Political caricature. No. 1, The grave of the Union. Or Majo
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Political caricature. No. 1, The grave of the Union. Or Majo
Political caricature. No. 1, The grave of the Union. Or Major Jack Downings dream /. The first in a series of four harsh anti-Lincoln satires published by Bromley & Co. in New York. An imaginary dream of Jack Downing (a comic Yankee character created in the 1830s by Seba Smith) has Lincoln and some of his supporters and cabinet members as a band of undertakers about to inter the Constitution. In 1862, displeased by Attorney General Edward Batess slowness in enforcing the Conspiracies Act, the President took matters into his own hands and issued a proclamation directing trial by court martial or military commissions of all persons who impeded the draft, discouraged enlistments or committed other disloyal acts. Around thirty-eight thousand people were arrested, denied the right of habeas corpus, and held in jail until brought to trial. This heavy-handed act provides the fuel for the artists attack here. Secretary Stanton is shown driving a hearse War Democracy drawn by four horses with the heads of War Democrats (left to right): John Cochrane, Benjamin F. Butler, Thomas Francis Meagher, and Daniel S. Dickinson. Secretary Stanton says, My jackasses had a load, but they pull d it through bravely. Cochrane: I pull for the side that pays the best always. Butler: A million of dollars from New-Orleans. (For the reference to New Orleans, see The Radical Party on a Heavy Grade, no. 1868-.) Meagher: When you meet a Copperhead squelch him. Dickinson: I dont think I look like a ribboned ox now. At right journalist Horace Greeley and Massachusetts senator Charles Sumner bury a casket labeled Constitution. Three other caskets, Union, Habeas Corpus, and Free Speech Charge Express, wait nearby. Greeley: I guess we ll bury it so deep that it will never get up again. Sumner: Be still, you old fool. Let us first be sure that it is all under. A sober Lincoln watches with folded arms, asking, Chase will it stay down? Beside him, treasury secretary
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Political caricature No. 1 - The Grave of the Union, or Major Jack Downing's Dream
EDITORS COMMENTS
is a satirical print published by Bromley & Co. in New York in 1862, marking the first in a series of four harsh criticisms of President Abraham Lincoln and his administration. The image depicts an imaginary dream of Major Jack Downing, a comic Yankee character created in the 1830s by Seba Smith, in which Lincoln and his supporters and cabinet members are shown as a band of undertakers preparing to inter the Constitution. At the center of the print, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton drives a hearse labeled "War Democracy," pulled by four horses with the heads of War Democrats: John Cochrane, Benjamin F. Butler, Thomas Francis Meagher, and Daniel S. Dickinson. Stanton declares, "My jackasses had a load, but they pull it through bravely." Cochrane responds, "I pull for the side that pays the best always," while Butler boasts, "A million of dollars from New-Orleans." Meagher urges, "When you meet a Copperhead, squelch him," and Dickinson comments, "I don't think I look like a ribboned ox now." To the right, journalist Horace Greeley and Massachusetts senator Charles Sumner bury a casket labeled "Constitution." Three other caskets, "Union," "Habeas Corpus," and "Free Speech," lie nearby. Greeley remarks, "I guess we'll bury it so deep that it will never get up again," and Sumner replies, "Be still, you old fool. Let us first be sure that it is all under." A solemn Lincoln watches with folded arms, asking, "Chase will it stay down?" This satire was likely a response to Lincoln's controversial decision to arrest over thirty-eight thousand people in 1862 for impeding the draft, discouraging enlistments, or committing other disloyal acts, denying them the right of habeas corpus and holding them in jail until brought to trial. The heavy-handed act provided ample fuel for the artist's attack.
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