The Outbreak of the Rebellion in the United States, 1861
date: label: Date made
content: 1865
name: label: depicted
content: Lincoln, Abraham
label: depicted
content: Buchanan, James
label: depicted
content: Davis, Jefferson
label: depicted
content: Scott, Winfield
label: lithographer
content: Kimmel and Forster
notes: label: Description
content: This 1865 print offers satirical commentary on the Buchanan administration and the beginning of the war. In the center, stand the allegorical figures of Liberty, wearing a Phrygian cap and holding an American flag, and Justice, who angrily raises up her sword and balance. Liberty stands on top of broken chains and a whips, a reference to abolition. Abraham Lincoln stands to Liberty’s left, accompanied by General Winfield Scott. Lincoln orates to a crowd of concerned Northerners – the men pour out coins at his feet while the women are reduced to tears. To the lower left of Liberty, President Buchanan sleeps, his untouched quill and inkwell left untouched before him. His Secretary of War, John B. Floyd, who had been accused of misappropriating government funds, greedily shovels coins into a sack. Behind these two men, an unruly mob of Southerners tear at an American flag held by Jefferson Davis, whose Vice-President, Alexander Stevens, stands beside him. Above this crowd, a crowned serpent has coiled itself around a palmetto tree and spits venom in the face of Justice, comparing the actions of the secessionists below to the biblical Fall of Man. In the background at left, smoke-shrouded armies clash and Fort Sumter fires its cannon, but to the right, a new sun rises over mountains, illuminating a prosperous city.
label: Description
content: Christopher Kimmel was born in Germany around 1850 and after immigrating to the United States, was active in New York City from 1850 to 1876. He was part of Capewell & Kimmel from 1853 to 1860, and then partnered with Thomas Forster in 1865, forming the lithography firm of Kimmel & Forster, which was active until 1871. This print was followed by a sequel, “The End of the Rebellion in the United States, 1865,” also in the NMAH’s America on Stone Collection.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, New York City
topic: label: Subject
content: Chronology: 1860-1869
label: Subject
content: Political Caricatures
label: Subject
content: Patriotism and Patriotic Symbols
label: Subject
content: Economy
label: Subject
content: Civil War
label: Subject
content: Uniforms, Military
label: depicted
content: Liberty
label: depicted
content: Eagles
label: depicted
content: Flags
label: depicted
content: Justice
label: depicted
content: snake
label: related event
content: Civil War
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
label: See more items in
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.60.2621
label: catalog number
content: 60.2621
label: accession number
content: 228146
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Lithograph
label: Object Type
content: Lithograph
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ink (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: image: 17 in x 24 1/2 in; 43.18 cm x 62.23 cm