The message of this cartoon is that the
Democratic party is aiding and abetting the survival of the Confederate cause.
Specifically, it is another critique of the Democratic party’s Chicago
Platform which endorsed a cease-fire and negotiated settlement with the
Confederacy. By the fall of 1864, hope for a Union military victory was
bolstered by major victories over Confederate forces: General William Tecumseh
Sherman in Atlanta; Admiral David Farragut in Mobile Bay; and General Philip
Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley.