ARTIST: Thomas Nast
PUBLISHER: Published by Harper's Weekly. October 26, 1872.
MEDIUM: Wood engraving,
DATE: 1872.
EDITION SIZE: Image size 13 3/4 x 20 1/2" (34.9 x 52 cm).
DESCRIPTION: The boats "Democrat" and "Liberal" have crashed against the rocks, spewing its passengers into the raging sea. This political cartoon was made in 1872 while Horace Greeley was campaigning against the Republican incumbent Ulysses S. Grant. Supported by the Liberal Republicans, who had formed an alliance with the Democrats during the elections, the group appeared to be a mess. Greeley was no politician. He was a newspaper editor with radical views for the country. Carl Schurz, founder of the Liberal Republican Party, can be seen reaching for the canister of "German Vote." He himself was a German immigrant and hoped to gain the support of his fellow Germans. <br><br> In the background the "Democrat" boat has been further identified with a "Tammany" flag. Tammany Hall was the Democratic Political Machine in the New York City and, at the time, was laden with corruption. They had only just ousted William M. Tweed (Boss Tweed) the year before for extensive embezzlement. Tweed can be seen drifting in the tides with his cohorts.
ADDITIONAL INFO:
CONDITION: Good condition.
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