ARTIST: Thomas Nast
PUBLISHER: Published by Harper's Weekly. January 27, 1872.
MEDIUM: Wood engraving,
DATE: 1872.
EDITION SIZE: Image size 12 1/2 x 9" (31.7 x 22.9 cm).
DESCRIPTION: This cartoon plays off a famous scene in the Shakespearean play "Julius Caesar," in which Caesar is murdered by his friend Brutus. William M. Tweed is portrayed as Caesar and John T. Hoffman is Brutus. <br><br> Boss Tweed, as he is best remembered, was an unscrupulous character. He rose to political power using methods that were both illegal and sinister. By this time in 1872 Tweed and his associates had been removed from Tammany Hall, the Democratic political machine in New York City, and the full extent of his crimes were coming to light. This cartoon in particular focuses on voting fraud (the deliberate miscount of ballots) in the text below the image. But Tweed is also noted for giving and accepting bribes, threatening and even murdering those who opposed him and embezzling more than $30 million in tax money. His power followed him even after his removal. The first criminal trial made against him (in 1873) was thrown out as a mistrial thanks to a poor choice of witnesses. Tweed boasted at the time that no jury could convict him. Fortunately for New Yorkers, he was wrong, and the second trial would see him imprisoned. 1873 was still a year away when this cartoon was published though. The people would have to wait to see justice dealt, but they were enraged. In the background they are shown in Roman garb storming the building. Their swords are raised and they file into a hall where the archway is marked "The New Departure to Reform." <br><br> Hoffman had little to do with Tweed's corruption, but his association with the political figure implicated him all the same. He was in the middle of his second term as Governor of New York when news broke. Tweed's sway had granted him a large vote block during both elections and there was the added problem of the new City Charter. The public felt it had been created to aid Tweed with his embezzlements. Hoffman was eventually speak out against Tweed and claim every officials like him should be barred from political positions. In this way, Thomas Nast says in the cartoon, he was like Brutus - he turned against his ally when his tyranny could no longer be ignored. Still, Hoffman doesn't strike with conviction. He shields his eyes from Caesar-Tweed, unwilling to admit association. It is as if he is acting on blind hope. The allegations made against him during the scandal would destroy Hoffman's reputation and with it any hopes of ever becoming president.
ADDITIONAL INFO:
CONDITION: Good condition.
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