemen it is "availability" that is required and that is "my" qualification." Pierce holds a shield adorned with stars and stripes, adding, "I am a "Great" man and have done the country "Great" Service! I never knew it before; but it "must be so;" for the Convention has declared it, and the Democracy affirm it." Before his nomination by the Democratic convention of 1852, Pierce was a relatively little known New Hampshire attorney--a fact which Whig publicists tended to exaggerate. Pierce had, after all, served as a two-term congressman and senator from New Hampshire.|Lith. & pub. by Nathaniel Currier, 152 Nassau St. N.Y.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Gale, no. 880.|Weitenkampf, p. 107.|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 1852-14.

A caricature of President Martin Van Buren issued during the Panic of 1837, strongly critical of his continuation of predecessor Andrew Jackson's hard-money policies. Particular reference is made to the Specie Circular, a highly unpopular order issued by the Jackson administration in December 1836, directing collectors of public revenues to accept only gold or silver (i.e., "specie") in payment for public lands. Designed to curb speculation, the measure was blamed by administration critics for draining the economy of hard money and precipitating the 1837 crisis. Hearkening back to the anti-Jackson "King Andrew the First" (no. 1833-4), the artist portrays Van Buren as a monarch in a princely cloak, treading on the Constitution. He is crowned "in the name of Belzebub . . . Ragamuffin king" by a demon. Van Buren's cloak is trimmed with "shinplasters," the colloquial term for the often worthless small-denomination bank notes which proliferated during the panic. Van Buren says, "I like this cloak amazingly, for now I shall be able to put into execution my Designs without being observed by every quizing, prying Whig. I'm obliged to keep close since my Safety Fund is blown . . ." Under the Safety Fund law, passed during Van Buren's term as governor of New York, banks were required to contribute to a fund used to liquidate the obligations of banks that failed. The fund was quickly exhausted during the panic. On the walls are pictures of "Bequests of the Late Incumbent" (Andrew Jackson), including "The Hickory Stick," worshipped by the masses like the brazen serpent in the Old Testament, Jackson's spectacles and clay pipe, his hat, the Safety Fund balloon in flames, and "the Last Gold Coin," minted in 1829 (the year Jackson first took office). On the wall at right is a headless statue of Jackson holding a "veto" in his right hand (an allusion to Jackson's 1832 veto of a bill to recharter the Bank of the United States). Visible through a window is a street scene where a crowd mobs a theater exhibiting "a Real Gold Coin." Beneath Van Buren's feet are several documents, including the Specie Circular and "petitions," the missives from New York bankers and merchants which deluged the White House calling for repeal of the Circular. A document labeled "Indian claims" refers to another unpopular Jackson legacy: the numerous grievances by tribes like the Cherokees and Seminoles regarding unfair and inhumane government treaties by which they were being displaced and deprived of their lands.|Copyright secured according to law by F.J. Winston.|Published at 89 Nassau St. NY.|Signed: Forbes Delt.|The Library's impression of the print was deposited for copyright on August 29, 1837, and published at the same address as Anthony Fleetwood's "6 Cents. Humbug Glory Bank" (no. 1837-10).|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 49.|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 1837-1.

J.L. Magee, publisher, 305 Walnut Str. Philad. Entered according to Act of Congress A.D. 1865, by J.L. Magee in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)

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 favor of the independent Zachary Taylor in its 1848 presidential nomination. Cass stands at the head of a table before a paper marked "Democratic Platform," addressing his "Cabinet" composed of old-line Democrats including (left to right) Van Buren's postmaster general Amos Kendall, his treasury secretary Levi Woodbury, former Van Buren Senate allies John Calhoun and Thomas Hart Benton, and Democratic senators Sam Houston and William Allen. Cass: "Gentlemen, we stand on the Democratic "Platform," that is, to "Reward our Friends," rewarding of enemies & deserting of Friends is what caused the breaking up of the Whig Party." Kendall, with a document "Post-Office Reform" before him: "Mr. President, I think you had better state to the gentlemen present what our Principles are & what we intend to carry out." Woodbury, holding a rolled document titled "New Hampshire" says: "The Whig Party ought to be broke up for ever, for putting aside "Clay" & sticking a man in his place that has no principle or Party." South Carolina Senator Calhoun, writing a paper "Free Trade S.C." comments: "I think after all the northern "Dough Faces" must feel rather "flat," to think we won't go their "bastard whig ticket." rather green that." Benton adds: "Feel "flat," why they are used to that, they always have their own way, Except upon "Election day!'" "Houston, with "Missouri Claims," agrees: "Yes, & the day after the "Election" they say it was a dam'd "Locofoco cheat, &" that the Irish & Dutch "both Voted against them." "Senator Allen concludes: "Gentleman, I agree with you all, we must turn out every man that does not stand on the "Platform," it will not do to have any spies in our camp."|Entered . . . 1848 by H.R. Robinson. |Lith. & pubd. by H.R. Robinson 51 Park Row N. York (adjoining Lovejoy's Hotel & directly opposite the Park Fountain)|Probably drawn by "W.J.C.".|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 92.|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 1848-33.

A satire condemning the duplicity and conspiracy of the "Bucktail" faction of New York Democrats in their April 1824 ouster of New York's ex-governor DeWitt Clinton from his post as canal commissioner. The Library's impression of the print has the missing letters in the names of the figures filled in by hand. Twelve men stand in a room, with a platform, table, and lamp on the right. On the left G[ardiner] is about to exit saying, "I will run home and ask the people how they will like it before I give my vote." To the left of the platform P[ierson] says to B[ourne], "I hope we shall give you a united vote for the removal of Mr. Clinton I have long wished an opportunity to have revenge on him for blowing up the old Burr Conspiracy." B[ourne]: "I am delighted with the prospect! Clinton has always been my devil--it will be impossible to pull him down to our level if we do not dishonor him. I recommend secrecy as success depends upon our taking the members by surprise at the moment of adjournment." Others in the room speak (counterclockwise, from the far left): S[eama]n: "I beg of you to pause ere you adopt any more lobby measures--we were sent here for public good--yet all our measures have for their object individual benefit. This base deed will produce a reaction and may make him Governor. The republican party so justly famed for justice and liberality will in their haste to free themselves from this odium forget and forgive everything." M[ors]e: "The North river squad think the Canal a benefit to ourside [sic] of the City and they will therefore disapprove our dishonoring its founder." D[rake]: "I wish I could be excused from voting, my conscience tells me it is wrong my judgment tells me it will dishonor the State--but the lobby requires it and it must be done." H[yatt]: "I vote here against the measure but if a majority of this meeting decide in its favor I will vote for it in the house tomorrow as my creed is the majority must rule." B[enedict]: "It is inconsistant with a Soldiers honor to build up or pull down any man to gratify angry or sordid passions --besides this lobby influence must be check'd or it will ruin the State." [Henry] W[heaton]: "I will support the measure to punish him for the injury he did our profession by recommending the fee bill and extending the jurisdiction of the judges." [Clarkson] C[rolius]: "I will support the measure in hopes of appeasing the wrath of the Bucktails altho' I fear they are too hard baked to be gull'd in this way. Besides My Insurance Co. & the lobby." W[ar]d: "My vote shall be given for this removal because he is the author of all our troubles about the electoral law. When Govr. he recommended to the Legislature the restoration of the peoples rights." T[own]: "It is true he has been my Benefactor and I ought to shudder at the deed but three months tuition in the hands of the lobby does away these squeamish feelings." Above, in a cloud, is Columbia with an American flag and an eagle, saying, "I renounce them and their ways."|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Murrell, p. 98.|Weitenkampf, p. 21.|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 1824-1.

A derisive view of Andrew Jackson's reluctant, politically-minded endorsement of the Distribution Act, or "Surplus Bill," a measure authorizing distribution of surplus federal funds among the states. Facing the prospect of an almost certain Congressional override should he veto the bill, Jackson signed it on June 23, 1836, abetting Vice-President Van Buren's bid for the presidency that year. The cartoon shows Jackson (right), Van Buren (left) and Van Buren running-mate Richard M. Johnson, seated at a table pondering the bill. Jackson (with a quill in his teeth, and a spittoon or brazier by his feet): What the devil shall I do Matty, with this Bill? if I veto it the cursed Whigs are strong enough to pass it!! Van Buren (head in hand): We are in a bad box General; I'm dead against giving away a dollar, but as you say, needs must when the devil drives!! Kendall/Johnson: It's hard to part with our Surplus, but the people are too strong for us!! The print is evidently a reversed copy of a print by the same title published by H. R. Robinson in June 1836 at 48 Courtlandt Street.|Printed & publ by H.R. Robinson, 52 Cortlandt Strt. N-York.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Davison, no. 71.|Weitenkampf, p. 41.|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 1836-9.

A mild satire on Jackson and his Cabinet, portraying in imaginative terms a White House reception of popular French dancer and actress Madame Celeste. Seated in chairs in a White House parlor are six cabinet members. In the center Jackson sits behind a table, as "Door Keeper" Jimmy O'Neal (standing) presents Madame Celeste. The cabinet members are (left to right): Secretary of the Navy Mahlon Dickerson, Attorney General Benjamin F. Butler, Secretary of War Lewis Cass, Postmaster General Amos Kendall, Treasury Secretary Levi Woodbury, and Vice-President Martin Van Buren. Each figure's remarks are an amusing reflection of his own character or reputation. Dickerson: I never felt the inconvenience of being a bachelor untill now. what I have lost!! she as gracefull as a Seventy-four under full sail. Cass: This is a very strange introduction to the Cabinet when weighty matters are under discussion; but it does not become me to complain. Jimmy O'Neal: O' she'll bother them all by the powers faith, except my friend Kendal he has no soule for a pretty woman... Celeste: Mon General, if it is "glory enough" to serve under you "ma foi" vat is my grand satisfaction to see you wis de Grand Cabinet of dis Grand Nation here assamble. Jackson: Charming Creature. I've not lost all my penchant for pretty women .... Kendall: I wonder how the General could ever prefer the heels to the head. He never learnt that from me. But the least said the soonest mended. Woodbury: She has grace enough to dance all the surplus Revenue out of the Treasury Hasn't she, Mr. Attorney general? Butler: She is well enough, but I have conscientious scruples on these matters. Van Buren: Pooh pooh Butler, this is not the age for scruples of any kind. I like her rapid movements, her quick changes, her gracefull transitions. She is of my school ..." Weitenkampf's association of the cartoon with the Peggy Eaton affair of 1831, where several cabinet members resigned, is mistaken since the cabinet shown here consists of later appointees. The print appears from the style and monogram to be the work of lithographic draftsman Albert Hoffay.|Entered . . . 1836 by H.R. Robinson.|Published April 1836 by H.R. Robinson 48 Cortlandt St. N.Y.|Signed: A.H. (A.A. Hoffay?).|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Century, p. 40.|Weitenkampf, p. 40.|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 1836-6.

A satire critical of New York "Courier and Enquirer" editor, James Watson Webb for his journalistic assaults on exiled Hungarian revolutionary leader Louis Kossuth. Weitenkampf dates the cartoon 1852, but it may have appeared as early as December 1851, when Kossuth landed in New York for a much-publicized visit to seek American diplomatic and financial support for Hungary. His visit caused a sensation and he was greeted enthusiastically by most Americans, and was particularly embraced by libertarians and free-soilers. Webb's newspaper, however, was highly critical of Kossuth and his attempts to embroil the United States in the European conflict. Webb strides down the street, with his back to the viewer and a copy of the "Courier & Enquirer" with the headline "Kossuth," protruding from his back pocket. To the left a young apprentice at the entrance of a blacksmith shop points out Webb to his master, who is at work inside. He says, "Say! Boss! he's a comein, yer told me to call yer when he went past, it's the man what wrote all that Stuf agin the Hungarians." The blacksmith looks up and exclaims, "Good Gracious! here Bill, work this bellows here for a minute til I see that man, I wouldn't miss having a good look at that man for a new ten cent peice he must be a curiosity." To the right, two small children and a crowd of people watch Webb pass by, among them a tall man closely resembling Kossuth.|Drawn by John L. Magee.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 112.|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 1852-2.

Confederate president Jefferson Davis's capture by Union cavalry on May 10, 1865, while allegedly fleeing in women's clothing, inspired a rash of prints exploiting the tale's comic possibilities. According to Davis's autobiography, at the time of his capture he was wearing his wife's raglan overcoat, which he had mistakenly put on in his haste to leave, and a shawl, which his wife had thrown over his head and shoulders. The Northern press made the most of his "last shift," transforming the shawl to a bonnet, and sometimes even portraying Davis wearing a hoopskirt and full female dress. Since Davis had apparently tried to escape casually with a black servant carrying water, he was often pictured carrying a water bucket. Another detail added by the cartoonists was a Bowie knife. Here the artist shows a camp in the woods where Davis, wearing a dress, shawl, and bonnet, and carrying a water bucket labeled "Mom Davis" and a Bowie knife, is accosted by Union soldiers. One Union soldier (center) lifts Davis's skirt with his saber mocking, "Well, "old mother," boots and whiskers hardly belong to a high-toned Southern lady." Davis implores, "I only wish to be let alone." At right another soldier, speaking in a Germanic accent, says, "Mein Gott, ter "olt mutter" vears ter pig gavalrie poots! . . . " He may be intended to represent the Norwegian-born tanner who first spotted Davis. The soldier at left exclaims, "Jerusalem! her "old Mother," hey! Its ld "Leach'" in petticoats--That's so." Behind Davis a woman warns, "Do not provoke tĚ_Ąhe President,' he might hurt some one." A black youth, presumably Davis's servant, looks on, exclaiming, "Golly Marse Yank, de old Missus is "done gone" shu-ah! . . ." At far right a waiting Confederate carriage containing barrels of "Whiskey" and "Stolen Gold" is visible. This impression was deposited for copyright on June 5, 1865, less than a month after Davis's capture. |Entered . . . 1865 by Oscar H. Harpel, (Opera House, Cincinnati) Ohio.|Signed: Design by Burgoo Zac|Title appears as it is written on the item.|"The Confederate Image," p. 85.|Weitenkampf, p. 150.|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 1865-11.

Entered according to the Act of Congress by William Kelly, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of the City of New York.|Inscribed in ink above image: Deposited Novr. 6th 1832.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)

A deceptive broadside, ostensibly a pro-McClellan campaign piece but actually a piercing attack on the Democratic platform. In the center is a portrait of Democratic presidential candidate George B. McClellan standing aboard a ship, watching the Battle of Malvern Hill--the culminating defeat of his disastrous Peninsular Campaign. (See "The Gunboat Candidate," no. 1864-17.) Beneath the print's title "The Chicago Platform" is a subheading "Union Failures" above a cannon flanked by tattered American flags. Each Democratic platform resolution is illustrated with a vignette which supports its reverse. The top left scene shows a black man chased by bloodhounds, above the tenet "Resolved, that in the future, as in the past, we will adhere with unswerving fidelity to the Union under the Constitution as the only solid foundation of our strength." At the upper right is a polling scene, above which appears the Democratic resolution condemning the "interference of the military authority of the United States in the recent elections held in Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and Delaware." In the scene balloting proceeds under the protection of federal soldiers. Citizens loyal to the Union vote, while an obviously unruly Irishman is barred. Other scenes are (middle register, left to right): "The Constitution Itself Has Been Disregarded." Abraham Lincoln displays his Emancipation Proclamation to a group of black men and women. (Continuing from left): ". . . In Every part, and Public Liberty and Private Right." A picture shows the New York draft riots of 1863, where one man clubs another while a young boy dances. A simian Irishman holds a black child upside down by his foot and is about to strike him with a club. Fires rage in the background. "Resolved That the Aim And Object of the Democratic Party is to Preserve the Federal Union and the Rights of the States Unimpaired . . . . " One scene shows a black woman sold at a slave auction, and another scene portrays two white men flogging a black man, as an overseer watches approvingly. The bottom register shows scenes of the war, Southern soldiers bowing to President of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis, a Union graveyard, "Rebels in the North" or spies being arrested, and so on. The lengthy text below includes excerpts from McClellan's letter accepting the Democratic nomination, and from his running mate George Hunt Pendleton's speech in Congress calling for a reconciliation with the South or the peaceful acceptance of its secession.|Signed: Th Nast.|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 1864-22.

Although printed in Philadelphia, the sheet music on which this illustrated cover appears is clearly Southern in sympathy. Within an ornate acanthus framework is a large palmetto tree, symbol of South Carolina. Beneath the tree, in a hilly landscape, sits a winged female figure playing a harp. Below the main scene is a small vignette of Barhamville, the South Carolina Collegiate Female Institute, near Columbia, South Carolina. Founded in 1828 by Elias Marks (the author of the lyrics of "Chicora"; the music was composed by A. Hatschek, another professor at Barhamville), the school was a distinguished institution of higher education for women. Marks left the school in June 1861 and retired to Washington, D.C. The music sheet may have been issued from there.|Copyright secured. |Drawn by F. Roeth.|Entered . . . 1861 by C.B. Estran . . . District Court of Virginia.|Thomas Sinclair's lith. Phila.|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 1861-25.

Parody of a public notice, dated June 20, 1828, reporting an assault on American Zionist, playwright, and editor Mordecai Manuel Noah by Elijah J. Roberts. In the text Noah petitions that Roberts "be bound by recognizance to be of good behavior and keep the peace, and to answer for the above assault, &c. at the next Court of General Sessions of the Peace . . . ." A vignette illustration portrays a diminutive figure of Roberts attacking a much larger Noah on the steps of New York's Park Theatre. A playbill on the wall behind them advertises "The Jew," "1 Act of the Hypocrite," and "End with the farce of The Liar." At this time Noah was editor of the "New York Enquirer."|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 1828-1.

Four vignette cartoon shows Brother Jonathan kicking the confederacy, Napoleon III, and Emperor Maximillian, represented by animals, with his "iron-clad" boots. In the next vignette, Brother Jonathan fills the feed dish of the American eagle with yellow pills, from which the bird produces specie, "green backs." In the third vignette, men ride horses which have the heads of Abraham Lincoln, John Charles Fremont, Pomeroy and Gilbert. The journalist, Horace Greeley, is thrown from his mount. They head toward Richmond. In the fourth vignette, titled, "The Yankee rooster converting English blockade runners into iron-clads and monitors," the rooster consumes English blockade runners and turns them into iron-clads and monitors through the process of elimination.|Lithograph by G.W. Lascell.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (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 scullery maid, raises a "buttermilk dasher" against a party of fleeing Democrats. The fugitives are (left to right, standing): Secretary of War Joel Poinsett, Postmaster General Amos Kendall, Washington "Globe" editor Francis Preston Blair (arms outstretched, looking left), Secretary of State John Forsyth, John Calhoun, Levi Woodbury, and Van Buren. Thomas Hart Benton (left) and Alabama Representative Dixon H. Lewis, a States Rights Democrat, have fallen to the floor. Harrison: "Gentlemen as you don't like hard Cider I will give you a taste of the Buttermilk Dasher." Van Buren: "This is worse than the Rebellion in Vermount!" Poinsett: "If you had followed my advice we would have had by this time our Standing Army of 200,000 men." Blair: "I shall leave the Globe!" Forsyth: "I shall never be Vice President." Calhoun: "I am for the South direct." Woodbury: "I can issue no more Treasury Notes!" On the far left a bespectacled man with plaited hair (Pennsylvania Democratic congressman David Petrikin) holds up his hand and says, "I object." The man lamenting his lost hopes for the vice presidency has been previously identified as Alabama Senator William Smith. Yet comparison of the likeness here with Charles Fenderich's 1840 lithographed portrait of Secretary of State John Forsyth confirms identification of the man as that cabinet member. The print is most probably by Napoleon Sarony, showing the same distinctive, patterned cross-hatching and broad crayon-work as his "The New Era or the Effects of a Standing Army "(no. 1840-3). "Clar de Kitchen" was the title of a popular dance song of Negro minstrel comic T.D. Rice.|Entered . . . 1840 by H.R. Robinson.|Printed & published by H.R. Robinson, 52 Cortlandt St. N.Y. & Pennsa Avenue Washington D.C.|Signed: Boneyshanks (probably Napoleon Sarony).|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Blaisdell & Selz, no. 17.|Century, p. 54-55.|Weitenkampf, p. 64.|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 1840-44.

An earlier state or proof of number 1844-6, this impression is printed on silk and lacks the "Hoboken Clay Club" overprinting. (The scrolls are left blank.)|Entered . . . 1844 . . . Southern District of New-York, by R. Hemming, 31 Maiden Lane, N. Y.|This proof was deposited for copyright on June 3, 1844.|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 1844-7.

Print shows a Whig campaign banner composed of a pattern of alternating red and white stripes reminiscent of the American flag. On each of the four white stripes appears the name of a Whig candidate for the 1844 election. These include Henry Clay, vice-presidential hopeful Theodore Frelinghuysen, and the names "Markle," and "Stewart."|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 1844-10.

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 lower margin reads: "A Fable--In the Reign of Zackery 1st the Goddess of Liberty Designed a Statue. a Model of a Man which she exhibited before the King, his Ministers, & the People. the Beauty of the Statue Elicited such shouts of Approbation from the People that the King's Ministers fired with Jealousy determined to Destroy it, but after many Ineffectual attempts were obliged to Desist amidst the Laughter of the Court & the People." The King is clearly President Taylor, who sits on a throne at the far left, in uniform and holding a sword instead of a scepter. A spittoon is on the floor before him, and a black court jester crouches beside the throne holding a copy of the newspaper the "Republic." A larger-than-life statue of Henry Clay, in armor and holding a shield inscribed "Compromise" and a sword, stands in the center of the scene. Clay's sword bears the words, "I fight for my Country! Traitors Beware." The statue towers over the figures that surround it, which include Taylor cabinet members Reverdy Johnson, George W. Crawford, and Thomas Ewing (on the right) and Secretary of State John M. Clayton (on the left). Crawford and Ewing regard the broken ax and saw which they hold in their hands. Crawford (to Johnson): "Look here Just see what a great Big Piece Ive Broke of my Gulpin Ax. I'll send in a Gulpin Claim for this. Valuable Ax this." The allusion is to Crawford's lucrative and questionable role as counsel for the Galphin family's successful suit against the federal government, an arrangement which provoked heated criticism in the press. The controversy over this Taylor administration scandal reached its peak in April, May and June of 1850. Johnson: "The Ax, was Broke before you used it, however, you Lie & I'll Swear to it, & we'll Pockett the Plunder between us." Ewing: "Why Ive Broke nearly all the teeth of my Chickensaw against this Infernall Statue. I'le send in a Big Claim for this." Clayton gestures entreatingly to Taylor: "Why the Devil dont your Imperial Majesty assist us, I can assure your Majesty, it's much Easier discharging a Bullitt, from a Republic, than it is injuring this Statue." Journalist Alexander C. Bullitt was a Taylor advisor and, beginning in 1849, editor of the administration organ the Washington "Republic." Bullitt appears here as the black court fool. Taylor hugs to his chest the tiny figure of New York senator William H. Seward, who sits on his lap. Seward was an insider in the short-lived Taylor administration, and a vigorous opponent of the Compromise of 1850. Taylor says, "Consider the weight of my Crown, Dear Clayton. besides my sick Baby, little Billey, requires, all my Care. moreove as the People like the Statue, I'de rather not Compromise myself, in the matter. assume the Responsibility Yourself, you'r used to it." Just to the right of the throne stand (left to right) senators Thomas Hart Benton, Daniel Webster, and Henry S. Foote. Benton: "Why its a Miserable Statue. a wretched abortion, the inscriptions on the Sword & Shield are in very Bad Taste, very Bad Taste indeed." Benton was an adamant critic of the Compromise. Foote (to Webster): "I think its a Splendid Statue. Which Party do you go for." Webster: "The Party thats likely to win. Of Course, I shall Keep one eye on the Statue, & the other on the Chair, & act according to circumstances." Senator Lewis Cass stands to the right of Foote, in the background, saying, "I rather like the Inscription on the Shield." Clay does, however, have some friends here. On the far right is a crowd of people led by the figure of Liberty, a young maiden in a classical gown holding a staff and liberty cap. She addresses Johnson and the others, "Gentlemen! I made this Statue as a Model of a Man. now though it is only of Clay & I wafted it here in a Breath, still with all your efforts, you can neither move it from its Base, or inflict the slightest Injury upon it. its innate strenght [sic] will defy all your Puny attempts." Liberty's followers enjoin, "Why I think it's a Beautifull Statue," and "So do I! Hurrah! for the Clay Statue." "The Clay Statue," though tentatively dated 1849 by Weitenkampf, must have appeared in 1850, certainly after Henry Clay's presentation of the compromise in January and probably as late as the spring, at the height of the Galphin controversy.|Drawn by John L. Magee.|Pubd. by John L. Magee 34 Mott St. N.Y.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 98.|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 1850-9.

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 Hercules. The hero was to clean King Augeas's stables, which had been inhabited for thirty years by three thousand oxen. The artist draws a parallel with the White House, held almost continuously since 1829 by the Democrats. The artist applauds Whig opposition to the annexation of Texas, illustrated by Virginia congressman Henry A. Wise's expulsion of "Madam Texas" at left. Wise says, "You will go about your business & lurk around these premises no longer. Your former master has forbidden all persons to harbor or trust you, & we shall not pay your debts for you." The "former master" was Mexico, who, though granting Texas its independence in 1836, still considered the Lone Star Republic a wayward province. With a pitchfork, Henry Clay tosses his Democratic counterpart James Polk out the window while incumbent President John Tyler throws George Dallas out the same window. Clay says, "It's all very well, Mr. Polk, but you can't come here." Andrew Jackson, poking his head in a nearby window exclaims, "By the eternal! We shan't know the old place, these fellows have gutted it so completely." To their left, Daniel Webster shovels out Thomas Hart Benton's gold coins, or "mint drops." Senator John C. Calhoun carries "fox" Van Buren toward the door, holding him unceremoniously upside-down by the tail. "Cleansing the Augean Stable" evidently appeared in the summer of 1844. (The Library's impression was deposited for copyright on July 10.) The appearance of Calhoun and Tyler, ostensibly on the side of the Whigs here, is puzzling. Calhoun and Tyler, both strong annexationists, had by this time lined up fairly decisively behind the Democratic candidates.|Drawn by H. Bucholzer.|Entered . . . 1844 by James Baillie.|Lithography & print coloring on reasonable terms by James Baillie No. 33 Spruce St. New York.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 79.|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 1844-35.