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 Republicans and Democrats

 


 “That Horrid Darkey Who Won’t Let Folks Sleep”
  Cartoonist:  Unknown
  Source:  Frank Leslie’s Budget of Fun
  Date:   September 1, 1860, p. 1

Click to see a large version of this cartoon...

Click to see a large version of this cartoon

Complete HarpWeek Explanation:
This Budget of Fun cartoon places the alarm of disunion over the slavery issue at the center of the presidential campaign. A black steward awakens the presidential nominees (left, top to bottom)—Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge, Northern Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, Republican Abraham Lincoln, and Constitutional Unionist John Bell, just to the left of Lincoln—and others aboard the United States steamship. Only one candidate will disembark at the White House; the rest will continue traveling down the Salt River—a metaphor for political defeat or oblivion. The figure in the lower right is President James Buchanan.

 

 

 

 
 

 

     
 

 

 
     
 

 

 
     
 

 

 

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