Another swipe at Whig candidate Winfield Scott's manipulation by antislavery Whigs Seward and Greeley. Here, Scott is a fly caught in a large web, spun by spiders Greeley (left) and Seward (right). Scott exclaims, "I think I've got myself into a hobble!" Greeley, hanging from a thread, decides, "I must hurry up & cover him with our slime as fast as possible!" Seward adds, "I hope he won't break through before I get him secured!" At lower left, Massachusetts Whig Daniel Webster and New York editor James Watson Webb look on. Webster remarks, "What an extraordinary web, Webb!" Webb replies, "Yes it's one of that crafty old spider Seward's and he has caught a large fly who wont get out Scot free--Can't you stir it up a little, Webster!"|Published by John Childs, 84 Nassau St. N. York.|Signed with monogram: EWC (Edward Williams Clay).|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Davison, no. 204.|Weitenkampf, p. 107.|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 1852-30.

Democratic candidate James Buchanan, as a buck deer, crosses the finish line of a racecourse ahead of competitors Millard Fillmore and John C. Fremont. Spectators cheer in the stands behind. Fillmore appears as an emaciated horse, fallen on the course. Next, Fremont follows close on the heels of Buchanan. Fremont stands astride two horses: one with the head of New York "Tribune" editor Horace Greeley and the other the "wooly nag" of abolitionism. The latter here more closely resembles a filly than a nag. Greeley: "Monte why didn't you lean more on the wooly horse--you gave me all your weight--never mind we've beat the grey Filly [i.e., Fillmore] next time we'ill head off that hard old Buck." Fremont: "Get out--hang you and the Wooly Horse--I could beat that broken down silver grey "Filly" and the old Buck too--had I gone on my own hook." Fillmore: "Oh! Oh! why did'nt I stay in sweet Italy with my friend King Bomba and the lazy Neapolitans--Then I should not have been blowen up like a Bag of wind in this Chase." Buchanan: "Never mind Gentn. I could not "help" beating you, the American Nation wished it so--I will send you all to Ostend--and I promise you that I will have no Tailors in my white House. [As a youth Fillmore had been apprenticed to a tailor.] Mercy on me! to think that this Glorious People should be almost Pierced to Death [a reference to unpopular Democratic incumbent Franklin Pierce] by War and making Free States in this land of Liberty by a set of Fashion inventores 'I'll none of it.'"|Probably drawn by John L. Magee.|Published by John Childs, 84 So. 3rd St. Phila.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1856-18.

An optimistic view of the presidential prospects of Martin Van Buren, nominated at the Free Soil Party's August 1848 convention in Buffalo, New York. Here Van Buren rides a buffalo and thumbs his nose as he sends Democratic candidate Lewis Cass (left) and Whig Zachary Taylor flying. Both are about to land in Salt River. Van Buren says defiantly, "Clear the track! or I'll Ram you both!" Cass, whose "Wilmot Proviso" hat has already landed in the river, exclaims, "Confound this Wilmot Proviso, I'm afraid it will lead to something bad." (On the Wilmot Proviso see "Whig Harmony," no. 1848-21.) Cass's opposition to the proviso put him at odds with a large number of Democrats. Taylor speculates, "If I had stood on the Whig platform firmly, this would not have happened." He cites his reluctance to decisively embrace the regular Whig party doctrines. His cap flies in the air, spilling a packet of "Dead Letters." (On the "dead letter" matter see "The Candidate of Many Parties," no. 1848-24.) |Entered . . . 1848 by H.R. Robinson.|Probably drawn by "W.J.C."|Published by H.R. Robinson 31 Park Row N.Y.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 92.|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 1848-38.

Whig nominee Zachary Taylor's reluctance to clearly declare his political views was an issue eagerly exploited by the opposition in the 1848 campaign. Here the artist shows phrenologist Orson S. Fowler probing the candidate's skull to determine his "principles," as New York "Tribune" editor Horace Greeley (left) takes notes. Greeley asks, "What for a Prsident would he make?" Fowler replies, "he says he is 'Incompetent,' & so say his developments." Taylor (center) sits grumbling, "When I get to Washington I will turn [Postmaster General] Cave Johnson out, and put a good Military man in his place, This paying 7.50 for "dead letters," is too much for me to stand." Beginning in late July the "dead letter" issue was a source of great popular amusement at Taylor's expense. After Taylor's nomination in early June, he was sent a letter by John Morehead offering him the candidacy. In an economizing move, Taylor had recently instructed the local postmaster in Baton Rouge not to forward to him any letters on which postage was not prepaid. Consequently, Morehead's notification of nomination was among the mail that landed in the dead letter office in Washington, and after several weeks cost Taylor $7.50 to have retrieved. Among the long list of Taylor's characteristics that Greeley and Fowler have compiled are: "A Quick Fiery Temper," "A lack of self respect," and "Disregard for things Sacred." Each of these falls under a broader category, such as "Combativeness," which is accompanied by a number designating its degree of "development." The number six indicates an ideal level of development, anything lower being deficient. Seven, the highest possible score, was excessive. Here Taylor scores a seven in "Combativeness," but only receives a one for "Self Esteem." In "Firmness" he receives a fourteen, making him remarkably "Obstinate & Mulish." Shelved on the back wall at right are specimens of heads and skulls, including those of Martin Van Buren, James Watson Webb, Henry Clay, and a black man. Posted on the left is a sign advertising "Fowler & Wells. Phrenologists, 131 Nassau St. Clinton Hall, N. York."|Drawn by "W.J.C."|Entered . . . 1848 by H.R. Robinson.|Lithd. & published by H.R. Robinson-31 Park Row New York.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Lorant, p. 19.|Weitenkampf, p. 93-94.|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 1848-24.

The title refers to Whig candidate Zachary Taylor as the probable victor in the 1848 presidential contest. Taylor is portrayed as a victorious fighting cock, standing over his dead opponent, another cock with the head of Democratic candidate Lewis Cass. Taylor crows, "Cru-e-ruk-ruk-ru have you any more of the kind on hand?" Feathers are strewn about in the foreground; a lake or river and large mountains appear in the distance. Nearby lies a second defeated cock, Free Soil party candidate Martin Van Buren. At the far right a fourth rooster, Liberty party candidate John Hale, flees, exclaiming, "I'm off in time!" Hale's flight may symbolize the candidate's exit from the campaign, which was prompted by Van Buren's nomination by a coalition of Liberty party abolitionists, Barnburner Democrats, and antislavery Whigs in August 1848.|Probably drawn by E.F. Durang.|Published by Able [i.e., Peter E. Abel] & Durang Philadelphia.|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 1848-45.

"Salt River," the fictitious river of political doom, is charted here as a meandering stream of Democratic misfortunes. The chart was purportedly "prepared by Father Ritchie," i.e., Democratic editor and Polk administration spokesman Thomas Ritchie. Swipes are taken at the Tariff of 1846, Polk's Vice President George M. Dallas, Martin Van Buren, and 1848 Democratic presidential nominee Lewis Cass. The river winds upward from the Ohio River (Ohio was a Democratic stronghold in 1848) to the Lake of Oblivion with an island on which sits the "Mansion of Despair." The "Fast Sailing Steamer Free Trade," captained by Lewis Cass and piloted by Ritchie, sets out on the "Slough of Despond" below (one of the landmarks in John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress&1). The ship approaches a fork, from which the "Old Fox Branch" on the right leads to "Cabbage Point" and the home of Martin Van Buren. Van Buren can be seen sitting in a rowboat on the river complaining, "Hard work this all; your fault 'John,' with your D--d Free Trade." His son John, a Free Soil party leader and campaigner, encouraged Van Buren's bid for the party's presidential nomination in 1848. On the left Salt River continues past the "Sub Treasury Bluffs," "Noise and Confusion Shoals," "Two Face Points," and "Irish Relief Shoal" (a reference to Democratic support for anti-British insurgents in Ireland), to another fork, "Prince John's Creek." Here John Van Buren walks along the shore and calls, "Good bye Dad! We could not Gull the People." The main branch of the river continues to "Pillow's Cemetery" (named after Gen. Gideon Pillow, conspirator against popular Mexican War commander Winfield Scott and a friend of James K. Polk), "One Seal Island" (?), "Casting Vote Point," and "St Anna Pass." The last is named after Mexican president and commander Santa Anna, whom the Polk administration returned from exile only to see him lead the war against the Americans. On Lake Oblivion is a small ferry boat heads toward the shore at upper right where it will connect with a train named "Tariff [of 18]42," bound for Washington. On the left is a funerary monument "In Memory of Dallas," a memorial to Vice President and former Pennsylvania senator George M. Dallas. Many of Dallas's fellow Pennsylvanians viewed him as a traitor to the state's interests in his support of the Tariff of 1846, which supplanted the popular 1842 tariff.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 97.|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 1848-26.

The battle for the presidency between Greeley and incumbent Ulysses S. Grant is portrayed here in biblical terms. In a mountainous desert landscape Greeley, as David armed with a slingshot loaded with quill and inkwell and grasping a copy of his newspaper the New York "Tribune," confronts a giant Grant. The latter wields a lance, a sword, and a shield. In his shadow stands a black youth attendant. From the heights on either side of the scene two supporting armies watch, and in the center a small grotesque figure peeks from behind a rock. A domed building, intended to represent the U.S. Capitol, is visible in the distance. In the lower margin are excerpts from the story of David and Goliath taken from the Book of Samuel. The print is numbered in the stone "Picture No.11," suggesting that it is part of a series. The publisher, Merinsky, issued a pro-Greeley campaign banner, also somewhat unconventional in conception. (See no. 1872-5.)|Entered . . . 1872 by S. Merinsky. |Lith. by Svobodin Merinsky.|Published and for sale, 319 Pearl 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 1872-6.

A figurative portrayal of Whig candidate Winfield Scott's failure in the 1852 presidential contest, attributed by the artist to his alliance with abolitionist interests. Scott is hoisted aloft via a pulley system by various influential supporters, including (left to right): an unidentified man, New York "Times" editor Henry J. Raymond, black abolitionist Frederick Douglass, Boston editor and abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, Pennsylvania representative David Wilmot, and New York senator William Seward. They try to haul him up to the "President's Chair," which sits on a gallows-like structure, but the rope snaps owing to the "Free Soil" and "Abolition" weights chained to Scott's waist. Scott's supporters fall in unison to the left. Raymond: "You might have known them cussed weights would break the rope!" Seward:"Thus the noble Cesar fell, and you and I & all of us fell down and bloody Locofocoism flourished over us!" Scott (falling): "It may be the effect of my imagination, but it certainly feels as if something has given way!" At left, New York "Tribune" editor Horace Greeley rides a swaybacked horse carrying a "Tariff" bundle. He shouts to Scott, "Hold on General where you are just one minute till I come to help you!" Another man runs after Greeley crying, "Whoa! whoa! I say Greely don't ride that poor old nag to death!" Entering from the right-hand corner are a black man and his wife. The wife points at Scott and says, "Law! Mr. Cesar it seems to me dat de Gemman is gevine de wrong way."|Pubd. by John Childs, 84 Nassau St. N. York.|Signed with monogram: EWC (Edward Williams Clay).|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Davison, no. 205.|Weitenkampf, p. 108-109.|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 1852-31.

An election-year satire favoring Free Soil candidate Martin Van Buren in the 1848 presidential contest. A long-legged John Van Buren carries his father piggyback through Salt River, heading toward the White House on the far shore. "Matty" says, "Thanks to your long legs, John, I believe that I shall pass over this Jordan dry shod." The younger Van Buren assures his father, "Hold on Dad & I'll put you through." Meanwhile, abolitionist editor Horace Greeley and candidates Taylor and Clay are having a more difficult time fording the river. Clay is immersed head first, leaving only his legs visible. Taylor is neck-deep in the water. Greeley yells to Kentucky Whig leader Cassius M. Clay, seated on the near bank, "Help, Cassius, or I Sink." Clay replies, "Can't come there, Horace, I risked my life in Mexico, & I don't like to do it again." (Cassius Clay was a hero of the recent Mexican War).|Entered . . . 1848 by J. Baillie. |Published by James Baillie, 87th St. near Third Avenue, New York.|Signed with reversed initials: H.B. (H. Bucholzer).|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 97.|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 1848-29.

Again Van Buren's flirtation with radical interests is portrayed as his downfall. As in "The Modern Colossus" (no. 1848-56) antislavery activist Abby Folsom (here "Abby Fulsome") is prominently featured. Here she witnesses Van Buren's flight from various foes, each depicted as an animal. In pursuit of Van Buren are Zachary Taylor (as an alligator), and senators Thomas Hart Benton (a bull), John C. Calhoun (a lion), and Daniel Webster (an elephant). Taylor vows, "I'll swallow him directly," while Webster says, "Let me put my foot on him." A crane "Poke," actually incumbent Democratic President James K. Polk, swoops toward the fleeing fox from the sky. On the left stand editor Horace Greeley, Folsom, and longtime Van Buren ally Benjamin F. Butler. Greeley tells the fox to "Run under my white coat Matty. It will not be the first time that it has covered a fox. But, cheer up, for there is still balm in Gilead. You shall be the candidate of the Fourierites [i.e., members of the reform movement championed by Greeley]." Folsom laments, "Now that he has doubled on his track & come over to us, what a pity that we can't save him!" Butler exclaims, "Alas! Alas! is this the end of my devotedness, my martyrdom, & above all, my state preaching?" Van Buren replies, "It's no use friends, my cake is all dough, as my face used to be. Why did you drag me out of my hole to be tormented thus." "Doughface" was a name given northern friends of slave interests, which Van Buren was perceived to have been during his administration.|Entered . . . 1848 by J. Baillie. |Published by James Baillie, 87th St. near 3d. Avenue N.Y.|Signed with initials: H.B. (H. Bucholzer).|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 89-90.|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 1848-57.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe the terms of the Wilmot ProvisoDiscuss why the Free-Soil Party objected to the westward expansion of slaveryExplain why sectional and political divisions in the United States grewDescribe the terms of the Compromise of 1850

The Free Soil sympathies of the cartoonist are evident in his portrayal of the 1848 presidential contest as a race between the three major candidates. The contenders are on the course. Whig candidate Zachary Taylor (left) rides a bloodhound with a collar reading "Buena Vista." The bloodhound is a reminder of the public outcry over Taylor's controversial use of dogs against the Indians in the Second Seminole War. The Battle of Buena Vista was one of Taylor's most decisive but costly victories in the Mexican War. A pouch of "Dead Letters mes up & then we can go ahead." A crowd of men look on from behind the rail, most of them shouting for Van Buren. Among the disgruntled is (third from left) Isaiah Rynders, a New York City political leader, who curses Taylor's poor performance, "Damn that Bloodhound! how he lags." An unidentified companion responds, pointing to Van Buren, "Just as I told you Rynders." Further right stand editor James Watson Webb and another man, who lament, "This sacrificing "Principles" for "Men" has availed me nothing," and "Damn it, Webb, we're both done brown!" Webb backed Taylor's bid for the presidency, although the candidate persistently refused to avow Whig party principles. The disappointed pair form a marked contrast to the jubilant Horace Greeley (far right), who waves his hat in the air and jeers, "Where's Webb's 30,000 men in Buckram now?" (See "One of the Young B'Hoys in Ecstasies," no. 1846-14.)|Entered . . . 1848 by H.R. Robinson.|Lithd. & publd. by H.R. Robinson 31 Park Row N. York. Adjoining Lovjoy's Hotel (Opposite the Park Fountain).|Signed with initials: W.J.C.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 96.|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 1848-37.

A comic scene ridiculing the Tammany Democrats of New York City. Tammany headquarters, known as the "Wigwam," here erupts in a drunken fracas over the Democratic platform for the presidential race of 1852. The platform specifically endorsed the Compromise of 1850, which incorporated the Fugitive Slave Act, a measure highly repugnant to abolitionists and Free-Soil or Barnburner Democrats. The artist also capitalizes on current rumors of candidate Franklin Pierce's bouts of alcoholism. In the center stands a wooden platform, in the process of collapsing on one end under the riotous exertions of abolitionists. On the other end (at left) stand Pierce and his runnning mate William R. King. Pierce, visibly drunk and swooning, is supported by King. Yet he tries to speak, "Fel-er-cit-zens. I'm bliged to you. I, that is--King? did you put that "Bri" (hic) "Bri" (hic) "Brick!" (damm the word)--in my "Hat?" Fel--citizens? this is my mot (hic) mottoe! "Prin-Ci-Ples, Not, Men--Men, Not Prin-ciples" whichever is the most ex (hic) "Expedient" (damm the word). Fel-Cit-zens? hurray for the Dem (hic) Dem (hic) "Democratic Party." (damm the word) (hic) (hic) ah that last "Brandy Smash" was too Muscular for my constution. "King! King!" your drunk" King: "Come--Pierce stand up like a man, what will your friend think, if you are as limber as this after we get you in the White House, what will become of the country. Come now? stand up, or lay down, one or the other." King leads Pierce toward an Irish tough (far left), one of the party rank and file, who steps onto the platform and declares enthusiastically, "Your the boy for this crowd! slap down yer paw! . . . aint we a go in ter have a nice time when we gitm you in the white house? well we is! hoss! wont we lick Mexico again? wont we go ter Cuba and kiss the purty Spanish galls? wont we lamm the British? & Choke Louis Napoleon? well we will! . . ." The platform itself is inscribed with the warning: "In consequence of the Ricketty Construction of this Platform, all Barnburners, Free-Soilers, & Abbolitionists are requested to Tread on it as lightly as possible." The structure breaks up on the right amid a crowd of brawling Democrats, one of them carrying an "Abbolition" banner. In the left foreground, a muscular, bare-chested "Old Hunker" (conservative Democrat) sends a Free-Soiler flying with a punch, saying, "How do you like that for a Change?" To which the Free-Soiler answers, "I should like it better without the change?" In the center sits a man in athletic costume holding a bottle. He looks to the right where Whig candidate Winfield Scott enters on the back of a donkey. The athletic man says, "Hulloa? Scott! is it a fact that you brought down--twelve "Birds" at one "Shot." Scott, dressed as a hunter, with a large sack slung over his saddle, replies, "Yes Sir, brought e'm "Down," and "Bagged" e'm too." As in "Terrible Rout and Total Destruction of the Whig Party" (no. 1852-26) the comic characterization and style of draftsmanship here are unquestionably John L. Magee's, and compare closely with other, signed works by the artist.|Drawn by John L. Magee.|For sale by Nathaniel Currier at No. 2 Spruce St. N.Y.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 111.|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 1852-13.

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.

A satire on the unlikely alliance of rival editors Horace Greeley and James Watson Webb in support of Zachary Taylor for the presidency in 1848. Unlike Webb, one of Taylor's earliest and most enthusiastic New York supporters, Greeley refused to endorse Taylor until late in September 1848. Here, he and the bewhiskered Webb lie side-by-side in a large, canopied "Bed of Availability." Greeley: "Webb dont you think we can get the Government Printing [contracts] after the 4th of next March?" March 4 was the constitutionally established inauguration day until modified by the Twentieth Amendment. Webb: "We might have got it if you had followed your Partner's advice sooner; as it is now, I'm afraid Taylor will be defeated; & there is that dam'd Letter of Willis Hall's." During his campaign, Taylor was a prolific letter writer. In the foreground stands a night table holding copies of Greeley's New York "Tribune" and Webb's "Courier and Enquirer." A spittoon is on the floor near the foot of the bed, and the two men's clothes rest on chairs nearby. On the far wall of the bedchamber hangs a framed portrait of Taylor.|Lith: & pub: by H.R. Robinson 31 Park Row N.Y. (Adjoining Lovejoy's Hotel.)|Probably drawn by W.J.C.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 96.|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 1848-55.

A parody of Democratic politics in the months preceding the party's 1848 national convention. Specifically, the artist ridicules the rivalry within the party between Free Soil or anti-slavery interests, which upheld the Wilmot Proviso, and regular, conservative Democrats or "Hunkers." The "Gilpins" (named after the hero of William Cowper's 1785 "Diverting History of John Gilpin," who also loses control of his mount, to comic effect) are regular Democrats Lewis Cass, Thomas Hart Benton, and Levi Woodbury, who ride a giant sow down "Salt River Lane" away from the "Head Quarters of the Northern Democracy," which displays a Liberty cap and a flag "Wilmot Proviso." Cass, a former general and avid expansionist, wears a military uniform and brandishes a sword "Annexation." John Van Buren (right), a Free Soil Democrat, tries to restrain the pig by holding its tail. He remarks, "This is our last hope. If the tail draws out, they are gone for good." A man at left tries to block the pig's passage shouting "Stop, stop, Old Hunkers! here's the house!" Cass orders, "Clear the road. Don't you see that we are fulfilling our manifest destiny!" Benton asserts, "We are not a whit inclined to tarry there." On the far right a stout gentleman chases after them calling, "Hey! hey, there! where upon airth are you going? Come back here to your quarters!" Meanwhile former President and Free Soil contender Martin Van Buren is neck-deep in a pool at the lower right. He laments, "Had I served my country with half the zeal with which I served my illustrious predecessor, I should not thus have slumped in the mud." He refers to his service under Andrew Jackson, whom he succeeded as President. Attribution of "The Modern Gilpins" to John L. Magee is based on its similarities in draftsmanship and facial characterizations to Magee's 1850 satire "The Clay Statue," (no. 1850-9) and to several Mexican War prints he executed for the publisher Baillie.|Entered . . . 1848 by J. Baillie. |Published by James Baillie, 87th St. near 3d Avenue, N.Y.|Signed: Mack del (John L. Magee).|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 91-92.|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 1848-3.

The victorious James Buchanan sits under a trellis of grape vines, holding reports of election returns on his lap. He reflects, "What a happy morning for my country and myself. Here I find returns for myself & my Kentucky brother [running mate John C. Breckinridge]--beginning with Maine in the North & concluding with Texas in the South. What welcome news to know that the People have not removed a plank of the Democratic Platform. Who will dare breathe Disunion now?" Before him on the ground lie scythes, a shovel, and a pickax; a plough rests nearby. Behind him ripe wheat is visible. On the left, past a low fence, four New York newspaper editors run forward holding up bills for large sums of money. They are a bearded "German editor," Horace Greeley, James Gordon Bennett, and James Watson Webb--frustrated supporters of John C. Fremont, who rides off in the distance saying, "I'm off to Mariposa--Like a foolish fellow, you Editors made me believe papers could do all things--The people you see have used us up. When I get to my gold regions & "back again," I'll pay you "in a horn."" Mosquitoes swarm around him. At right Millard Fillmore emerges from the mouth of a cavern, holding a lantern (a nativist symbol). He confronts Know Nothing founder "Ned Buntline" (Edward Zane Carroll Judson), a bearded man with two pistols at his waist. Fillmore complains, "Oh! Ned! Ned! This is all of your doing. After being a popular Whig President--and walking in the footsteps of Clay, Webster & Cass. I am thrown back by the People into the dark & gloomy caverns of Know Nothingism."|Probably drawn by John L. Magee.|Published by I [i.e. John] Childs 84 Sth 3rd. St. Phila.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 118.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1856-27.

New York "Tribune" editor Horace Greeley is ridiculed for vacillating between support of candidates Martin Van Buren and Zachary Taylor in the presidential election of 1848. Greeley balances precariously on a tightrope labeled "Mason & Dickson's Line," which is stretched across Salt River. He holds a balancing pole with a bust of Van Buren on one end and Zachary Taylor on the other. His foot rests upon a stool which in turn rests upon a loaf of "Bran Bread" (a well-known Greeley preference) poised on edge on the wire. He comments, "O crackee! it is as hard work for me to define my position as it was for Taylor to define his," referring to Taylor's stubborn refusal to take a public stand on major issues. Below, immersed in the proverbial river of political disaster, is Henry Clay, defeated candidate for the Whig presidential nomination. Clay complains, "Alas! my Whig brethren! to this complexion must we all come at last!" To the right, on shore, a bespectacled man (possibly an abolitionist) reads aloud from a book: "On slipp'ry heights, I see them stand / While briny billows roll below." Further upstream a man dressed in tattered clothes rides a donkey which trails a placard advertising, "Ground & lofty tumbling Mr. Greely's first appearance in that Character." Greeley wears his characteristic pale frock coat and carries a copy of the "Tribune" in his pocket.|Entered . . . 1848 by J. Baillie. |Lith & published by James Baillie, 87th St. near 3d Avenue 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 1848-54.

Whig presidential candidate Winfield Scott and his party pursue an abolitionist course leading toward Salt River and political doom. New York senator and antislavery advocate William Seward appears as a poodle which leads the blindfolded Scott and his entourage of three asses with the heads of prominent abolitionists David Wilmot, Joshua Reed Giddings, and Horace Greeley. They pass a signpost pointing toward Salt River (ahead) and Washington (in the opposite direction). Seward: "Place the utmost confidence in me gentlemen asses . . . for when was I ever known to betray those with whom I was associated!" Scott: "It seems to me that I scent a strange saltness in the air!" Wilmot carries a "Free Soil" burden and is ridden by a black man. The slave exclaims, "Whew Massa Scott! up here you can see de riber shining in de sun!" Ass Giddings bears a sack marked "Abolition," while behind him Greeley carries a load marked "Higher Law." Greeley complains, "Here I am again upon my winding way. I would be glad to get off on my own hook, but this is my only chance for office, and I should like to get hold of another short term." A man on a hill in the background points toward Washington, exclaiming, "Ho there! Ho there! yonder lies your course! you're going astray! They are deaf as a post, or a set of obstinate jack asses!" (Under the man's feet the name "Seward" was inscribed but later obliterated.)|Published by John Childs, 64 Nassau St. N. York.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 108.|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 1852-32.

Winfield Scott's controversial performance as commander in the War of 1812 battle at Lundy's Lane turned to account by the artist in this parody of the general's candidacy in 1852. The battle of Lundy's Lane against the British in Canada in 1814, considered by Scott a personal triumph, was in fact a questionable victory in which the wisdom of Scott's strategy and tactics had been disputed. Here, Scott's abolitionist supporters for the Whig presidential nomination, William Seward (holding Scott by the tails) and Horace Greeley (kneeling at far right), hesitate to let Scott join the "Whig Chorus" on the left, knowing the general's well-known propensity for "faux pas" and imprudent remarks. The general's managers did in fact try to preserve his silence on the major issues before the June 1852 Whig Convention. Seward and Greeley's reluctance here also stems from the party's endorsement of the Compromise of 1850, including the controversial Fugitive Slave Act, as part of its platform. Both avowed antislavery men, Seward and Greeley opposed the measure and wanted to prevent Scott's endorsement of it. With raised sword, Scott tries to rush forward toward the Whig Chorus. The dialogue is set to the tune of "Will you come to bower." The chorus sings: "Will you come to the meeting we've got up for you? / Your feast shall be hasty soup with your favorite Irish stew. / Will you, . . . come to Lundy's lane! / Will you &c. /There on our Platform you can either stand or lie, / With a smile on your cheek and a drop in your eye /Wont you, . . . come to Lundy's lane! / Wont you &c." The reference to a "hasty soup" goes back to Scott's Mexican War days. (See "Distinguished Military Operations," no. 1846-15.) The "Irish stew" allusion may be a sarcasm on Scott's reputed nativist leanings before the Mexican War. Behind the chorus is a camp with a large cauldron (probably soup) on a fire and soldiers in ranks. A nearby flag staff flies American and British flags. Scott responds to the call: "I will come to the meeting if Bill Seward lets me go, / But what I say when I get there I'm sure I do not know. / I will come . . . to Lundy's lane. / I will come &c. / I will take a hasty plate of soup and a smell of Irish stew, / And all sorts of contradictions I will make clear as mud to you. / Wont I come, . . . to Lundy's lane? / Wont I come &c." / Seward sings: / "You cant go to the meeting for you know you are not well, / And you'll make a Judy of yourself I surely do foretell / You cant go, . . .to Lundy's lane. / You cant go &c. / Greeley, weeping, implores Seward: /"Dont let him go to the meeting! With his feathers and his fuss, / He'll certainly expose himself and play the deuce with us. / Dont let him go, . . . to Lundy's lane! / Dont let him go &c. / Scott's concern with image and decorum earned him the nickname "Old Fuss and Feathers."|Published by John Childs, 84 Nassau St. N. York.|Signed with monogram: EWC (Edward Williams Clay).|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Davison, no. 212.|Weitenkampf, p. 107.|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 1852-16.