A general parody on the 1860 presidential contest, highlighting the impact of the Dred Scott decision on the race. That controversial decision, handed down in 1857 by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, ruled that neither the federal government nor territorial governments could prohibit slavery in the territories. The burning question of the future of slavery in the United States was addressed by several of the contenders during the 1860 race. Here the four presidential candidates dance with members of their supposed respective constituencies. The music is fiddled by Dred Scott, the former slave whose suit precipitated the court's decision. Scott sits on a chair at center. In the upper left is Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge. He is paired with Democratic incumbent and ally James Buchanan, depicted as a goat or (as he was nicknamed) "Buck." At the upper right Republican Abraham Lincoln prances arm-in-arm with a black woman, a pejorative reference to his party's alignment with the abolitionists. At lower right Constitutional Union party candidate John Bell dances with an Indian brave. This pairing is puzzling but may allude to Bell's brief flirtation with Native American interests. (For one instance of the use of the Indian as a nativist symbol see "Know Nothing Soap," no. 1854-3.) At lower left Stephen A. Douglas dances with a ragged Irishman. Associated with Douglas in several cartoons (see "The Undecided Political Prize Fight," no. 1860-22) the Irishman, here wearing a cross, may be intended as a reference to Douglas's backing among Irish immigrants and allegations of the candidate's Catholicism. "The Political Quadrille's" stylistic similarity to the "Undecided Political Prize Fight" and "Dividing The National Map" (nos. 1860-22 and 1860-24) suggests a common authorship. |Title appears as it is written on the item.|"The Lincoln Image," p. 42.|Weitenkampf, p. 123.|Wilson, p. 18-19.|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 1860-23.

A satire on the competition between rival editors Horace Greeley and James Gordon Bennett for New York post office printing contracts. The artist also comments on the circulation wars between Bennett's "New York Herald" and Greeley's relatively new paper the "Tribune, "and on latter's editorial support of abolition. Clay shows Greeley (at left) outdistanced by James Gordon Bennett, who rides a black steed with a pouch marked "Black Mail." The pouch may be a reference to some aspect of Bennett's scandal-mongering journalism or to accusations of extortion made against Bennett by British lecturer Silk Buckingham in 1843. Greeley wears his characteristic frock coat, stove-pipe hat, knee-breeches, and boots. The Scottish-born Bennett wears a tam o'shanter, tartan sash, and kilt. The artist exaggerates his cross-eyed squint. Greeley laments, "I'm afraid my two hundred dollars is lost, as well as the Post Office printing!" In December 1842, Greeley was sued for libel by novelist James Fenimore Cooper. In the trial, reported in detail in the "Tribune," the plaintiff was awarded a judgment of $200 against Greeley. Bennett exclaims, "I shall distance the Squash [i.e., Greeley] if he don't pull foot!" Both men race toward the New York Post Office, in front of which stands a man in a hat and long coat--probably the postmaster. The man says, "The largest circulation gets it!" At the left stand two black men, one with a paper marked "Emancipation" in his pocket, the other holding a copy of the "Tribune." The first says, "Brother Greely rideth like one possessed! He reminds me of Death on a pale Horse!" The second, "My presumption is dat de debil himself helps dat dam Bennett!" The essentially racist portrayal of the two blacks is reminiscent of Clay's much earlier "Life in Philadelphia" series. (See Munsing, pp. 28-29.) Davison dates the print about 1841. The first issue of Greeley's newspaper appeared in April of that year. The editor's reference to his $200 loss, however, suggests that Clay's drawing did not appear until after the Cooper lawsuit of December 1842.|Signed with monogram: C (Edward Williams Clay).|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Davison, no. 162.|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 1843-4.

A racist poster attacking Republican gubernatorial candidate John White Geary for his support of black suffrage. (See also "The Constitutional Amendment!," no. 1866-5.) The artist purports to show the convention of Radical Republicans held in Philadelphia in September 1866. On a dais in the background left, black men cheer as a procession of white men arm-in-arm with blacks enter from the right. The legend below reads: "Every Radical Candidate for United States Senator took part. "White Men & Women Are You Ready for This?" |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 1866-7.

In this unit, students explore social, cultural, and political events that helped define America in the decades following the Second World War. The lesson on the Civil Rights movement revolves around the question: Why did the Montgomery Bus Boycott succeed? In another, students compare speeches by JFK and John Lewis regarding the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the Women in the 1950s lesson plan, students use secondary sources and popular images to explore whether "the happy housewife" was reality or perception. Finally, students will encounter opposing views on whether the Great Society was successful, and what led many Americans came to oppose the Vietnam War.

A satire aimed at California Republican gubernatorial nominee George C. Gorham's espousal of voting rights for blacks and other minorities. Brother Jonathan (left) admonishes Gorham, "Young Man! read the history of your Country, and learn that this ballot box was dedicated to the white race alone. The load you are carrying will sink you in perdition, where you belong, or my name is not Jonathan." He holds his hand protectively over a glass ballot box, which sits on a pedestal before him. At center stands Gorham, whose shoulders support, one atop the other, a black man, a Chinese man, and an Indian warrior. The black man complains to Gorham, ". . . I spose we'se obliged to carry dese brudders, Kase des'se no stinkshun ob race or culler any more, for Kingdom cum." Gorham replies, "Shut your mouth Cuffy--you're as indiscreet as Bidwell [another gubernatorial nominee] and Dwinelle--here's the way I express it--Tอัhe war of opinion is not yet fought through. It must go on until national citizenship shall no longer be controlled by local authority, and "Manhood alone" shall be the test of the right to a voice in the Government.'"Chinese man: "Boss Gollam belly good man. He say chinaman vo-tee all same me1ican man--Ketch--ee mine all same--no pay taxee--belly good." Indian: "Chemue Walla! Ingen vote! plenty whisky all time--Gorom big ingin." At right a man in a top hat, holding a monkey on a leash, calls out mockingly, "Say, Gorham! put this Brother up."|Title appears as it is written on the item.|"Image of America," p. 83.|Weitenkampf, p. 154.|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 1867-3.

One of several racist parodies of black American illiteracy, dialect, and manners issued in Boston at various times between 1819 and 1832. Others in the series are "Grand Bobalition or Great Annibersary Fussible" (no. 1821-1), "Grand and Splendid Bobalition of Slavery" (1822, Collections of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania), "Grand Celebrashun ob de Bobalition of African Slabery!!!" (no. 1825-1), "Dreadful Riot on Negro Hill!" (no. 1827-1), and "Bobalition of Slavery" (no. 1832-3). For their apparent range of production dates these are all suspiciously similar in style, language, subject, and typography. The broadsides are in the form of burlesque reports and letters relating to the annual July 14 celebrations, among Boston's black residents, of the anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade. (The American slave trade was actually abolished on January 1, 1808, but was celebrated in July by many American blacks for some time). In his use of black stereotypes, the producer anticipates Edward Williams Clay's "Life in Philadelphia" series of 1828-29. The "Reply to Bobalition" text comprises a "Dialogue between Scipio and Cato, and Sambo and Phillis, occasioned by reading the account of Bobalition proceedings, as detailed in a letter from Cesar Gobbo, to his friend Marco Mushy . . ." Above, two vignettes illustrate the respective conversations, the conversants portrayed as well-dressed, free blacks.|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 1819-2.

An illustrated sheet music cover for a song composed in honor of Republican presidential candidate Rutherford B. Hayes. Uncle Sam sits atop a hay wain labeled "Hayes." A large American flag with a liberty cap and a wreath appears next to him. Tied to a pitchfork on the side of the wagon is a banner reading, "A Good Honest Load of Hayes on the Way to Washington." The wagon's large front wheel is inscribed "Hard Money Wheeler Gold Basis," a reference to Hayes's advocacy of a hard currency, based on redeemability for specie. The Hayes wagon crosses a bridge over a small stream in which float bags of "Rag Money," or worthless currency. The wagon is pulled across the bridge and toward the U.S. Capitol (here naively labeled "White House") by a team of oxen, each bearing a flag inscribed with a state name. Several farmers or herdsmen accompany the oxen. Two black youths wave from a nearby fence. In the middleground is a signpost, "National Road Ohio to Washington." (Hayes went from being governor of Ohio to President of the United States.) "Honest Money Paid Here" is written in the sky above the Capitol.|Entered . . . 1876 by Oliver Ditson & Co.|J.H. Buffords's Sons, Lith. 141 Franklin St. Boston. Published by Oliver Ditson & Co. 451 Washington St., New York, Chicago, 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 1876-2.

Selected items from the Rosa Parks collection, documenting the life, work, and legacy of civil rights legend Rosa Parks. Selected items from the Rosa Parks collection, documenting the life, work, and legacy of civil rights legend Rosa Parks.

What does it mean to run while Black? Writers such as Mitchell S. Jackson and Alison Mariella Désir encourage us to reflect upon the intersection between race, running, and embodiment. As a Black runner and Sport Studies scholar, I am also deeply interested in this relationship. In this audio short, I bring listeners with me to a 5K race held on Juneteenth and examine the relationship between running, historical memory, racial trauma, and social action.

Students use Library of Congress primary sources to explore the era of legalized segregation.

Students learn about primary sources and analyze Library of Congress primary sources about slavery in the United States.

Slaves and the Courts, 1740-1860, contains just over a hundred pamphlets and books (published between 1772 and 1889) concerning the difficult and troubling experiences of African and African-American slaves in the American colonies and the United States. The documents, most from the Law Library and the Rare Book and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress, comprise an assortment of trials and cases, reports, arguments, accounts, examinations of cases and decisions, proceedings, journals, a letter, and other works of historical importance.

Published & for sale by J.L. Magee, no. 34 Mott St, NY.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)

A considerably idealized view of slave life in the American South, appearing on a printed label for cigars "expressly manufactured for Georgia and Alabama." The New York firm Salomon Brothers may have sought to appeal to Southern consumers and sympathizers in the tense period immediately preceding the Civil War. The illustration shows a tobacco plantation with manor house and a field in which black slaves harvest tobacco. In the foreground is a well-dressed black couple out for a stroll.|Entd . . . 1859 by Salomon Brothers . . . N.Y.|Title from item.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1859-4.

StoryWorks develops inclusive and transformative educational theater experiences that provide students with the opportunity to examine our country’s civil rights history. Through content consistent with school curriculum standards, the program engages students in experiential learning and inspires them to ask deeper questions about the historical underpinnings behind contemporary issues. The process creates pathways to civic engagement, creates lasting memories and instills a tangible sense of social belonging. This StoryWorks educational project is built around Beautiful Agitators, a theatrical play about Vera Mae Pigee, a hair stylist and business owner in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and one of the unsung heroes of the civil rights era. Using her beauty parlor as a hub for Delta-based organizing and resistance, Pigee operated her salon by day and then transformed it into a clandestine center for civil rights organization and education in the evenings. Known for her big hats and larger than life personality, Mrs. Pigee led the direct action that registered nearly 6,000 African Americans to vote in the region. Although Pigee was largely left out of the history books, along with many women of the movement, our play Beautiful Agitators and accompanying curriculum revives her legacy, highlighting her methods and tactics. Inspired by the innovative K-12 civil rights education standards developed by the Mississippi Civil Rights Commission. Our commitment is to expand upon the standards by further developing content related to social justice, power relations, environmental justice, diversity, equity, mutual respect, and civic engagement. Beautiful Agitators combines inquiry with higher-order thinking skills of analysis, evaluation and synthesis. Set in a beauty parlor owned and operated by a Black woman in the Mississippi Delta, our curriculum is based on our investigation into primary sources and their relationship to critical moments in the national movement. This foundation of historical context allows for students and educators to find contemporary parallels which further engage learners to reflect upon the legacy of the civil rights movement and the struggles that we, as citizens, continue to grapple with today.View the complete play Beautiful Agitators on the StoryWorks Theater site.Implementation1. Beautiful Agitators Performance Classroom watches a prerecorded, staged reading of the play Beautiful Agitators, which was created and performed by artists from the Mississippi Delta, home of Vera Mae Pigee.2. Lesson Plan Activities Following the eight-lesson plan structure, students will read aloud or act out scenes from the play. This participatory interaction with the text and the historical events promotes a high level of engagement from the students and encourages experiential learning. These activities directly correspond to scenes in the play and to specific content area standards. Teacher leads guided discussions and helps to explain the historical context and theme of each scene. Students/actors have the opportunity to share their experiences having portrayed these historical figures. 

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.

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 procession of butchers led by two Negro fiddlers, and featuring a large bull. On the ground before the bull are a cleaver, saw, and other butcher tools. The print is dedicated to Pennsylvania's recently elected Republican Governor Simon Snyder. Snyder was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and was the first representative of the German element and back-country farming class to be elected governor of the state.|Copyright secured. Etchd. by S. Folwell Philad. Decr 14, 1808.|The Library's impression was deposited for copyright by Christopher Wispart in Philadelphia on December 16, 1808, under the title "The Butcher's Procession."|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 1808-1.

A mild reproof of Zachary Taylor's evasion of the slavery question in the campaign of 1848. Although Taylor's views were widely broadcast in the form of published letters, his stand on the main issue--the Wilmot Proviso--remained unexpressed. (The Wilmot Proviso would have banned slavery in U.S. territories acquired during the Mexican War.) Here, in a clearing with the Capitol in the distance, Taylor is confronted by a country dweller and an urban dandy. The clearing stands between a forest on the left and a grove of cane on the right at which a black man, a stereotype like the others, cuts with a long knife. The rustic (far left) holds a shotgun or rifle and has a clay pipe between his teeth. In contrast, the city gentleman is finely dressed and holds a small cane. Taylor (center) wears a uniform and holds a walking stick or baton, and is flanked by two dogs (probably bloodhounds, reminders of his controversial use\ of dogs against the Indians in Florida during the Second Seminole War). The Wilmot Proviso lies on the ground before him. Country: "Now then General, in one word, What er yer Principles? for d'ye see, if yer devoid o priciple, yer aint fit to govern this great Nation, not by a darn'd long chalk." Town: "Why-aw! yes Genl? demme! we must know your princi- ples before we vote. we must indeed, aw!--demme!" Taylor: "Confound you both, Read my last Letter!" Country: "It's darn easy to read Genl. but rather difficult to to understand--I guess." To the right of Taylor a black man cutting cane remarks of Taylor, "He! He! He dam cunning, he wants to get in fust. he keep dark on de Wilmot Provis till de beery last. de dam ole Fox."|Drawn by Edward Williams Clay.|Entered . . . 1848 by H.R. Robinson.|Lith: & pub.: by H.R. Robinson 51 Park Row (adjoining Lovejoy's Hotel, N.Y.).|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 1848-32.

A somewhat puzzling commentary on two issues: slavery and economic protectionism. The date of the print is uncertain, but it may have appeared as part of the reaction against the Walker Tariff of 1846. A Northern bias is expressed on both issues. The text is abolitionist on the one hand and laments the absence of federal protection for American industry on the other. The author of the piece (which is less a cartoon than an arrangement of didactic tableaux) presents through his characters a number of reasoned arguments on the respective economics of slave and free industry and suggests a parallel between the hardships posed by the lack of protection for American manufacturers and the plight of the slaves. The irony of the piece rests on the fact that only the Southern slaveholder, whose interests were best served by the 1846 tariff, enjoys the shade of the symbolic Liberty Tree, which looms up in the foreground. Slave owner, fanned by a Negro slave: "Surrounded by Slaves & basking at ease by their labor we can have a clearer conception of the value of Liberty." Man borne in a litter by slaves: "Rather than submit to be a slave I would make our State a cemetery of Freemen." Slaves working under the whip of an overseer at right: "I had as lief work as not. If I had my own time to do it in." and "Who likes to be bound down to a Massa." Another: "Give me my own Country before Slavery." Further right a group of slaves converse: "Poor Sampson is dead!" "Is there nothing we can do?" "How many poor fellows heads have been stuck upon poles!" "The American People will come to a sense of Justice." "If they won't liberate "us," let our Children be free." "Our rejoicing on Bobalition days shew we are not the savages the white people take us to be." "And should our children be free when they are born they might learn the habits of industry & for hire do more work than any of our brethren are now willing to do." "We must be away Massa will see us." In the right background is a steam sawmill whose proprietor frets over his slaves, who run off saying, "Let's have a play spell" and "I'll be off." The owner laments, "What shall I do with my Slaves, they cost me more than their income, and they are more plague than profit, & if I could devise any means to get rid of them, what a triumph it would be--how can it be done without being a serious evil." The left half of the composition represents the North. Near the Liberty Tree two farmers converse: "I would not have a Slave to till my soil, to carry me, to fan me, to tremble when I wake for all the wealth that sinews bought & sold have earnt." "No! dear as freedom is, & in my heart's just estimation prized above all price I'd rather be myself the slave & wear the bonds than fasten them on him." Nearby a group of gentlemen speak: "O America! vast--wide--extended; a population increasing almost past calculation, embracing within thy limits some of almost every nation a refuge for the weary & distressed a home for the free; But O Slavery!! where will be thy bounds?" "Slaves cannot breathe in England, if their lungs receive 'its air' that moment they are free-- they touch 'that Country & their Shackles fall." In the background is a textile mill. Outside are several groups of mill girls. Their conversations concern the tariff and its effects: "What a noise the Southerners have been making about the Tariff." "I hope it is all over now." Second group: "I think if they will protect us Girls from the operation of foreign legislation as well as seamen against Pirates, we can make cloth as cheap as any body." "I dont believe English Girls can do more than we can." "The machinery went well to day." "I wove seventy yards." "I have got so as to tend three Looms." A third group: "I wonder what effect the taking the duty off Linen will have?" "Well in proportion as linen is used there will be less Cotton." "I Guess it will set the poor Irishmen to raising Flax." In the center, beyond the tree, a man on horseback leads a black woman carrying a bundle toward the right or Southern side of the print.|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 1846-13.