A complex and somewhat obscure satire celebrating the defeat of Dorrite Democrats in the Rhode Island state elections of spring 1843. The canvass was held the year following the successful suppression of the Dorrite Rebellion, an abortive revolt against the Charter government of Rhode Island, led by Thomas Wilson Dorr. (See "Tyrants Prostrate Liberty Triumphant," no. 1844-19). Yet the 1843 Democratic slate included many radicals sympathetic to Dorr and was seen as a challenge to the reigning conservative Law and Order Party. "Trouble in the Spartan Ranks" ridicules the Dorrites on several fronts, from Dorr's enlistment of help in his cause from the Spartan Band, a New York City gang of toughs, to the makeup of their local constituency. "Old Durham" is the newly elected governor, septuagenarian James Fenner (lower right), shown as a stout man with large horns and bull's ears. He tosses the rebel leader on his horns. Dorr has one cloven hoof (a satanic attribute) and is armed with "That Sword," a prop which he employed in a famous May 1842 speech against the Charter government. He says, "Leave my Bones on Accots hill." (Acote's Hill, in the town of Chepachet, was the site of the Dorrite troop encampment at the time of their surrender in June 1842.) In the margin below, is an explanatory text phrased in mock-biblical style: Chronicles 11-1. And it came to pass anno domini 1843. A special season of humbug and fanaticism. That interlopers from Cape Cod and the Spartan Band of the Pewter Mug of York. And a few demigogues seeking office caricatured in print, the true R. Island nominee as "The Durham Bull" having horns upon his head, girth like unto the ox surly and uncouth. 2d ver. Prognosticating, Albeit that "old Durham with his horns" and the horns of Millerism would fall in disgrace together in April 1843. [For Millerism see "The Salamander Safe," no. 1843-5]. 3d ver. Mark their error and the sequel . . . Fenner is solicited by a man in a long coat on the right who says, "Lordy, Gody Govr haint I alrers been your freend. Now do for massey sake and the Corporals save the Sover-in-ity. If the Sover-inity aint in the People where is it? as Slocum says." Fenner is pointing with his whip to a banner held by a knight in armor (center) bearing the arms of the state. The banner shows Father Time, with his characteristic attributes, an hourglass and a snake grasping its own tail, and reads: "April 1843. It is Written on the Tombstone of Eternity Dorrism shall be no more in Rhode-Island." The banner hangs from a staff with an eagle and motto, "Law and Order Shall be sustained in R.I." The knight is preceded by a motley group of men with the banner, "Squad No. 2 Liberty or Oregon Delegation From 3d, 5h & 6h Wards & Burrillville." The three Providence wards and Burrillville were strongholds of reformist support. The men have their ward numbers and an initial on their hats and are no doubt Dorrite Democrats. One of the shortest and most unkempt of them, with a clay pipe protruding from his vest pocket, is an Irishman, a specimen of the new tradesmen and working-class immigrants who swelled the ranks of the reformist Democrats. Also on their banner is a black man thumbing his nose and saying, "Oregon! dats up Salt River By hokey." (The reoccupation of Oregon became an important plank in the Democratic platform of 1844.) Attached to the group is a dwarf whose trousers are torn by a dog. He is a member of the Spartan Band, carrying a flag reading, "The Banks & Beauty of Providence Spartan Band, N. York." He complains, "These Rhode Island Dogs are a pull-back to our designs and quite disorganize our fundamental arrangements." Ahead of the group is another, bearded dwarf with a drum. He has one peg leg and the other with a cloven hoof. He exhorts the group, "Go it you Algerine cripples," a phrase combining an old Democratic campaign cry with reference to the Algerine Law, an 1842 act outlawing Dorrite activity as treason. At the lower left a tiny seamstress scrutinizes through a glass a ragged, lanky tough holding a spear and clay pipe who says, "Ize one of the Spartan Band. Bee's you one of the Ladies Dorrick Circle?" Behind them is the Providence Armory, which was attacked by the Dorrites during the rebellion. It is well guarded and flies banners saying, "Law and Order the Foundation of Democracy" and "9 Cheers for Old Durham, horns and all."|C. Maolsehber del.|Entered . . . 1843 by Wm. Andrews . . . Massachusetts.|Thayer & Co's. Lith. Boston.|The Library's impression of the print was deposited for copyright on April 29, 1843, three weeks after the elections. The publisher's imprint has been trimmed off. Weitenkampf mentions two editions of the print in the American Antiquarian Society collections.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Murrell, p. 160, 162.|Weitenkampf, p. 73.|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 1843-6.

Another in a series of racist posters attacking Radical Republican exponents of black suffrage, issued during the 1866 Pennsylvania gubernatorial race. (See "The Constitutional Amendment," no. 1866-5.) The poster specifically characterizes Democratic candidate Hiester Clymer's platform as "for the White Man," represented here by the idealized head of a young man. (Clymer ran on a white-supremacy platform.) In contrast a stereotyped black head represents Clymer's opponent James White Geary's platform, "for the Negro." Below the portraits are the words, "Read the platforms. Congress says, The Negro must be allowed to vote, or the states be punished." Above is an explanation: "Every Radical in Congress Voted for Negro Suffrage. Every Radical in the Pennsylvania Senate Voted for Negro Suffrage. Stevens [Pennsylvania Representative Thaddeus Stevens], Forney [John W. Forney, editor of the " Philadelphia Press":], and Cameron [Pennsylvania Republican boss Simon Cameron] are for Negro Suffrage; they are all Candidates for the United States Senate. No Radical Newspaper Opposes Negro Suffrage. "Geary" said in a Speech at Harrisburg, 11th of August, 1866--"There Can Be No Possible Objection to Negro Suffrage." |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 1866-8.

A pro-Breckinridge satire on the 1860 presidential contest. Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln (right) and Democrat Stephen A. Douglas (left) appear as boxers squaring off in a ring before a small crowd of onlookers. Douglas is seconded by an Irishman (left), presumably representing Douglas's Democratic constituency. Lincoln is coached by a black man, who kneels at right, armed with a basket of liquor bottles, and signifies Lincoln's antislavery leanings. In the background a third candidate, John C. Breckinridge, thumbs his nose and points toward the White House. He is encouraged on his way by a number of men who cheer and doff their hats to him. Weitenkampf cites a version of the print signed by F. Welcker of Cincinnati. Whatever his identity, the artist of "The Undecided Political Prize Fight" was probably also responsible for "The Political Quadrille" and "Dividing the National Map" (nos. 1860-23 and 1860-24), judging from the strikingly similar handling of the candidate portraits in all three prints.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 121.|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 1860-22.

An anti-McClellan broadside, contrasting Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln's advocacy of equality and free labor in the North to Democratic opponent McClellan's alleged support of the Southern slave system. The comparison is made in two scenes, "Union and Liberty" (left) and "Union and Slavery" (right). In the first, Lincoln shakes the hand of a bearded man wearing a square paper labor cap, while black and white school children issue from a schoolhouse flying the American flag in the background. On the right McClellan, in military uniform, shakes the hand of Confederate president Jefferson Davis, as a slave auction takes place behind them.|Published by M.W. Siebert, Printer, 28 Centre Street, Corner Reade, N.Y.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Lorant, p. 264.|Weitenkampf, p. 143.|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 1864-27.

A representation of an enormous illuminated transparency displayed on thefacade of the federal recruiting office for Negro troops on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia on November 1, 1864. The display celebrated the emancipationof slaves in Maryland through the state's new constitution, adopted onOctober 13 of the same year. At the top of the transparency is a bell draped with bunting and surmountedby an American flag. On each side of it is a lit oil lamp. Beneath the bell,in bold letters, are the words "God Save the Republic." Immediately below this is a large battle scene where black troops storm anenemy redoubt, with the commentary, "Never in field or tent scorn a blackregiment." Below the scene are quotations from George Washington, ThomasJefferson, and Patrick Henry, affirming the ideal of emancipation. Foursmaller scenes appear at right and left of a central panel (clockwise fromupper left): 1. "Before Fort Wagner, July 11th, 1863," where a dying black Unionstandard-bearer gives up the flag to another, saying, "Boys!! I never once letthe old flag touch the ground." 2. "Struggle for a Rebel battle flag at New Market Heights, Near Richmond,Sept. 29th, 1864.--Maj. Genl. Butler," in which a black soldier bayonets aConfederate, saying, "Sic semper tyrannis." 3. "In St. Mary's County, Maryland," showing a black woman pointing out aschoolhouse to two black children saying, "Tis education forms the CommonMind." A subtitle reads, "12,000 colored soldiers from Maryland now at thefront fighting for the Union." 4. A slave auction, with the note that thousands of women and children were sold to the far South annually under Maryland's old constitution. A quote attributed to Homer above the scene reads, "God fixed it certain that whatever day / Makes man a slave takes half his worth away." In the center of the transparency is an arch composed of blocks with thenames of various virtues, supported by two columns, the one on the rightlabeled "Faith." The keystone of the arch is Justice. Above it are AndrewJackson's famous words, "The Union must and shall be preserved." Various textsexemplifying Maryland's tradition of religious and personal freedom appearinside the arch. Below are portraits of Abraham Lincoln and an unidentified man.|Ringwalt & Brown Prs. 111 & 113 South 4th St. 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 1864-44.

Documents the civil rights movement in the U.S. Nearly 50 photos, posters, and descriptions depict important events and individuals: school integration in Little Rock (1957), the lunch counter sit-in in Greensboro (1960), the memorial service for Medgar Evers (1963), the March on Washington (1963), the Selma-to-Montgomery March (1965), the Voting Rights Act (1965), and others.

A satire on Southern recruitment efforts during the early part of the Civil War. In a scene before a Confederate encampment, a reluctant civilian (center) is presented with a musket and military coat by two veteran soldiers, one wearing an absurdly tall fur hat. The recruit is restrained from behind by another officer. In the background left a troop of recruits drill; on the right two blacks soldiers, one with rolled pantlegs and military coat, look on with amusement. |Printed and copyrighted by Ehrgott & Forbriger, Cincinnati.|The Library's impression of the print was deposited for copyright on July 8, 1861, by the Cincinnati lithographic firm of Ehrgott & Forbriger. It is clearly by the same unidentified artist as two other prints by Ehrgott & Forbriger, "Strayed" and "Ye Conference" (nos. 1861-31 and 1861-32). Two additional prints, not owned by the Library but cited by Weitenkampf, are also listed in the copyright records as Ehrgott & Forbriger registrations. They are "That Feed Won't Do" and ""Wait 'Till the War Is Over."" The copyright imprint, which appears on an impression of "Volunteering Down Dixie" cited by Weitenkampf, appears to have been rubbed or scraped from the Library's impression.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 132.|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 1861-33.

The opposition of Northern abolitionists, churchmen, and political figures to enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 is criticized in this rare pro-Southern cartoon. In two panels artist Edward Williams Clay illustrates the abolitionist's invocation of a "higher law" against the claim of a slave owner, and the application of the same principle against the Northerner in a case of stolen textiles. In the left panel a slaveholder "Mr. Palmetto" and a federal marshal confront an abolitionist "Mr. Pumpkindoodle" and a garishly dressed, runaway slave "Pompey" in a warehouse or shop interior. On the counter is a copy of the newspaper the "Emancipator." Palmetto: ". . . I've come here to take that fugitive slave who belongs to me, according to the provisions of the U. S. law! Officer do your duty!" Pumpkindoodle (handing a pistol to the slave): "What! seize my African brother! never! I dont recognize any U.S. law! I have a higher law, a law of my own. here Pompey take this pistol and resist to the death! if he attempts to take you!" Pompey (trembling): "Ye yes sa! I'll try, cause brudders [antislavery senator from New York William H.] Seward and [abolitionist William Lloyd] Garrison says its all right; and so does Parson Squash! But I'm mighty feared." Federal marshal: "Whew! I think I'd better make myself scarce!" In the panel on the right, the same abolitionist approaches the seated slaveholder in the latter's shop. A sturdy slave "Cesar" and a grinning attendant stand by. On the counter are several bolts of fabric, labeled "Bay State Shawls," "Cotton Shirting," "Domestic Prints," "Amoskeag Ticks," "Lowels Negro Cloth" and "Hamilton Long Cloth." A copy of the "Charleston Mercury" lies open on Palmetto's lap. Pumpkindoodle: "Look here Mr. Palmetto them 'ere goods is mine! They've been stole from me, and if you dont give 'em up, I'll take the law of the land on you!" Palmetto: ". . . They are fugitives from you, are they? As to the law of the land, I have a higher law of my own, and possession is nine points in the law. I cant cotton to you. Kick out the abolitionist Cesar." Cesar: "Of course Massa. De dam Bobolitionist is the wus enemy we poor niggers have got." |Entered . . . 1851 by E.W. Clay . . . Southern District of N.Y.|Pub. at 152 Nassau St. corner of Spruce N.Y.|Signed with initials: E.W.C. (Edward Williams Clay).|The Library's impression of the print was deposited for copyright on January 22, 1851.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Century, p. 70.|Weitenkampf, p. 103.|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 1851-5.

A pro-Democrat satire, pitting Democratic candidate Lewis Cass against Whig nominee Zachary Taylor in a bout for the presidency. Cass (center) is the obvious favorite. He wears the stovepipe hat, boots, bold plaid trousers, and soap-locks associated with New York street toughs (or "Bowery B'hoys"). On the front of Cass's shirt is an emblem with the initials "U.S." He grasps Taylor by the hair declaring, "I'm one of the B-Hoys, and I woudn't be anything else!" Taylor, also dressed as a rowdy, cries, "O, enough! I surrender for the first time!" Cass has already dispatched a black man "Abolition," who sits in a basket at the far left, Free Soil candidate Martin Van Buren, on the ground at left, and Whig vice presidential candidate, Millard Fillmore, on the ground at right with a black eye. Abolition: "De lor' have mercy on our souls!" Van Buren: "Johnny [i.e., John Van Buren] come and help your Old Dad!" Fillmore: "Curse the Old hoss wot a south paw he has given me!" At far right, seated on a fire hydrant or standpipe, is Cass's running mate William O. Butler who cheers Cass on saying: "I Say Lewy give him a sockdolger!"|Probably drawn by E.F. Durang.|Sold by Turner and Fisher, New York & Philada.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 91.|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 1848-42.

This collection features interview excerpts and photographs from the Working in Paterson Folklife Project of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The four-month study of occupational culture in Paterson, New Jersey, was conducted in 1994. Founded in the 1790s by Alexander Hamilton and the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures (S.U.M.), Paterson harnessed the power of the Great Falls on the Passaic River to become the largest silk manufacturing center in North America, as well as a leader in other types of manufacturing, from railroads to rifles. The documentary materials presented in this online collection explore how this industrial heritage expresses itself in Paterson today: in its work sites, work processes, and memories of workers. The online presentation also includes interpretive essays exploring such topics as work in the African-American community, a distinctive food tradition (the Hot Texas Wiener), the ethnography of a single work place (Watson Machine International), business life along a single street in Paterson (21st Avenue), and narratives told by retired workers.