The People Putting Responsibility to the test or the downfall of the Kitchen Cabinet and Collar Presses.
date: label: Date made
content: 1834
name: label: depicted
content: Jackson, Andrew
label: depicted
content: Whitney, Reuben M.
label: originated character
content: Smith, Seba
label: maker
content: Whitley, Thomas W.
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: This 1834 print captures the political chaos surrounding President Andrew Jackson’s decision to revoke the charter for the Second National Bank of America. That decision was highly controversial, and led to the so called Bank War between those in favor of the bank and those who sought its demise. As suggested by the title, Jackson’s “Kitchen Cabinet” of personal advisors played a large role in this, as many of his closest cabinet members were anti-bank. One of those advisors, former U.S. Bank Director, Reuben M. Whitney, is depicted in the background of this print alongside Union Bank president, Thomas Ellicott, pulling on ropes attached to a statue of a robed figure of Justice labeled “Supreme Court/ Constitution.” Both Whitney and Ellicott strongly favored the absolution of the National Bank, but their struggle to bring down the law shows the Whig bias of this print as they saw it as unconstitutional to close the national bank. In front of the statue, is an enraged mass of bankers, demanding the re-chartering of the bank. Armed with axes and pitchforks, they spar with opponents of the National Bank. To the right of the mob fleeing from the chaos, is Jackson on the back of fictional character Major Jack Downing. Downing promises to get Jackson out, and signs indicate that they are heading to Jackson’s home in Tennessee, “The Hermitage.” Created by journalist Seba Smith, the allegorical persona of Downing symbolized the common man and in this print, symbolizes the interests of the common man that Jackson viewed as compromised by the National Bank. To the left of the statue, are three men exiting the Senate Chambers. Removed from the violence, they take satisfaction that their prediction of violence and chaos was correct, most likely making them Whig politicians. Beneath them, two black men speculate that they will soon be free because there will be no government left to regulate them, and to their left, a man is handing money over to another man who is carrying a bag labeled "Levi Stock & Exchange Broker." During the Bank War, Jackson chose pet banks in each state to transfer federal money to, and this exchange is symbolic of that. In the bottom right, five dogs representing newspapers and led by the Pro-Jackson, Democratic newspaper the“Globe,” are chained together and about to fall down the stairs. Beneath the dogs, the Devil is looking for Jackson’s top advisor Amos Kendall. He is not in, but the man answering the door refers the Devil to the “mess” upstairs.
label: Description (Brief)
content: The lithographer of this print is Thomas W. Whitley. Whitley was an artist from England who settled in Patterson, New Jersey ca 1835. He worked in New York City from 1839 to 1842 and again in 1849, often under the alias of “Sir Joshua.” Whitley exhibited at the National Academy from 1835 to 1863, and at the Apollo Association and the Art Union 1841 and 1848-49. Additionally, he was the author and illustrator of A Guide to Hoboken, the Elysian Fields, and Weehawken, that was published in 1858.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, New York City
topic: label: Subject
content: Communication, newspapers
label: Subject
content: U.S. National Government, executive branch
label: Subject
content: U.S. National Government, legislative branch
label: Subject
content: Patriotism and Patriotic Symbols
label: Subject
content: Political Caricatures
label: Subject
content: Chronology: 1830-1839
label: Subject
content: Uniforms, Military
label: Subject
content: U.S. National Government, judiciary
label: Subject
content: Blacks
label: depicted
content: Jack Downing
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: Peters Political 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.60.3403
label: catalog number
content: 60.3403
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Lithograph
label: Object Type
content: Lithograph
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: image: 10 1/8 in x 14 3/4 in; 25.7175 cm x 37.465 cm