The Confederate leaders are portrayed as a band of competing opportunists led by South Carolina governor and secessionist Francis Pickens (far left). The artist criticizes the January 1861 secession of five states from the lower South, following the lead of South Carolina, which had formally declared its independence a month before. Armed with a whip and a pistol, Pickens sits on the back of a young slave, pronouncing, "South Carolina claims to be file leader and general whipper in of the new Confederacy, a special edict! Obey and tremble!" The other leaders are also armed. Pickens's tyranny is met by expressions of self-interest from the other confederates. The nature of these individual interests are conveyed pictorially and in the text. Leaders from Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia sit on bales of cotton, while Florida and Louisiana sit on a wrecked ship's hull and a barrel of sugar respectively. Florida (represented by a bearded man, possibly Stephen R. Mallory, senator and later secretary of the Confederate navy ): "We want it distinctly understood that all the lights on the Coast will be put out, in order to facilitate wrecking business." Alabama (William L. Yancey): "Alabama proclaims that CĚ_Ąotton is King,' and the rest of the Confederacy "must obey" that Sovereign. Mississippi (Jefferson Davis): "We came in, with the understanding that we shall issue bonds to an unlimited extent, with our ancient right of repudiation when they became due." Georgia (Governor Joseph E. Brown): "Georgia must have half the honors, and all the profits, or back she goes to old Pluribus Unum.'" Louisiana (a mustachioed man): "A heavy duty must be levied on foreign sweetening in order to make up for what we have sacrificed in leaving the Union, otherwise we shall be like a PĚ_Ąelican in the wilderness!'" Although Texas, which seceded on February 1, is not represented here, the print probably appeared at the time of the Montgomery convention in early February when the Confederate States of America was formed, but before Jefferson Davis assumed its presidency. Texas did not attend that convention.|Published by Currier & Ives, 152 Nassau St. N.Y.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Gale, no. 1730.|Weitenkampf, p. 128.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1861-6.

Three men at left, one saying, "Verily friend Darg since we have returned thee thy money, I claim the reward of $1000 - Brother Barney Corse was merely my agent, verily!" Another "Yea verily I was but thy instrument Brother Hopper as Brother Ruggles here knoweth!" Man at right, brandishing chair and holding bag marked $6908, rails at their impudence and tells them to "get out of the house."|Copyright by H.R. Robinson.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)

The cartoonist mocks the opportunism evident in Winfield Scott's endorsement of both the abolitionist cause and the Missouri Compromise. Scott, in military uniform, is seated at a table with a plate of soup before him. He lifts his spoon from the plate and finds in it a kneeling black man, with arms outstretched saying, "Dis poor nigger am like Jonah, when de men would'nt let him stay in de Ship; and de whale would'nt let him stay in de water." Scott observes, "Here's a predicament! first I shall have to swallow this nigger to please the north & then take a compromise emetic and deliver him up to please the south. Faugh! what a dose of Ginger, but I am anxious to serve the country at $25,000 pr Annum so down he goes." Appearing from out of the steam is a Southern planter who remarks, "I should think from the flavor of the Generals last plate of Soup that my darkey had tumbled into it. I've heard of 'Green Turtle' and 'Mock Turtle' but that would be a pretty Strong dish of 'Black Turtle." For the origin of the perennial joke about Scott's "hasty plate of soup," see "Distinguished Military Operations" (no. 1846-15). The style of "A Dish of Black Turtle" is similar to that of John L. Magee's "A Magnificent Offer to a Magnificent Officer" (no. 1852-27), and is probably by the same artist.|For sale No. 2 Spruce St. N.Y.|Probably drawn by John L. Magee.|Pub. by P. Smith [i.e., Nathaniel Currier] N.Y.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 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 1852-28.

The satire apparently perceives President Polk's reinstatement of Winfield Scott over Zachary Taylor as commander of U.S. forces in the Mexican War in November 1846 as an attempt to squelch the extreme personal popularity won by Taylor through dazzling early victories at Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, and Monterey. Scott (center) is shown emptying a large tureen of soup onto Taylor, saying "Take that! you're my subordinate!" The "hasty bowl of soup" was a recurring jibe which haunted Scott throughout the rest of his public career. (See also "Battle of Cerro Gordo" and "Battle of Churubusco," nos. 1847-2 and 1847-3.) It originated in Scott's opening comment in a May 25, 1846, letter to Secretary of War William L. Marcy protesting his removal as commander, "Your letter of this date, received at about 6 p.m., as I sat down to take a hasty plate of soup . . ." Here Scott is urged on by Polk (right), who says, "That's right Scott, we must Smother him [i.e., Taylor]!" Scott asks Taylor, "Where were you when I was ordering my hasty plate of Soup?" Taylor, in his customary wide-brimmed hat and simple civilian coat, is in marked contrast to the elegantly uniformed Scott. As a troop of soldiers at attention looks on, Taylor bears the indignity, responding, "Please your Excellency and Commander in Chief I was at the Pallo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, & Monterey." One of the soldiers adds, punning on Taylor'a name, "Aye Aye, the People will put him right, although he's a Taylor he "leads" to danger and dont "follow" suit." Although unsigned the print is quite close in drawing, if not in political bias, to Edward Williams Clay's pro-Scott "Santa Anna Declining a Hasty Plate of Soup at Cerro Gordo" (no. 1847-4). The similarity between the portraits of Scott in the two prints is especially convincing evidence of Clay's authorship.|Drawn by Edward Williams Clay, 1846 or early 1847.|H.R. Robinson's Lith. 142 Nassau St. N.Y.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 94.|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 1846-15.

A satire on the Van Buren administration's involvement in New York State politics. Although the precise context of the cartoon is unclear, specific reference is made to Van Buren's alliance with postmaster general and political strategist Amos Kendall against Senator Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, leader of the conservative faction of New York Democrats. In an interior, Kendall (left) and Van Buren are at a table strewn with "discharge" papers. Kendall, seated below a painting of Andrew Jackson titled "Glory," reads the "Globe" newspaper. Van Buren sits below a portrait of "Globe" editor and administration apologist Francis Preston Blair. Van Buren: "So they've nailed that infernal Tallmadge to the counter-Whole hog fellows these eighteen-we must show our gratitude-any room in your concern Amos?" Kendall: "You're right sir we must back up the Albany Boys. Ill send every d--md whig in my department to "Jones" locker. Theres that old superanuated hero Van Ranselaer [i.e., probably, Canal Commissioner Stephen Van Rensselaer] we'll bury him decently and put a "Flagg" [State Comptroller Azariah C. Flagg] over him." Tallmadge watches from behind a curtain, saying "Those fellows can only conceive of mens souls as marketable commodities." Weitenkampf dates the print tentatively 1836, but the artist's rendering of Kendall is clearly based on Charles Fenderich's life portrait, etched by William W. Bannerman and published in the "United States Magazine and Democratic Review" in March 1838. The likeness of Tallmadge also appears to be from a Fenderich portrait copyrighted in 1839.|Printed & published by H.R. Robinson, 52 Cortlandt Street New York.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Charles Fenderich, no. 2E7 and B2.|Weitenkampf, p. 43-44.|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 1838-2.

A crude nonpartisan satire, parodying all four candidates in the 1860 presidential election. A map of the United States hung on a wall is being torn apart by three of the candidates. Lincoln (far left) and Douglas tear at the western part of the country, as Breckinridge (center) attacks the South. The fourth, John Bell (right), stands on a stool trying to repair the northeastern section with a jar of "Spaldings," a widely marketed glue of the period. Several boxes of this adhesive appear, prominently labeled, at right. "Dividing the National Map" appears to be part of a series of satires by the same artist as "The Undecided Political Prize Fight" and "The Political Quadrille" (nos. 1860-22 and 1860-23).|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 121. |Wilson, p. 42-43.|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 1860-24.

An illustrated sheet music cover for a comic song, published "for the benefit of the Soldiers Home Fair, Milwaukee, Wis." The cover is adorned with a caricature of an obese Britannia, seated and holding a trident and shield. Printed in almost monochromatic neutral tones, the oval-format illustration imitates classical medallions or reliefs. The work expresses the abiding Northern resentment over British support of the Confederate war effort.|Signatures have evidently been obliterated, judging by the presence of scratching-out in the stone in the lower portion of the oval. |The Library's impression was deposited for copyright on June 28, 1865.|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 1865-10.

A satire directed against the United States Bank, showing the impact of Jackson's September 1833 order for the withdrawal of federal funds from the Bank and their distribution among state banks. In a bedchamber the Bank, portrayed as an obese woman, lies in bed vomiting coins "Deposites [sic]" into a basin "Manhattan Bank." Nearby are two other basins (filled) marked "Mechanics Bank" and "Bank of America," and two broken medicine vials labeled "Veto" and "Order for the Removal of the Deposites." Bank president Nicholas Biddle holds her head. Bank: "Oh! dear Nick! I am dreadful sick!" Biddle: "D--n that Doctor Jackson. This is the effect of his last prescription." At left stand Bank supporters Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and John Calhoun, as physicians in consultation. Clay: "What do you say to the application of my Patent American System?" Calhoun: "Doctor your American System won't do here. Desperate cases require desperate remedies, a few of the leaden pills of Nullification and some blood taken will suffice." Calhoun's reputation in the North was sorely affected by his leadership role in the southern Nullification effort of 1832. Webster (in the center): "I wonder how a few grains of Common Sense washed down with Boston Particular would do?" On the floor at left sits a man, no doubt a pro-Bank newspaper editor, holding a copy of the "National Gazette," moaning: "Alas! Alas! No more fees." Jackson and Major Jack Downing look in through a window at far left. Downing: "Why Gineral, I never know'd You was a Doctor before." Jackson: "No more I ain't Major Downing but I've read the American Family Physician and know what kind of a dose to give to clean out a foul stomach!"|Published and for sale wholesale and retail by Anthony Imbert at his Caricature Store no. 104 Broadway, New York.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Helfand, p. 9.|Weitenkampf, p. 28-29.|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 1833-10.

An illustrated unionist sheet music cover, condemning secessionist state South Carolina, and probably issued shortly after its Charleston Convention of December 20, 1860. (See "The Palmetto State Song," no. 1861-2.) Strongly militant in tone, the illustration shows an American soldier standing on the palmetto flag of South Carolina, which lies on the ground. The flag is partially draped over a broken military drum. Two cannonballs appear on the ground around it. The soldier holds a saber, whose point seems to pierce the Southern flag, and an American flag. Four lines of the song appear above the ilustration: "Down with the Traitors serpent flag! / Death to the wretch o'er whom it waves! / And let our heaven-born banner float / O'er freemen's Homes & Traitors' Graves!"|Chicago. A. Judson Higgins Publisher.|Entered . . . 1861 by A. Judson Higgins . . . Illinois.|Lith. Chas. Shober 109 Lake St. Chicago.|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 1861-3.

A pro-Jackson satire applauding the President's September 1833 order for the removal of federal deposits from the Bank of the United States. The combined opposition to this move from Bank president Nicholas Biddle, Senate Whigs led by Daniel Webster and Henry Clay, and the pro-Bank press are ridiculed. On the right, Jackson, cheered on by Major Jack Downing, holds aloft an "Order for the Removal of Public Money." Jackson: "Major Jack Downing. I must act in this case with energy and decision, you see the downfall of the party engine and corrupt monopoly!!" Downing: "Hurrah! General! if this don't beat skunkin, I'm a nigger, only see that varmint Nick how spry he is, he runs along like a Weatherfield Hog with an onion in his mouth." From the document emanate lightning bolts which topple the columns and pediment of the Bank, which crash down amidst fleeing public figures and Whig editors. Around them are strewn various newspapers and sheets with "Salary $6,000" and "Printing expenses "$80,000" printed on them. Henry Clay (at left, fallen): "Help me up! Webster! or I shall lose my stakes." Daniel Webster (far left): "There is a tide in the affairs of men, as Shakespeare says, so my dear CLay, look out for yourself." Nicholas Biddle, with the head and hoofs of an ass or demon, runs to the left: "It is time for me to resign my presidency." Two men flee with sacks of "fees." These fugitives may be newspaper editors Mordecai Manuel Noah and James Watson Webb, advocates of the Bank accused of being in the employ of Biddle.|Draw'd off from Natur by Zek. Downing, Neffu to Major Jack Downing.|Printed & publd. by H.R. Robinson, 52 Cortlandt St. N. York.|The print appears to be a reversed copy of a work of the same title by Edward Williams Clay, deposited for copyright in the New York District Court on October 5, 1833. Weitenkampf and Davison both list the Clay version.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Century, p. 40. |Davison, no. 62.|Murrell, p. 127.|Weitenkampf, p. 29.|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 1833-9.

Another in the "bobalition" series of broadsides, parodying black manners, illiteracy, and dialect. (See no. 1819-2.) The text describes, in the words of a "letter from Phillis to her sister in the country," a nocturnal attack by white Bostonians on black freedmen and their homes. The letter is facetiously dated "Ulie 47th, 180027." The illustration shows a group of white men attacking and stoning a black woman and a man on crutches.|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 1827-1.

Two scenes showing the differing perceptions of Franklin Pierce's stand on the issue of slavery, as viewed by the North and South. The cartoon is divided vertically by "Mason & Dixon's Line." An arrow identifies the left panel as the North and the right as the South. On the left, a group of men look skyward, holding tinted panels of glass through which to see an image of Pierce eclipsed by a black man. First man (far left): "There, Sir, look! if that is not the true Free Soil touch, pray where will you find it?" Second man, an abolitionist: "Well, well, upon my conscience in looking through your glass, I see the true Abolition eclipse! verily Franklin is one of us." A man holding copy of the New York "Tribune" exclaims, "Ay, it is true Congo!" A fourth man points up at the eclipse, saying, "The eclipse is very marked, you will observe!" To the right, four southern men also view an eclipse through tinted glass, but an eclipse in which Pierce's head overshadows the black man's visage. One man (second from right) comments: "It may be only fancy Sir: but it does not seem as if I could see something the other side which looks a little SHADY." A second man, seizing the glass: "Come, come now! Oh! my dear Sir! A man of your sense! you didn't hold the glass right, I assure you!" Another, a stout man holding an umbrella, observes: "Ah! that looks well! how they belied him about the Speech at New Boston." A fourth: "Do you see, Sir. No eclipse there. Nothing but the true orthodox color!"|Pubd. by John Childs, 84 Nassau St. N.Y.|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 1852-24.

An impassioned condemnation of the Fugitive Slave Act passed by Congress in September 1850, which increased federal and free-state responsibility for the recovery of fugitive slaves. The law provided for the appointment of federal commissioners empowered to issue warrants for the arrest of alleged fugitive slaves and to enlist the aid of posses and even civilian bystanders in their apprehension. The print shows a group of four black men--possibly freedmen--ambushed by a posse of six armed whites in a cornfield. One of the white men fires on them, while two of his companions reload their muskets. Two of the blacks have evidently been hit; one has fallen to the ground while the second staggers, clutching the back of his bleeding head. The two others react with horror. Below the picture are two texts, one from Deuteronomy: "Thou shalt not deliver unto the master his servant which has escaped from his master unto thee. He shall dwell with thee. Even among you in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates where it liketh him best. Thou shalt not oppress him." The second text is from the Declaration of Independence: "We hold that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The print is unusually well drawn and composed for a political print of the period. The handling of both the lithographic technique and the figures betray particular skill. |Entered . . . 1850 by Hoff & Bloede. |Publ. by Hoff & Bloede New York 180 William Str. Corner of Spruce Str. New York.|Signed in reverse: Th. Kaufmann (Theodor Kaufmann?).|The Library's impression of the print was deposited for copyright on October 30, 1850.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 101.|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 1850-5.

Signed in stone: WA.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)

This collection uses primary sources to explore the introduction of electric power to the United States. 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 environmental preservation in the Progressive Era. 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 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.