A bitter indictment of the Democratic administration's responsibility for violence and bloodshed in Kansas in the wake of the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act. (See also "Forcing Slavery Down the Throat of a Freesoiler" and "Democratic Platform Illustrated," nos. 1856-8 and 1856-11.) The print appeared during the presidential campaign of 1856. In the center stands Democratic incumbent Franklin Pierce, dressed in the buckskins of a "border ruffian," as the violent, proslavery invaders of the Kansas territory from Missouri were known. He has planted his foot on an American flag which is draped over Liberty, who kneels at his feet imploring, "O spare me gentlemen, spare me!!" Pierce is armed with a rifle, and has a tomahawk, dagger, pistol, and scalp on his belt. At right a similarly outfitted Lewis Cass stands licking his lips and scoffing, "Poor little Dear. We wouldnt hurt her for the world, would we Frank? ha! ha! ha! . . ." At the far right Democratic senator Stephen Douglas kneels over a slain farmer and holds up the hapless victim's scalp, exclaiming, "Hurrah for our side! Victory! Victory! "We will subdue them yet." "On the far left Democratic candidate James Buchanan and secretary of state William Marcy (with his characteristic fifty-cent" trouser patch) kneel over another victim and empty his pockets. Buchanan lifts the man's watch, saying,"T'was your's once but its mine now, "Might makes right," dont it." Pierce responds, "You may bet your life on that, ole Puddinhead," and says to Liberty, "Come Sis--sy, you go along wid me, I'le take Good care of "you" (hic) "over the left."" In the left background a cottage burns, and the mad widow of a murdered settler stands before a group of ruffians. Widow: "Come husband let us go to heaven, where our poor Children are." Ruffian, thumbing his nose: "Ho! ho! She thinks I'm her husband, we Scalped the Cus and she like a D--m fool went Crazy on it, and now she wants me to go to heaven with her, . . . " In the distance are further scenes of pillage and murder. Attribution to Magee is based on the print's clear stylistic similarity to his "Forcing Slavery Down the Throat of a Freesoiler" (no. 1856-8). A number of satires published by John Childs during the 1856 campaign are also attributable to Magee on stylistic grounds.|Drawn by John L. Magee.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Murrell, p. 190.|Weitenkampf, p. 115.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1856-9.

An allegorical Unionist sheet music cover for a song by Ohio composer J.T. Wamelink with lyrics by C.B. Barr. Beneath an arch "Union," which rests on two bases "Liberty" and "Law," sits a classical female figure. She holds a staff and Phrygian cap in one hand and the scales of justice in the other. To the right are the arms of the state of Pennsylvania, inscribed with the motto of the state, "Virtue, Liberty, and Independence." About the figure are symbols of prosperity--a strongbox, coins, and a cornucopia. A locomotive crosses a bridge at left.Two plants, an oak and a laurel, spring from the earth at left and right. The arch is draped with American flags, and above them are an eagle and a rising sun. |1st Edition, Pittsburgh, Pa. Wamelink & Barr.|Entered . . . 1864 by Wamelink & Barr, Pennsylvania.|Krebs & Bro. Lith. Pittsburgh.|The Library's copy of the music sheet was deposited for copyright on September 12, 1864.|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 1864-10.

Discover our new exhibitions that bring the world’s largest collection of knowledge, culture, and creativity to life through dynamic displays of artifacts enhanced by interactivity. Examine rare and unique items, including the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, the Gutenberg Bible, the 1507 Waldseemüller map that first named America, Thomas Jefferson’s recreated library, and the architectural wonders of the Thomas Jefferson Building.

Poster showing scenes aboard a ship during battle practice, including detailed captions, and text describing Navy opportunities. Captions: Towing target; Firing big guns; Target after firing; Range finders in the "top"; The battle flag; Loading big gun; Firing sub-calibre practice guns; "Spotting" the hits. Sketches made on board U.S.S. Delaware, Tangier Sound. Forms part of: Willard and Dorothy Straight Collection.

Poster showing a soldier carrying another soldier on his back during winter, they are holding mugs from which steam is rising and they have big smiles on their faces. Also shown are emblems from the following organizations: War Camp Community Service; National Catholic War Council; YWCA; American Library Association; YMCA; Jewish Welfare Board - U.S. Army and Navy; and The Salvation Army.

Rival presidential nominees Lincoln and Douglas are matched in a footrace, in which Lincoln's long stride is a clear advantage. Both sprint down a path toward the U.S. Capitol, which appears in the background right. They are separated from it by a rail fence, a reference to Lincoln's popular image as a rail-splitter. Douglas, whose characteristic shortness is here exaggerated to dwarfish dimensions, wonders aloud, "How can I get over this Rail Fence." Over his shoulder he carries a cane on which hangs a jug marked "M.C.," which probably refers to the Missouri Compromise, repealed in 1854 largely through Douglas's efforts. As he runs, playing cards spill from his pockets (suggesting perhaps a penchant for gambling). Lincoln, whose height is equally exaggerated, runs along beside him waving his hat and carrying a rail-splitter's maul over his shoulder. He says confidently, "It [i.e., the rail fence] can't sto\p me for I built it." From the fence on the far right a black youth taunts Douglas, "You can find me in dis yer Fence Massa Duglis." The last is evidently a reference to the slavery question central to the election campaign. The print probably appeared late in the campaign, as the Library's impression was deposited for copyright on September 21, 1860. The footrace image is also used in a similar cartoon discussed by Wilson, entitled "A Political Race" (Wilson, p. 52).|Entered . . . 1860 . . . by J. Sage & Sons.|Published by J. Sage & Sons 209 Main St. Buffalo N.Y.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 121-122.|Wilson, p. 20-21.|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 1860-38.

Campaign sheet music for the Lincoln candidacy. The cover illustration features an oval bust portrait of Republican nominee Abraham Lincoln, surrounded by vignettes and motifs recalling his early backwoods career. In a vignette above the portrait the candidate is shown splitting fence rails near a small cottage. A second scene, below the portrait, features a flatboat and its crew on a river. The vignettes and central portrait are framed by branches and vines. Cornstalks grow from the upper branches, and berries or olives from the lower ones. On the left are an ax, mallet, and splitting wedges. On the right are paddles, an anchor, a pike, and a rudder--implements of river life.|Signed with initials: H.W. (H. Whatley).|Title appears as it is written on the item.|"The Lincoln Image," p. 35.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1860-8.

Electric line repair crew at work on electric pole next to building. Title transcribed from Ansel Adams' caption on negative sleeve. Gift; Ansel Adams; 1965-1968. Forms part of: Manzanar War Relocation Center photographs.

Electric line repair crew at work on electric pole next to building. Title transcribed from Ansel Adams' caption on verso of print. Original neg. no.: LC-A351-3-M-23-A. Gift; Ansel Adams; 1965-1968. Forms part of: Manzanar War Relocation Center photographs.

Poster showing four men in kilts and uniforms, shouldering rifles. Poster no. 54. Title from item.

Access historic documents related to literature and poetry including selected Walt Whitman notebooks, digitized rare books, and presentations on a variety of literary figures ranging from Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley to Edgar Allan Poe and Ernest Hemingway.

Poster showing a young boy saluting a bowl of cereal. United States Food Administration. No. 21.

Katsumi Yoshimura, bust portrait, facing left. Title transcribed from Ansel Adams' caption on verso of print. Caption on negative sleeve includes phrase: "1 of 3." Original neg. no.: LC-A35-4-M-47-Ax. Gift; Ansel Adams; 1965-1968. Forms part of: Manzanar War Relocation Center photographs.

View of the tops of five little boys' heads as they are huddled around a book. Original neg. no.: LC-A35-6-M-12. Gift; Ansel Adams; 1965-1968. Forms part of: Manzanar War Relocation Center photographs.

The contest for the presidency in 1864 is depicted as a game of bagatelle (a game similar to pool) between Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln and Democrat George B. McClellan. Lincoln (left) holds a cue "Baltimore" (the site of the Republican national convention) and is about to shoot a ball on "The Union Board." He says to running mate Andrew Johnson (upper right), "I'll do the best I can Andy, I can do no more." Johnson encourages him, "Hurrah for our side, go ahead Old Abe! O aint he bully on the bagatelle? you're only got a few more to make, It's A Sure Thing!!" Johnson points to the scoreboard which reads "Nix" for the "Copper" (i.e., Copperheads or Peace Democrats). The Union side of the board is blank. At left McClellan, dressed as a child, holds a cue "Chicago" (site of the Democratic national convention) and stands on a toppling "Chicago Platform," which appears to have been given a nudge by Lincoln's foot. A "Peace" plank has fallen from it. (McClellan was never entirely committed to the "peace at any price" principle advocated by Copperhead leader Clement L. Vallandigham.) McClellan complains, "This Cue 'is too heavy! and the' Platform's 'shakey!! O! O! I want to go back in the yard!!" His running mate George H. Pendleton (far left) retorts impatiently, "O see here. We cant stand this! Old Abe's getting in all the pots on the board, this game will have to be played over again or there'l be a fight, THAT'S CERTAIN." At the far right Vallandigham sits with crossed legs, saying to McClellan, "There is nothing the matter with the Cue or the Platform, you had the first red and didn't make anything, now he'll win the game." Union general Ulysses S. Grant smokes a pipe and stands near the middle of the table. He advises McClellan, " . . . you travel too near the ground to play on this board, better surrender UNCONDITIONALLY." A grinning black waiter with a tray of drinks watches Pendleton and McClellan. In the foreground are a cat named "Miss Cegenation" (i.e., miscegenation) and a black dog, tied together at the tails by a string attached to a kettle. They chase two rats, "Old Lea" and "Wood," across a paper holding "Caces Sugar Plumbs."|Published by J.L. Magee, South East cor. Third & Dock Sts. Philada.|Signed: J.L.M. (John L. Magee).|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 145-146.|Wilson, p. 272-273.|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 1864-16.

During the 1864 presidential campaign a popular analogy was drawn between Democratic presidential candidate George B. McClellan and an acrobat uneasily straddling two horses at once. The artist here portrays the McClellan candidacy as trying to combine two seemingly irreconcilable causes, peace and war. In a circus ring McClellan stretches between horses marked "Letter of Acceptance" and "Chicago Platform." In Chicago on August 29, 1864, McClellan was nominated the Democratic candidate on a peace platform. In his letter of acceptance, however, the candidate expressed his support for the war. At left his running mate George H. Pendleton, wearing a dunce cap "PEACE!," eggs him on, saying, "I "say" Mac! Can't you hold on to "both" 'till the 8th of Nov.? [i.e., election day]" In the background a huge audience watches the spectacle. Among the instruments in the band is a drum inscribed "N.Y. World," one of McClellan's most vocal supporters.|Entered . . . 1864 . . . by N. Bangs Williams, Providence.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Murrell, p. 225.|Weitenkampf, p. 143.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1864-25.

Martin Van Buren, known as "the Little Magician" for his remarkable political agility, summons spirits to divine the Democratic or "Loco Foco" prospects for election in 1844. He sits in an astrological circle, conjuring up three imps in the smoke of his pipe, and addresses them: Spirits white and Gray appear! appear! / my call attend! my power revere! / Their destiny the Locos ask / Apply ye to the mighty Task! First spirit: Loco-Focos! desperate Chaps. / Make your speech & draw your Caps! / You've had your day--you've had free scope / And hanged yourselves with your own rope! Second spirit: When Arnold rises form the Tomb / To receive a Traitors doom! / When Yankee Children bear his name / And all are proud of Arnolds Fame! / Then Tyler shall his honors share, / And keep the Presidential chair! Third spirit: When the stars fall from above. / When the Globe shall cease to move, / When flowers grow amid the snow / And Lions fear the timid Roe. / When Lawyers shall refuse a feel / And misers pray for poverty /Till then, you'll find that many folk, / Will never vote for Master Polk! / Till then, they'd swing upon the Gallows / Before they'd vote for Master Dallas! Democratic nominees James K. Polk, wearing the striped trousers associated with the Loco Foco or radical wing of the Democratic party, and George M. Dallas stand at right. Visibly awed, Polk says, "By Heavens! these words remind me of the dream I had when I first heard of my nomination!" Dallas, fleeing to the right, asserts, "I'll get out of this scrape as quick as possible Texas wont save us!" On the left Andrew Jackson brandishes his cane and threatens, "By the Eternal! you old Hags! if I get hold of you, I'll hang you all up under the 7th section as I did Arbuthnot and Ambisiserter!" Alexander Arbuthnot and Robert Ambrister (not "Ambister") were two Englishmen hung by Jackson during the Florida campaign in 1818, for aiding the Seminole Indians in their fight against the general's militia. The act was one which Jackson's political foes invoked throughout his career as evidence of his brutality. |Entered . . . 1844 by J. Baillie.|Lith and pubd. by J Baillie 118 Nassau St. N.Y.|Signed: H. Bucholzer.|The Library's impression was deposited for copyright on August 23, 1844.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 81.|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 1844-40.

Another satire on Van Buren's alliance with extremists, here personified by radical abolitionist Abby Folsom. Van Buren's emergence as candidate of the Free Soil party in the 1848 presidential race was viewed as a reversal of his earlier administration stand on the issue. By invoking the specter of Benedict Arnold here the artist may also be criticizing Van Buren's repudiation of the regular Democratic party. On the left the ghost of Revolutionary War turncoat Benedict Arnold has emerged from his grave. He points threateningly toward "Abby Fulsome" (center) and Van Buren (right), and says, "Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? Behold the Government is rent from thee, & is given to thy neighbor, even to [Democratic presidential nominee Lewis] "Cass." The Buffaloes will be delivered into the hand of thine enemies, & thou and thy Son shall be with me." The print must date between Van Buren's nomination at the Free Soil party convention, held in early August 1848 at Buffalo, N.Y., and Zachary Taylor's electoral victory over Cass in November. Van Buren and "Fulsome" recoil in horror at the sight of the spirit. Folsom observes, "An old man cometh up and he is covered with a mantle." Van Buren responds, "Our sufferings "is" intolerable." The quote was a well-known grammatical lapse of Van Buren's, widely exploited by the opposition during his term of office.|Entered . . . 1848 by J. Baillie. |Probably drawn by H. Bucholzer.|Published by James Baillie, 87th St. near 3d Avenue N.Y.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 90.|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 1848-58.

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," rigged with "Sub Treasury Rags" sails, sits at anchor in a cove. From it several men empty barrels of "Treasury grains" into two dinghies. Rowing away in a third dinghy are (left to right) Martin Van Buren, John C. Calhoun, and Thomas Hart Benton. The boat is labeled "M. Von Kinder & Co. Shew Boat Absquabulation." Van Buren, sitting on the stern of the boat, declares, "I have taken Care of my self Let the People take care of themselves Heaven's for us all!" Calhoun sings as he rows:I came in your need, To serve you indeed; My views could scarcely soar higher, You must be aware, That the Plunder I'll share, Or I'll prove a staunch Nullifyer. Benton, also rowing: "I am Bent on Gulling the People to see the "promised" Gold & Silver [cropped] flowing up the Mississippi [cropped]." On the shore at left a group of people wave and hail William Henry Harrison, who leaves the bank in a boat. "Vox Populi, Vox Dei!" they cry, "Hurra Old Tip. / Dont Give up the Ship." In the background left is a log cabin, a fence, and a ploughman in a field. Though unsigned "The Little Magician" is no doubt the work of Philadelphia printmaker/satirist James Akin. In the peculiar handling of the figures and crowded composition it compares closely to his "The Massachusetts Hoar Outwitted" (no. 1845-6) and "Crib of Wolf Meat" (Quimby, no. 58). It also exhibits Akin's distinctive lettering and bordering style. "The Little Magician" is not listed in Quimby's checklist of Akin's work. |Drawn by James Akin, Philadelphia.|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 1840-40.