The Buckeye Blacksmith of Ohio Working on Sub Treasury Metal
date: label: Date made
content: n.d.
name: label: depicted
content: Van Buren, Martin
label: depicted (possibly)
content: Harrison, William Henry
label: maker
content: unknown
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: This undated black and white print is most likely a commentary on the Election of 1840. In this race, Democratic President Martin Van Buren faced off against Whig opponent, William Henry Harrison. Harrison was a longtime political figure, serving as a Representative for the Northwest Territories, a Major in the US Army, and as both a Representative and Senator for the state of Ohio. He ran against then Vice President Van Buren in the Election of 1836, but failed to secure the necessary electoral votes. In 1840 Harrison tried again, and found a stable political platform in attacking Van Buren for the financial crisis that marred his presidency. Under Van Buren’s watch the United States fell into a widespread economic depression known as the Panic of 1837; his desire to change the financial system of the country was not shared by the majority of the country. One of Van Buren’s ideas to change the financial system, was the implementation of an Independent Treasury to remove politics from the country’s financial system. His policies were not popular with the Whigs, as alluded to by the title of this print referencing “working on Sub Treasury metal.” This print depicts President Van Buren laying stretched across an anvil on his stomach, while Harrison (depicted as a heavily muscled man) holds him by his ankle and beats him with a hammer while saying, “I’ll convince any man, I am the best Blacksmith in all Ohio.” Van Buren is actively resisting the blows, shouting, “this horrid battering will surely undo me.” He was correct, and Harrison easily secured the presidency for the Whig Party.
label: Description (Brief)
content: The artist for this print is unknown.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: World
topic: label: Subject
content: Political Caricatures
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.60.3372
label: catalog number
content: 60.3372
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Lithograph
label: Object Type
content: Lithograph
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: image: 9 1/2 in x 11 1/2 in; 24.13 cm x 29.21 cm