22,373 Benton thomas hart Images: PICRYL - Public Domain Media Search Engine Public Domain Search

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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 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

Treasury note, Washington, D.C.

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

Martin Van Buren Papers: Series 8, Addenda, 1799-1862; 1986 Addition; ...

[Thomas Hart Benton, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front]

Democratic Senator from Missouri, 1821-1851. Scratched on face of plate: 85. Scratched on back of plate: 228; Thos. H. Benton. Facing the light / H. Pfister. Washington : Smithsonian Institution Press, 1978, p.... More

All on hobbies, gee up, gee ho!

The major figures in American national politics in 1838 are gently satirized, each characterized as riding a favorite issue or "hobbyhorse." At the lead (far left) is President Martin Van Buren, riding a horse ... 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

North Bend game cock - Political cartoon, public domain image

A Whig campaign print glorifying presidential candidate William Henry Harrison. The title derives from the candidate's farm on the North Bend of the Ohio River. The game cock has a dual significance: as an all... 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

Grand match between the Kinderhook poney and the Ohio ploughman

A satire on the presidential contest of 1836, using the metaphor of a billiards game between Whig candidate William Henry Harrison (left) and Democrat Martin Van Buren. The artist is clearly on the side of Harr... 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

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

A political movement. Book illustration from Library of Congress

The artist forecasts with obvious relish the ouster of Van Buren and his cronies from office by William Henry Harrison. Van Buren is shown leaving Washington in a large cart drawn by supporters (left to right) ... More

Granny Harrison delivering the country of the executive Federalist

A satire on the Van Buren administration challenged by Whig presidential candidate William Henry Harrison. Harrison, dressed as a woman, tries to remove Van Buren from his throne with a midwife's forceps. Van... More

Present Presidential position. Book illustration from Library of Congr...

Once again Polk's handling of the Oregon territorial dispute between the United States and Great Britain is criticized. (See "Polk's Dream" and "War! or No War!" nos. 1846-2 and 1846-4). Here the artist seems t... More