U.S. Political Campaigns | PICRYL - Public Domain Media Search Engine collections

420 Media in collection ∙ page 1 of 5

Abolition frowned down. Book illustration from Library of Congress

A satire on enforcement of the "gag-rule" in the House of Representatives, prohibiting discussion of the question of slavery. Growing antislavery sentiment in the North coincided with increased resentment by so... More

Uncle Abe--"Hello! Ben, is that you? Glad to see you!" Butler--"Yes, U...

Cartoon showing President Abraham Lincoln leaning around a door, his left arm extending toward General Benjamin Butler, shown full-length, facing slightly right, standing with carpet bag labeled, "Butler N.O." ... More

Will he dare do it? / Th. Nast.

Published in Harper's Weekly, 1878 March 2, p. 176. Forms part of: Nast, Thomas, 1840-1902. Illustrations and political cartoons by Thomas Nast which is part of: Ben and Beatrice Goldstein Foundation collection.

New method of assorting the mail, as practised by Southern slave-holde...

A portrayal of the nocturnal raid on the Charleston post office by a mob of citizens and the burning of abolitionist mails found there in July 1835. Mail sacks are handed through a forced window of the ransack... More

Scene in a New Hampshire court.--General Pierce examining a witness. S...

Two humorous incidents supposedly from the life of Franklin Pierce. On the left, a repartee wherein Pierce, the distinguished trial lawyer, is embarrassed by an ignorant witness. Armed with pages of notes, Pie... More

Loco Foco hunters treeing a candidate

A satire on the Democrats' or "Loco Focos'" 1852 pursuit of Franklin Pierce for the presidential nomination. At the foot of the White Mountains in the "Dismal Swamp," an immense, swampy region of North Carolina... More

Progressive for president Robert M. La Follette.

Poster shows portrait of La Follette by Underwood & Underwood surrounded by four Liberty Bells. Transfer; LC Manuscript Division; 1982; (DLC/PP-1982:002).

Pilgrims' progress. Book illustration from Library of Congress

Democratic party war-horse Andrew Jackson appears frequently in the satires of the 1844 election campaign. Here, wearing a long frock coat and tall hat, he leads a donkey carrying Democratic candidates Polk and... More

Practical illustration of the Fugitive Slave Law / E.C. del.

A satire on the antagonism between Northern abolitionists on the one hand, and Secretary of State Daniel Webster and other supporters of enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Here abolitionist William ... More

The great November contest. Patriotism: versus Bummerism

The strongly racist character of the Democratic presidential campaign of 1868 is displayed full-blown in this elaborate attack on Reconstruction and Republican support of Negro rights. Horses with the heads of ... More

[Cuba and the U.S. sugar trust profits]

Cartoon shows a man "Cuba" lying on the ground tied with ropes "Platt Amendment" and "Dutch Standard [paragraph] 209." The head of the American Sugar Refining Company Henry Osborne Havemeyer, surrounded by bags... More

The masked battery or Loco-Foco strategy

Another commentary on the Texas question (see "Texas Coming In," no. 1844-28), illustrating Democratic campaign strategy as advanced by Andrew Jackson. The idea of the annexation of Texas, repudiated by many of... More

The great naval blockade of Round Island. Showing the immense importa...

A satire on Taylor administration efforts to curtail American "filibusters," armed expeditions against Cuba for the purpose of freeing the island from Spanish rule. Specific reference here is to the Navy's bloc... More

A cure for Republican lockjaw - Drawing. Public domain image.

The artist portrays congressional efforts to pass the Crittenden Compromise as an antidote to Republican intransigence on the slavery issue. (For an earlier anti-North satire relating to the compromise, see "Co... More

The gunboat candidate at the Battle of Malvern Hill

Democratic presidential candidate George Brinton McClellan is lampooned as an incompetent military leader. He sits in a saddle mounted on the boom of the Union ironclad vessel "Galena." The print recalls two p... More

Leaders of the Democratic Party, Confederate States of America.

A searing, election-year indictment of four prominent figures in the Democratic party, three of them former Confederate officers. Former New York governor and Democratic presidential nominee Horatio Seymour is... More

"Get thee behind me, (Mrs.) Satan!" / Th. Nast.

Wife, carrying heavy burden of children and drunk husband, saying to Mrs. Satan (Victoria Woodhull), "I'd rather travel the hardest path of matrimony than follow your footsteps." Mrs. Satan holds sign "Be saved... More

Practical illustration of the Fugitive Slave Law / E.C. del.

Uncle Sam sick with la grippe - Drawing. Public domain image.

A satire attributing the dire fiscal straits of the nation to Andrew Jackson's banking policies, with specific reference to recent bank failures in New Orleans, New York, and Philadelphia. The artist blames th... More

The great American steeple chase for 1844

An imaginative and elaborate parody on the upcoming 1844 presidential campaign. The artist favors Whig nominee-apparent Henry Clay and is highly critical of incumbent John Tyler. The "chase" for the presidency ... More

Virtuous Harry, or set a thief to catch a thief!

A satire on the Whig party's anti-annexation platform. The question of whether or not to annex Texas was a large issue separating candidates in the 1844 campaign. Annexation's serious implications for the futur... More

Fording Salt River. Book illustration from Library of Congress

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 Ho... More

Governor Magoffin's neutrality means holding the cock of the walk (Unc...

Illus. in: Harper's weekly, v. 5, no. 235 (1861 June 29), p. 403 (center).

The pending contest. Although all Copperheads call themselves Democra...

A variant of "The Pending Conflict" (no. 1863-10), evidently issued at about the same time (and deposited for copyright on the same date). Significant alterations here include: the "Neutrality" band has been re... More

A bad egg. Fuss and feathers - Drawing. Public domain image.

Whig presidential candidate Winfield Scott is pictured as a fighting cock with human attributes. The cock wears fringed military epaulets, a sword, spurs, and a plumed hat. He is just emerged from an egg marked... More

The presidential sweepstakes of 1844. Preparing to start

Again, the race motif is used to parody election-year rivalries. (See "Footrace, Pensylvania Avenue," no. 1844-41). Here the artist portrays the candidates as horses, lining up before a stand from which several... More

An available candidate--the one qualification for a Whig president

Political cartoon showing man in military uniform, with epaulets and plumed hat, holding sword and seated on pile of skulls. A scathing attack on Whig principles, as embodied in their selection of a presidentia... More

Practical illustration of the Fugitive Slave Law / E.C. del.

A boxing match, or another bloody nose for John Bull / W. Charles, del...

The artist gloats over naval losses suffered by England early in the War of 1812, in particular the defeat of the warship "Boxer" by the American frigate "Enterprise" in September 1813. King George III stands ... More

Texas coming in. Book illustration from Library of Congress

A pro-Democrat cartoon forecasting the collapse of Whig opposition to the annexation of Texas. James K. Polk, the expansionist candidate, stands at right near a bridge spanning "Salt River." He holds an America... More

The whale that swallowed Jonah - Public domain book illustration, Libr...

An election-year cartoon satirizing disharmony within the Whig ranks on the bank issue. The artist suggests a division of opinion between New England's Daniel Webster and presidential nominee Henry Clay on the ... More

Tyrants prostrate liberty triumphant, Political Cartoon

A polemic applauding Democratic support of the Dorrite cause in Rhode Island. (See also "Trouble in the Spartan Ranks," and "The Great Political Car and Last Load of Patriots," nos. 1843-6 and 1845-5). In the ... More

The house that Jeff built - Public domain portrait drawing

An extended and bitter indictment of Jefferson Davis and the Southern slave system. The work consists of a series of twelve vignettes with accompanying verse, following the scheme of the nursery rhyme "The Hous... More

[The Strenuous Resolve] - Drawing. Public domain image.

Cartoon shows Theodore Roosevelt in Rough Rider dress, holding a scroll labeled "message," riding a fish labeled "Congress." The fish bites into the island of "Cuba inherited problem." Henry Thomas Oxnard, fou... More

Jeff's last shift. Capture of Jeff. Davis, May 10th, 1865, at Irwinsvi...

One of the less outlandish variations on the popular theme of Jefferson Davis's capture by Union soldiers. (See "The Chas-ed "Old Lady" of the C.S.A.," no. 1865-11.) In a wooded setting Davis, wearing a bonnet ... More

The road to dividends - Drawing. Public domain image.

Cartoon shows poor child carrying a heavy load followed by wealthy industrialists with mills in the background.

Animal magnetism - A cartoon of a man sitting in a chair talking to an...

A swipe at President Van Buren's independent treasury system and his continuation of the monetary policies of predecessor Andrew Jackson. The artist, clearly in sympathy with the Whigs, links corruption in the ... More

Matty taking his second bath in Salt River

A satire published before the Democratic convention, predicting would-be presidential nominee Martin Van Buren's second "bath in Salt River" (the first one being his unsuccessful bid for reelection in 1840). O... More

Political cock fighters. Book illustration from Library of Congress

A figurative portrayal of the 1844 presidential contest as a cock-fight, in which Whig candidate Henry Clay prevails. Clay and Democratic opponent Polk battle in a pit or ring as several prominent political fi... More

Ultimatum on the Oregon question, Political Cartoon

In his typically jingoist view of Polk's handling of the Oregon question, the artist Edward Williams Clay belittles the self-interested attitudes of Europe toward the dispute. The issue of whether to settle the... More

Political guillotine. Book illustration from Library of Congress

A cryptic satire critical of Lewis Cass and incumbent President James K. Polk. The work probably appeared prior to the Whig national convention (June 9-10), since reference is made to a Clay-Fillmore ticket. (T... More

Eclipse & no eclipse or two views of one object

Two scenes showing the differing perceptions of Franklin Pierce's stand on the issue of slavery, as viewed by the North and South. The cartoon is divided vertically by "Mason & Dixon's Line." An arrow identifie... More

Union and liberty! And union and slavery!

An anti-McClellan broadside, contrasting Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln's advocacy of equality and free labor in the North to Democratic opponent McClellan's alleged support of the Southern slave system. ... More

[The uplifting of Cuba] - Political cartoon, public domain image

Cartoon shows Republican House Majority Leader Sereno Payne and Republican Congressmen Robert Morris, Francis Griffith Newlands, Henry Allen Cooper, and James Albertus Tawney pulling on a rope to lift a bucket ... More

A scene on the frontiers as practiced by the "humane" British and thei...

Charles denounces British and Indian depredations on the American frontier during the War of 1812, alluding specifically to the practice of offering bounties for American scalps. The cartoon may have been prom... More

Balloon ascension to the presidential chair

Reflecting Whig preelection confidence in the campaign of 1844, the artist portrays that party's ascendancy over the Democrats in the race for the presidency. Bucholzer uses the metaphor of a hot-air balloon ra... More

The Tory mill. The original genuine experiment is published this day

A crude and unusually large woodcut, employing the metaphor of a mill to portray the spoils system under the Democrats (or "Tories" as they were labeled by the Whig press). The print may attack Andrew Jackson'... More

A foot-race - Public domain portrait drawing

A figurative portrayal of the presidential race of 1824. A crowd of cheering citizens watch as candidates (left to right) John Quincy Adams, William Crawford, and Andrew Jackson stride toward the finish. Henry... More

Join or Die. Book illustration from Library of Congress

Benjamin Franklin's warning to the British colonies in America "join or die" exhorting them to unite against the French and the Natives, shows a segmented snake, "S.C., N.C., V., M., P., N.J., N.Y., [and] N.E."... More

New edition of MacBeth. Bank-oh's! Ghost

Another satire on the Panic of 1837, again condemning Van Buren's continuation of predecessor Andrew Jackson's hard-money policies as the source of the crisis. Clay shows the president haunted by the ghost of C... More

Fifty cents. Shin plaster - Public domain portrait drawing

Another mock shinplaster (see also nos. 1837-9 and -10 above). Again the artist attributes the shortage of hard money to the successive monetary programs of presidents Jackson and Van Buren, particularly to the... More

The gladiators of the Senate! The bulley's of the House

The artist parodies recent outbreaks of violence in Congress, and offers a pointed comparison between the elevated rhetorical sparring in the Senate and a more physical brand of combat in the House of Represent... More

The morning after the election--November 1856

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 & ... More

Liberty, the fair maid of Kansas--in the hands of the "border ruffians...

A bitter indictment of the Democratic administration's responsibility for violence and bloodshed in Kansas in the wake of the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act. (See also "Forcing Slavery Down the Throat of a Freesoiler... More

The political quadrille. Music by Dred Scott

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 ne... More

In memorium--our civil service as it was

Cartoon showing statue of Andrew Jackson on pig, which is over "fraud," "bribery," and "spoils," eating "plunder." Illus. in: Harper's weekly, 1877 April 28, p. 325.

The world's constable / Dalrymple ; Sackett & Wilhelms Litho. & Ptg. C...

Print shows President Theodore Roosevelt as a constable standing between Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa with a truncheon labeled The New Diplomacy. Illus. in. Judge, v. 48, no. 1213 (January 14, 1905),... More

Congressional pugilists - Engraving, Public domain image

A crude portrayal of a fight on the floor of Congress between Vermont Representative Matthew Lyon and Roger Griswold of Connecticut. The row was originally prompted by an insulting reference to Lyon on Griswold... More

The looking glass for 1787. A house divided against itself cannot stan...

A satire touching on some of the major issues in Connecticut politics on the eve of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. The two rival factions shown are the "Federals," who represented the trading inter... More

5 to one ha, Confederate States of America.

Another show of Northern optimism in the early months of the Lincoln administration. Uncle Sam approaches from the left holding a bayonet, causing five Southern soldiers to flee in panic to the right. In their ... More

The meeting of the friends, City Hall Park

New York governor Horatio Seymour's famous "My Friends" speech, delivered from the steps of New York's City Hall during the draft riots, was widely misrepresented in the press. On the basis of reports such as t... More

The pending conflict, Confederate States of America.

A later, altered version of "The Pending Conflict" (no. 1863-10). Albeit more optimistic from the Northern point of view than its earlier couterpart, this version is equally critical of European abetment of t... More

Cuban relief, U.S. labor laws ..., Political Cartoon

Cartoon shows Republican House Speaker Sereno Payne as a messenger delivering a sheet of paper "Cuban relief. U.S. labor laws. U.S. immigration law. 20% reduction reciprocity. April 1, '02" to a barefoot man "... More

United States presidential election 2008, results by state, November 5...

Also shows number of electoral votes per state. Includes insets of Alaska, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia. Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image.

A family quarrel / Brady, New York.

Photograph reproduces a political cartoon depicting Uncle Sam arguing with a woman while a slave on the right tiptoes by the couple. Uncle Sam holds a newspaper marked "united", the woman has a newspaper behin... More

The road to dividends - Drawing. Public domain image.

Cartoon shows poor child carrying a heavy load followed by wealthy industrialists with mills in the background.

[Lincoln & Douglas in a presidential footrace]. No. 1, 1860

Rival presidential nominees Lincoln and Douglas are matched in a footrace, in which Lincoln's long stride is a clear advantage. Both sprint down a path toward the U.S. Capitol, which appears in the background r... More

A boxing match, or another bloody nose for John Bull / W. Charles, del...

Anti annexation procession. Book illustration from Library of Congress

A cynical look at the opposition to American annexation of Texas during the 1844 campaign. At the head of a motley procession is Whig candidate and professed anti-annexationist Henry Clay, riding a raccoon (wh... More

Scene in Uncle Sam's Senate. 17th April 1850

A somewhat tongue-in-cheek dramatization of the moment during the heated debate in the Senate over the admission of California as a free state when Mississippi senator Henry S. Foote drew a pistol on Thomas Har... More

Winslow Homer - Argument of the chivalry

A dramatic portrayal, clearly biased toward the northern point of view, of an incident in Congress which inflamed sectional passions in 1856. The artist recreates the May 22 attack and severe beating of Massach... More

Effects of the Fugitive-Slave-Law

An impassioned condemnation of the Fugitive Slave Act passed by Congress in September 1850, which increased federal and free-state responsibility for the recovery of fugitive slaves. The law provided for the ap... More

Treasury note, Washington, D.C., Political Cartoon

A parody of the often worthless fractional currencies or "shinplasters" issued by banks, businesses, and municipalities in lieu of coin. These fractional notes proliferated during the Panic of 1837 with the eme... More

The fox hunt. Book illustration from Library of Congress

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 s... More

Hunting Indians in Florida with blood hounds

A tableau dramatizing the brutal tactics employed by Zachary Taylor as commander of U.S. forces against the Seminole Indians during the Second Seminole War (1835-42). Taylor, on horseback at right, presides ov... More

The buffalo hunt - Drawing. Public domain image.

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 se... More

What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander

The opposition of Northern abolitionists, churchmen, and political figures to enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 is criticized in this rare pro-Southern cartoon. In two panels artist Edward Williams ... More

[Caricature of Abraham Lincoln wearing Native American headdress, seat...

Public domain photograph of meeting, discussion, group of people, political event, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Secession exploded, Confederate States of America.

This strongly anti-Confederate satire is a fantastical vision of the Union defeat of the secessionist movement. A hideous monster representing secession emerges from the water at left. He is hit by a charge fro... More

The great American What is it? chased by Copper-heads

An anti-Lincoln satire, showing the Republican incumbent and his supporters menaced by giant "Copperheads" (Peace Democrats). After a speech on May 1, 1863, asserting that the Civil War was being fought to fre... More

Democratic platform illustrated, Political Cartoon

Another attack on the 1856 Democratic platform as pro-South and proslavery. The Buchanan-Breckenridge ticket is reviled on the basis of recent developments occurring during the outgoing Pierce administration. I... More

Congressional pugilists. Book illustration from Library of Congress

John Bull making a new batch of ships to send to the lakes / Charles, ...

A satire on British efforts to recover after major naval losses on the Great Lakes in 1813 and 1814. According to Lanmon, it is based on Thomas Rowlandson's 1798 satire "High Fun for John Bull or the Republica... More

The looking glass for 1787. A house divided against itself cannot stan...

Join or Die - A newspaper with a picture of a snake on it

The assassination of the Sage of Ashland

The artist conveys some of the profound disappointment and anger among Henry Clay's many supporters at the nomination of Zachary Taylor at the June 1848 Whig convention in Philadelphia. The convention's act was... More

Smoking him out - Political cartoon, public domain image

A humorous commentary on Barnburner Democrat Martin Van Buren's opposition to regular Democratic party nominee Lewis Cass. Van Buren and his son John were active in the Free Soil effort to prevent the extensio... More

The fish question settled - Public domain portrait drawing

A facetious, and somewhat racist, look at public opinion surrounding the controversy over American fishing rights in British-controlled waters off North America. (See also "John Bull's Fish Monopoly," no. 1852-... More

Position of the Democratic Party in 1852. "Freemen of America, how lon...

A crudely drawn satire bitterly attacking Democratic presidential candidate Franklin Pierce and appealing to the "Freemen of America." The print, possibly executed by a free black, criticizes the Democrats' pla... More

Harmony in the wigwam! Democracy of the right brand-y

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 ... More

"Buck" taking the "pot" - Drawing. Public domain image.

A pro-Buchanan satire, critical of the divisive or sectionalist appeal of the other two presidential contenders in the 1856 race. "Buck" or Buchanan (left) has evidently won a card game over Fremont (fallen at ... More

Forcing slavery down the throat of a freesoiler

The artist lays on the Democrats the major blame for violence perpetrated against antislavery settlers in Kansas in the wake of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Here a bearded "freesoiler" has been bound to the "Democr... More

David and Goliath, Washington, D.C., Political Cartoon

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... More

An available candidate--the one qualification for a Whig president

The times - A drawing of a group of men standing in front of a buildin...

A commentary on the depressed state of the American economy, particularly in New York, during the financial panic of 1837. Again, the blame is laid on the treasury policies of Andrew Jackson, whose hat, spectac... More

Cartoon - Drawing. Public domain image., Political Cartoon

Cartoon shows crowds of children being plunged into the water on water wheel.

A scene on the frontiers as practiced by the humane British and their ...

An anonymous copy of a print by William Charles in 1812; cruder but similar in detail. Lanmon cites copies in reverse of the Charles print with the signature "LG," but this copy is neither reversed nor signed.... More

A foot-race - Public domain portrait drawing

The north star. Book illustration from Library of Congress, British Ca...

Print shows Lord Bute seated on clouds from behind which project rays of the sun, he holds a cat-o'-nine-tails in one hand, a purse in the other, his feet rest on an open volume of "the Laws of England". To his... More

"The government." No. 1, [Eye] take the responsibility

A satire on Andrew Jackson's "Kitchen Cabinet," the pejorative name given his informal circle of close advisors. The print appeared during the heated controversy incited by Jackson's discontinuation of federal ... More

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