Lincoln is portrayed as meek and ineffectual in his prosecution of the war. In a wooded scene Lincoln, here in the character of an Irish sportsman in knee-breeches, discharges his blunderbuss at a small bird "C.S.A." (Confederate States of America). The bird, perched in a tree at left, is unhurt, but Lincoln falls backward vowing, "Begorra, if ye wor at this end o' th' gun, ye wouldn't flap yer wings that way, ye vill'in!" At right Secretary of War Stanton, who has the body of a dog, barks, "Bow-wow." Lincoln's rifle is labeled "To Whom It May Concern." These were the opening words of an announcement written by Lincoln in the summer of 1864. Journalist Horace Greeley had discovered that two emissaries of president of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis were in Canada, and urged Lincoln to make an offer of peace. Lincoln sent Greeley to Canada, where he found that the diplomats had neither credentials nor authority. Lincoln afterward announced that "Any proposition which embraces the restoration of peace, the integrity of the whole Union, and the abandonment of slavery . . . will be received and considered by the Executive government of the United States." |Inscribed in pencil at the upper left corner of the Library's impression is "Bought at the N.Y. World office / Nov- 1866."|Signed with monogram: CAL?|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 142.|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 1864-31.

An illustrated sheet music cover for "The Stars and Stripes Forever," a song dedicated to the United States Volunteers by William J. Lemon. A figure representing the Constitution is shown wearing a Phrygian cap and holding a shield in her left hand and the American flag, topped by a laurel wreath, in her right. To her right is the American eagle, and at her left attributes, including a globe, a palette, and a lyre. She stands on a mound of earth marked "United States of America." A second eagle flies above her. The scene is accompanied by the following verse: The God of Battles smiled' Justice triumphed: / The Stars & Stripes, Columbia's Sacred Flag / Like Eagles pinions Fluttered to the breeze. |Philadelphia, Lee & Walker, 722 Chestnut St.|Signed: H. Whately.|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 1861-19.

An exultant view of the rout, by Union forces commanded by Capt. Nathaniel Lyon, of troops under Gen. Sterling Price and Claiborne F. Jackson at Boonville, Missouri, in June 1861. Jackson, the secessionist governor of Missouri, had been driven from the state capital, Jefferson City. He and other members of his government retreated along with Confederate commander Price and his troops. Overtaken by Lyon at Boonville on June 17, they were then forced to flee in separate directions. The artist makes a play on a commonplace of the time--the public notice of strayed animals. Jackson is the subject of this notice. He is portrayed here as an ass, strayed "from the neighbourhood of Boonville, Mo. on the 18th inst[ant] a mischievous JACK who was frightened and run away from his Leader by the sudden appearance of a Lion." The notice continues "He is of no value whatever and only a low Price can be given for his capture. [Signed:] Sam." On the outskirts of the city, the ass stands on top of a small rise, clearly alarmed by the approach of federal troops led by a lion (Lyon). On the right a terrified General Price crouches (apparently defecating) as his panicked troops flee in the background.|Entered . . . 1861 . . . Southern District of Ohio.|Printed and copyrighted by Ehrgott & Forbriger, Cincinnati.|The Library's impression of the print was deposited for copyright on June 25, 1861, by Cincinnati lithographers Ehrgott & Forbriger. It is by the same artist as "Ye Conference" and "Volunteering Down Dixie" (nos. 1861-32 and 1861-33), also issued by that firm.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 130-131.|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 1861-31.

A particularly well-drawn satire on the three major presidential contenders for 1848, (left to right) Zachary Taylor, Martin Van Buren and Lewis Cass. Of the three the artist seems to favor Van Buren, the "Barnburner" candidate, who sits on a stool milking the cow which the others try in vain to move in opposite directions. Taylor, who tugs at the tail of the animal, is called a "No Party Man" because of his continued refusal to commit to a party ideology. Cass, the "Hunker" or conservative Democrat, strains at the cow's horns. Van Buren: "I go in for the free soil. Hold on Cass, dont let go Taylor, (That's the cream of the Joke)." Van Buren was the candidate of a coalition, between Barnburner Democrats and Liberty and Whig party abolitionists, called the Free Soil party. Zachary Taylor: "I don't Stand on the whig Platform 'I ask no favor and shrink from no Responsibility.'" Lewis Cass: "Matty is at his old tricks again, and going in for the Spoils old Zack, and myself will get nothing but skim milk."|Entered . . . 1848 by H.R. Robinson.|Printed & published by H.R. Robinson, 31 Park Row directly opposite the Park fountain adjoining Lovejoys Hotel|Probably drawn by "W.J.C.".|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 1848-39.

The first in a series of four satires published by Thomas W. Strong, criticizing the secession movement in the South during the closing months of the Buchanan administration. (This impression was deposited for copyright on February 22, 1861.) A large hen, called "Union," watches anxiously as a hawk "Anarchy" swoops low over seven small ducks who swim on a nearby river. (The river is "Salt River," a symbol of political calamity.) The ducks represent Southern states, the one in the lead carrying South Carolina's flag. The hen comments, "Those Secession Ducks give me a great deal of trouble. They emptied the dish before they went, and there's no telling what will happen to 'em now they've left my wing. If that hungry hawk pounces on them, they will have no one but themselves to blame!" Several chicks gather around and under her wing. An empty "U.S. Treasury" plate is nearby, reflecting northern charges of embezzlement and diversion of federal funds to the South by federal officials who turned secessionist.|Entered . . . 1861 by T.W. Strong . . . New York.|Published by Thomas W. Strong, 98 Nassau St., New York.|Signed with initials: J.H.G. (John H. Goater).|Thomas W. Strong Sc.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 126.|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 1861-9.

The second in a series of caricatures criticizing the secession of several Southern states from the Union during the last months of the Buchanan administration. Here the young nursery-rhyme shepherdess Bo-Peep represents the Union. She stands at left wearing a dress of stars-and-stripes bunting and with an eagle beside her, watching as seven of her sheep flee into a forest of palmetto trees infested with wolves. (The palmetto is the symbol of South Carolina, the leading secessionist state and first to dissolve ties with the United States.) The wolves wear crowns and represent the European powers which some feared would prey on the newly independent states. They prowl about and say, "If we can only get them separated from the flock, we can pick their bones at our leisure." Back in the clearing, grazing about Bo-Peep, are the remaining flock, two of which are labeled Virginia (closest to her) and Kansas. An old dog "Hickory" lies dead in the grass while another, named "Old Buck," flees toward the left. Bo-Peep vainly calls, "Sic 'em Buck! sic 'em! I wish poor old Hickory was alive. He'd bring 'em back in no time." Buck is lame duck president James Buchanan, who proved ineffectual against the secessionist threat to the Union. "Old Hickory" was the nickname of former Democratic president Andrew Jackson, venerated as a champion of a strong federal union. Although unsigned, the print seems on stylistic grounds to have been drawn by John H. Goater, the artist responsible for numbers one, three, and probably four in the "Dime Caricatures" series.|Drawn by John H. Goater?|Entered . . . by T.W. Strong . . . New York.|Published by Thomas W. Strong, 98 Nassau St. N.Y.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 126-127.|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 1861-10.

The third in Thomas W. Strong's "Dime Caricatures" series of antisecessionist prints published early in 1861. Here Topsy, the impish slave child in Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin," personifies the secessionist state South Carolina. An elegantly dressed lady, Columbia, is based on Stowe's Miss Ophelia, the New England spinster who attempted the moral education of the child. Topsy appears repentant at the steps of a porch before Columbia, who sits on a chair with an American flag on her lap and a liberty cap behind her. On the floor beside her is a bald eagle. Columbia shows the flag to Topsy, displaying the holes in its blue field. She scolds her, "So, Topsey, you're at the bottom of this piece of wicked work--picking stars out of the sacred Flag! What would your forefathers say, do you think? I'll just hand you over to the new overseer, Uncle Abe [i.e., President-elect Abraham Lincoln]. He'll fix you!" Topsy responds, "Never had no father, nor mother, nor nothing! I was raised by speculators! I's mighty wicked, anyhow! ๖_ัhat makes me ack so?' Dun no, missis--I 'spects cause I's so wicked!" Behind her another slave turns to run down the steps exclaiming, "Hand us over to ole Abe, eh? Ize off!" Several more slaves watch or clown about in the yard beyond.|Entered . . . 1861 by T.W. Strong . . . New York.|Published by T.W. Strong, 98 Nassau St., N.Y.|Signed: John H. Goater del.|Thomas W. Strong Sc.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 127.|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 1861-11.

The fourth in Strong's series of antisecessionist satires. Here the artist is optimistic about newly elected Abraham Lincoln's ability to end the secession movement among the Southern states. (The Library's impression of the print was deposited for copyright on March 12, 1861, eight days after Lincoln's inauguration). Here Lincoln stands over four mischievous boys who play in a "Secession" mudhole. He wears the costume of Uncle Sam or Brother Jonathan: striped trousers, a vest emblazoned with stars and stripes, a plain waistcoat, and a flowing tie. A toy flag of South Carolina (the leading secessionist state), a paper soldier's hat, and a miniature pistol lie nearby. These appear to have been dropped by a small girl whom Lincoln has in tow. She squirms and bites his hand in an effort to escape his unyielding grip, crying, "You let me alone! I will play in the mud if I like!" Lincoln addresses the boys in the mudhole, "Come, Boys! they are all waiting for you--you have staid there long enough! I will forgive you this time if you will try to do better in the future. Only think what a bad example you show the other boys." The "other boys" appear in the background, along a rail fence, where they play and sit contentedly. Four boys have already climbed from the mudhole and are putting on their clothes. One says, "Well, we've been playing hooky long enough; I guess I'll go back!" Another says, "Boys, he is after us! I reckon I'll reconsider!" and another, "If that's Uncle be,' I'll put my trousers right straight on again."|Entered . . . 1861 by Thomas W. Strong . . . Southern District of New York.|Probably drawn by John H. Goater.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 127.|Wilson, p. 122-123.|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 1861-12.

A crudely drawn but complex satire mocking Zachary Taylor's military background and lack of political experience. Student Zachary Taylor, wearing a paper cap made out of the journal "The True Whig" is seated on a low stool at the feet of his more politically seasoned running mate Millard Fillmore. Taylor reads from a book "Congressional Debates 1848. Slavery . . .", and spells out "W-I-L-M-O-T: Wilmot, P-R-O-V-I-S-O: Proviso. What do I know about such political stuff. Ah! Wait until I get loose, Then you will see what fighting is!" A torn sheet marked "National Bank" lies at his feet. Fillmore, who reads from "The Glorious Whig Principles [by] Henry Clay," admonishes Taylor, "This will never do, you must forsake this course,--for our party is a peaceful and rightous sect--free from wickedness." Behind Fillmore are an open book cabinet, the Constitution, and a globe. This are in obvious contrast to the maps of "The Late War" and a broadsheet "The Life of Johnny Tyler" on the wall behind Taylor. At Taylor's knee sits a bloodhound with a collar marked "Florida," a reminder of Taylor's controversial use of bloodhounds in the Second Seminole War. To the right two black youths polish Taylor's weapons. The first, kneeling and wiping a pistol, says, "By golly! Massa Taylor like fighting better then him dinner." The other, cleaning a sword, claims, "Dis am de knife wot massa use to cut up de Mexijins wid." In the center of the floor are a group of toy soldiers and a cannon.|Probably drawn by E.F. Durang.|Published by Peter E. Abel & Durang, Philada.|Sold by Turner & Fisher, N. York & Philada.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 95.|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 1848-44.

A satire on corruption among Tammany officeholders in New York, showing absconded former Collector of the Port Samuel Swartwout and federal District Attorney William M. Price in London. The massive fraud and embezzlement by the two officials was exposed in late November 1838 and was used in the Whig press as an indictment of Van Buren's "Sub-Treasury" or independent treasury program. (See also "Price Current," no. 1838-21). Swartwout fled to Europe and was soon followed by Price. In the print the two men embrace, Swartwout (on the left) concealing a purse marked $1,500,000 and Price concealing one marked $1,200,000. (Various inflated estimates of the two men's take were cited early in the investigation.) On a wall at left is a poster for the Theatre Royal, featuring "First appearance From U. S. America. New Way to Pay Old Debts. Raising the Wind. Catch him who can." These names echo Elizabethan and Jacobean drawma titles. Swartout says: Welcome thou pearl of wondrous "Price."/ Thou oracle of Tammany Hall./ I hope you've got a handsome slice./ Since I've in motion put the ball. Price answers: Of Ex Collectors you're the man/ I wear within my heart of hearts;/ From pure regard, all that I can/ I've done and come to foreign parts:/ And though defaulter I may be/ & cause my party great regret./ Fees (when in Office) due to me,/ Will fairly balance all my debt.|Entd . . . 1838 by H.R. Robinson.|Printed & publd. by H.R. Robinson, 52 Cortlandt & 11-1/2 Wall St. N.Y.|The print was registered for copyright on December 14, 1838.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 54.|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 1838-20.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in 1838 by H.R. Robinson, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the U.S. for the Southern District of N.Y. Printed & published by H.R. Robinson, 52 Cortlandt & 11 1/2 Wall St. N.Y.|Signed in stone: Grinnell del.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)

Printed & published by H.R. Robinson, 52 Cortlandt St., 11 1/2 Wall Street. & 38 Chatham Strt. N.Y.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)

The second of two particularly well-drawn caricatures by the same artist, on the subject of the 1839 congressional probe of Van Buren's Treasury Department. (See above, nos. 1839-6 through -9.) The inquiry was prompted by the Swartwout embezzlement scandal. "Symptoms of a Duel" must have appeared early in 1839, since the committee's final reports were tabled by the House on February 27. Here Treasury Secretary Levi Woodbury (left) aims a pistol at investigative committee chairman James Harlan, a bespectacled man who scrutinizes him through a small telescope labeled "Committee of Investigation." Harlan carries several telescopes and optical instruments with his own name and those of Whig members of the committee Edward Curtis and David Douglas Wagener. His largest telescope bears the name of the committee's most vocal member, "Henry A. Wise maker Washington. Night and Day." Harlan addresses Wise (not visible but offstage to the right), "Heavens! Wise. How he looks thro' this glass!" Wise: "Black, or Blue!" Harlan: "Both!" Woodbury's pistol bears the names of Francis Thomas and Samuel Cushman, Democratic members of the committee. Woodbury says "I "challenge" Scrutiny!" The unidentified artist's drawing style, his handling of the figures, and his relatively spare compositions strongly suggest common authorship with "Called to Account" and "Abolition Frowned Down" (nos. 1839-11 and -12). Weitenkampf erroneously identifies Woodbury here as Van Buren.|"Printed & publd. by H.R. Robinson, 52 Cortlandt & 11-1/2 Wall St. N.Y."|Drawn by HD?|Entd. . . . 1839 by H.R. Robinson.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 57.|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 1839-10.

The caricature reflects the bitter antagonism between Kentucky senator Henry Clay and President Andrew Jackson, during the protracted battle over the future of the Bank of the United States from 1832 through 1836. The print may relate specifically to Clay's successful 1834 campaign to exclude from the Senate journal Jackson's statement of protest against Congressional censure of his earlier actions on the Bank. Clay is shown restraining a seated, uniformed Jackson and sewing up his mouth. From Clay's pocket protrudes a slip of paper reading, "cure for calumny." Below the image is a quote from Shakespeare's "Hamlet," ". . . Clay might stop a hole, to keep the wind away." On the wall behind him are the words "Plain sewing done here."|Signed: DCJ (David Claypoole Johnston).|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Century, p. 44. |Johnson, no. 147.|Murrell, p. 120.|Weitenkampf, p. 34.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1834-10.

Cartoon shows Chinese laundrymen and fishmongers making gifts to a man imprisoned in House of Correction cell 181. They offer socks with holes, a fish inscribed "Black Friday," crabs, and cigars.|Printed below title: You sabe him! Kealney must go! (You save him! Kearney must go!)|Publ. by I.N. Choynski, antiquarian.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|DLC/PP-1980:143|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)

In a race between the railroad and the telegraph the "telegraphic candidates," Lewis Cass and William O. Butler, are first to the White House. The artist ridicules Zachary Taylor for his hazy stance on major campaign issues and manages a jibe at the "dead letter" affair as well. (See "The Candidate of Many Parties," no. 1848-24.) Other presidential candidates Henry Clay, Martin Van Buren, and a third (possibly John P. Hale) are also in the race, traveling in a small boat, on a horse, and in a wheelbarrow respectively. Taylor and his running mate Millard Fillmore ride a locomotive "Non-Comittal. No Principles." along a track toward the White House (left). Taylor (seated on the engine): "Why Fill, my boy, we must be on the wrong track!" Fillmore (in the cab): "Yes, but if you hadn't dealt so much in the Mail line, it would have been all right!" The "Mail line" is a reference to the dead letter affair. Above them, Cass and Butler walk across telegraphic wires to enter a window of the White House. Cass, holding a sword (a memento of his 1812 military service), declares "I seek the people's eternal happiness!" Butler, holding onto Cass's coattail and thumbing his nose, yells back to Taylor "Zack, for old acquaintance sake I should like you to have been on the right side." Butler, like Taylor, served as a general in the Mexican War. Butler also taunts Van Buren, who ambles along on a scrawny horse at the far right, "O, Marty how are greens?" Van Buren (in a mock-Dutchman's accent): "O, mine got! Shonny! we pe a great deal mush pehind our time!" To the right of the train is a wheelbarrow from which protrude the legs and arms of another contestant, probably Liberty party candidate John P. Hale. A black man, representing abolitionism, lies on the ground beside the cart. Hale: "You d--d lazy niger get up and push along or we shall never get there!" Abolition: "De lor bless us all, me satisfy I go sleepey!" Henry Clay, in a sinking boat on the left, laments, "A pretty pass affairs have come to!" Samuel F. B. Morse had installed the first telegraphic line, linking Baltimore and Washington, in 1844. While still a novelty in 1848, the line may have a metaphorical significance in "The Telegraphic Candidates--&1as the symbolic path between Baltimore, where Cass and Butler were nominated, and Washington. The print must have appeared in the summer of 1848, between the May convention, which nominated Cass and Butler, and Hale's withdrawal from the race in August. Weitenkampf cites a version of the print in the New York Historical Society with the title "Popular Conveyances, or Telegraphic Dispatches for the White House."|Signed in reverse: E.F.D. (E.F. Durang).|Sold by Turner & Fisher, N.Y. & Philada.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 93.|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 1848-41.

A crude allegorical woodcut, bold in design and probably produced for a banner or similar type of display. In the center is a peristyle Temple with an altar on which the figure of Liberty rises from a flame. The figure holds the "Bill of Rights," a staff and a liberty cap. The altar is inscribed "Preserved by Concord." To the left is a man with a horse, offering wheat; on the right an Indian with a buck deer offers an animal pelt. Behind the temple are thirteen stars. Above is an eagle with shield, olive branch and lightning bolts, and a streamer with the slogan "The Union Must and Shall Be Preserved." Two pedestals with figures flank the image. On the far left is Justice, on the right Minerva. |Copyrighted by Jared Bell, New York, 1834.|The print was deposited for copyright by Jared Bell in the District Court of the Southern District of New York on April 2, 1834.|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 1834-2.|Exhibited in: Creating the United States, Library of Congress, 2008.

The 1852 Democratic victory under the standard of Franklin Pierce is foreseen as a debacle for the Whig party, led by Winfield Scott. Pierce (center) sits on his horse, holding aloft a banner bearing his and running mate William R. King's names. His troops rally around him--the party rank and file. Scott's forces are in chaos, routed into Salt River, the figurative stream of political disaster. Holding aloft a shredded banner, Scott (center) rides into the water with supporter William Seward holding tight to his horse's neck. Scott says, "Just as I expected, we relied too much on fuss and smoke, and have lost the battle, yet bravely hand in hand together, Seaward (Seward) we go, my Friend, my Brother." To the left, a uniformed man, either William R. King or Illinois Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, boots Whig incumbent president Millard Fillmore into the river, saying, "I like consistency & have ever been in favor of the improvement of Rivers and Harbours. Slide in!" Fillmore laments, "I dont know why they kick me. I'm sure I'm nobody!" In the lower left corner, the feet of abolitionist editor Horace Greeley protrude from the water. In the center, Lewis Cass fires a pistol at Daniel Webster, whose rump, labeled "Chowder" for his New England background, is just disappearing into the water. "Ah what glorious sport," cries Cass, taunting Webster about his diplomatic record, "how now Webster! backing down on guano. fishing for Cod! eh! feel dry! take mine warm. want any powder, give you some ball!" A man to the right of Cass prods at a floating body with a bayonet. Another man, further right, has just forced an unidentified Whig into the water, saying, "There's nothing like water to wash out Stains!" The comic characterizations and style of draftsmanship are unquestionably John L. Magee's, comparing closely with signed works such as "The Game Cock and the Goose" and "A Magnificent Offer to a Magnificent Officer" (nos. 1852-18 and 1852-27).|Drawn by John L. Magee.|For sale at 124 Nassau St., New York.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 109-110.|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 1852-26.

A pro-Democrat cartoon forecasting the collapse of Whig opposition to the annexation of Texas. James K. Polk, the expansionist candidate, stands at right near a bridge spanning "Salt River." He holds an American flag and hails Texans Stephen Austin (left) and Samuel Houston aboard a wheeled steamboat-like vessel "Texas." Austin, waving the flag of the Lone Star Republic, cries, "All hail to James K. Polk, the frined [sic] of our Country!" The Texas boat has an eagle figurehead and a star on its prow. Below the bridge pandemonium reigns among the foes of annexation. Holding onto a rope attached to "Texas" above, they are dragged into Salt River. Led by Whig presidential nominee Henry Clay, they are (left to right) Theodore Frelinghuysen, Daniel Webster, Henry A. Wise, and an unidentified figure whose legs are tangled in the rope. Clay: "Curse the day that ever I got hold of this rope! this is a bad place to let go of it--But I must!" Frelinghuysen: "Oh evil day, that ever I got into the footsteps of my predecessor." Webster: "If we let go, we are ruined, and if we hold on--Oh! crackee!" Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, straddling a barrel labeled "Abolition" in the river, shouts at Clay, "Avaunt! unholy man! I will not keep company with a blackleg!" referring to the candidate's reputation as a gambler.|Entered . . . 1844 by James Baillie.|Lithograph and print coloring on reasonable terms by James Baillie No. 33 Spruce St. New York.|Signed: H. Bucholzer.|The Library's impression was deposited for copyright on June 28, 1844.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 83.|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 1844-28.

Perkins's grim picture of conditions in the goldfields of California during the 1849 Gold Rush contains a backhanded swipe at the outgoing Polk administration. In the foreground, violence breaks out against a backdrop of hills in the "Gold Region." On the left a man cuts the throat of another over a sack of gold, while beyond and farther to the left appear a man carrying a sack and another fallen victim. At far right two men spar with daggers, one of them evidently a Mexican or Spanish Californian, who declares, "Clear you D--d Foreigner our law is the law of might." Meanwhile, apparently oblivious to the mayhem, other men go about the search for gold. A man with a kerchief around his forehead calmly sifts a pan over a barrel or tub. Behind him another man with a flintlock slung across his back digs into the side of a small rise, and a third, wearing a smock, shovels ore into a wooden sieve. Visible above, beyond the hills, is the U.S. Capitol, on whose lawn stands newly elected President Zachary Taylor. In uniform with his hands behind his back, Taylor watches former President James K. Polk and five of his officers, in the form of birds, fly away toward California. They are armed with pickaxes and the spoils of office. Polk, in the lead, carries a sack marked "Secret Service 3,000,000 [i.e., dollars]" and declares, "The happiest days of my administration. We will take unto ourselves the wings of the morning and depart into the depths of California." Taylor addresses a man who aims a cannon at the flock of birds, "Hold on Capt Bragg 'Dont' waste your Gอัrape.' it is nothing but a "Shide-Polk." Our extra Session shall regulate "California."" These lines echo his famous and decisive order at the Battle of Buena Vista, "A little more grape Captain Bragg." Bragg responds, "As you say General but by G-d! I'd like to make him smell of Buena-Vista." Nearby is the "High Road to California" and a grave marker reading, "In Memory of the Shide-"Poke" Administration. Died 4 M[ar]ch 1849," the customary inauguration date.|Henry Serrell & S. Lee Perkins Lith & Pub 75 Nassau St. N.Y.|Signed: Perkins|Sold by Robert H. Elton 90 Nassau 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 1849-3.