The Great Presidential Race of 1856
date: label: Date made
content: 1856
name: label: depicted
content: Fillmore, Millard
label: depicted
content: Buchanan, James
label: depicted
content: Fremont, John Charles
label: depicted
content: Donelson, Andrew Jackson
label: depicted
content: Breckenridge, John Cabell
label: depicted
content: Dayton, William L.
label: graphic artist
content: Magee, John L.
notes: label: Description
content: This political cartoon satirizes the Presidential race of 1856, depicting it as a horse race. In the center, James Buchanan, dressed as a jockey, has been unseated from his mount, a buck with the head of his running mate, John C. Breckinridge. The presidential hopeful clutches his shin and curses at a young black man, claiming that if it had not been for the “Slavery Plank” upsetting his buck, he certainly would have won. The youth stands upon two planks of wood labeled “Slavery” and “Cuba,” a reference to a plot by pro-slavery Democrats to annex the island and add it to the Union as a slave state. These boards are themselves supported by a crate marked, “Democratic Platform.” From his elevated platform, the boy mocks Buchanan, reminding the Democrat that he did not want to do away with the plank of slavery. On the left, Millard Fillmore, the American Party candidate, rides a goose with the head of his running mate, Andrew Jackson Donelson. He holds a lantern labeled “Know Nothing,” the nickname for the American Party. Although he is jeered from the sidelines, Fillmore warns the spectators that “if I'm not the next President the Union Will Be Disolved, The South Wont Stand It.” In the lower right corner, a boy hoists a pro-Democratic sign containing the slogans, “We Po'ked em in 44, We Peirce'd em in 52 and We'll "Buck em" in 56.” The child has climbed upon the back of another man, who turns in disgust and sarcastically replies, “Hello there!! are you a Fre'mounter.” This refers to the Republican candidate John C. Fremont, who is included in the background of the scene, cheered on by the crowds. He rides towards victory on a horse with the head of William L. Dayton. Above him, stands Brother Jonathan, a personification of the United States predating Uncle Sam, holding a timer’s watch. Although Fremont’s victory seems secure in this print, tensions over slavery divided the nation, and Buchanan emerged victorious.
label: Description
content: John L. Magee was born in New York around 1820. In New York, he was employed by the lithographic firms of James Baillie and Nathaniel Currier. He started his own business in New York in 1850, but moved to Philadelphia sometime shortly after 1852. He was known for his political cartoons, which he produced until the 1860s.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: World
topic: label: Subject
content: Children
label: Subject
content: Political Caricatures
label: Subject
content: Patriotism and Patriotic Symbols
label: Subject
content: Political Parties
label: Subject
content: Diplomacy
label: Subject
content: Horses
label: Subject
content: Birds
label: Subject
content: Reform Movements
label: Subject
content: Blacks
label: Subject
content: Lighting
label: Subject
content: Wild Animals
label: referenced
content: Civil War
label: Subject
content: Slavery
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.60.3444
label: catalog number
content: 60.3444
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: 8 1/2 in x 15 5/8 in; 21.59 cm x 39.6875 cm