Democracy
date: label: Date made
content: 1864
name: label: depicted
content: Jackson, Andrew
label: depicted
content: Pendleton, George Hunt
label: depicted
content: Calhoun, John Caldwell
label: depicted
content: Davis, Jefferson
label: depicted
content: McClellan, George B.
label: maker
content: L. Prang & Company
notes: label: Description
content: As the Civil War dragged into 1864, many Republicans worried that the unpopularity of the conflict would cause Lincoln to lose his bid for reelection. Those in the North tired with the war hoped that his opponent and former general, Democratic candidate, George McClellan, would attempt to broker a peace with the Confederacy. These peace Democrats were referred to as Copperheads by Republicans, who believed they resembled venomous serpents. This pro-Republican cartoon rebukes both McClellan and, by extension, the supporters of the Northern Democratic Party.
label: Description
content: In the left panel, representing 1832, an enraged Andrew Jackson, the founder of the modern Democratic Party raises a fist into the air as he denounces his Vice President, John C. Calhoun. Calhoun, an ardent supporter of states’ rights believed that state governments had the power to nullify, or veto, any federal laws of which they did not approve. This led to a clash with Jackson, who, although also a proponent of states’ rights, believed in the preservation of the Union. Jackson’s response to Calhoun is contrasted with the behavior of Northern Democrats in 1864. George McClellan and his running mate, George Pendleton, prostrate themselves in front of a shoddily dressed Jefferson Davis, offering him an olive branch and promises of a “friendly separation.” Davis, holding a whip and armed with a pistol and dagger in his belt, stands tall and orders McClellan to call back “those fellows Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan also that old sea dog Farragut. Behind him, a Confederate soldier eating a corncob laughs at the Northern “fools,” who beg for peace even though the Confederacy is “in the last ditch.”
label: Description
content: Louis Prang (1824-1910) was born in Breslau, Prussian Silesia, and immigrated to America in 1850. Settling in Boston, he began his lithographic career in 1856, partnering with Julius Mayer. In 1860, he established his own firm, which grew to become one of the largest producers of American colored lithographs during the 19th century. The company’s first lithographic prints were Civil war battle scenes, maps, and portraits of military and political leaders. Louis Prang & Co. remained in operation until 1898, producing greeting cards, facsimiles of American and European paintings, and natural history prints.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Massachusetts, Boston
topic: label: Subject
content: Political Parties
label: Subject
content: Chronology: 1860-1869
label: Subject
content: Uniforms, Military
label: Subject
content: U.S. National Government, judiciary
label: referenced
content: Civil War
label: depicted
content: Political Caricatures
label: related event
content: Civil War
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
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content: Clothing & Accessories
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content: American Civil War Prints
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content: Art
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content: Domestic Furnishings
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: DL.60.3459
label: catalog number
content: 60.3459
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Lithograph
label: Object Type
content: Lithograph
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: ink (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: image: 9 in x 14 1/2 in; 22.86 cm x 36.83 cm