he Boston Daily News called "Will Robinson
Crusoe (Sumner) Forsake His Man Friday?": "decidedly one of Nast's
best." Liberal Republican senators Carl Schurz and Thomas Tipton attempt to
nudge their intractable Massachusetts colleague, Charles Sumner (as Crusoe),
into accompanying them in the "Cincinnati Convention" longboat, which
is apparently destined to join the schooner "Democrat" anchored in the
open waters. Senator Sumner, a leading promoter of black civil rights, stiffly avoids
eye contact with Greeley and his crew.
Sumner-Crusoe's man Friday, representing black voters, prays on the cliff that
the senator will not join the bolt. The pillars of black advancement, free
schools and free labor, are symbolized respectively by the "Lincoln
School" in the background and the hoe and the upturned work hat on the
ground. The documents in the hat-emancipation and protection-link the vital
steps taken by Lincoln and Grant for black Americans. Behind the tree, however,
lurks members of the Ku Klux Klan, ready to strike upon Sumner's departure.
The Democratic ship in the background flies the flags (l-r) of the Confederacy,
the Ku Klux Klan, the corrupt Tammany Ring, and "Truce"-referring to
the 1864 Democratic plank calling for a cease-fire and negotiated settlement of
the Civil War. On the left side of the ship, the terms "Slavery" and
"C.S.A." (Confederate States of America) have been scratched out. In
the "Cincinnati Convention" boat, Greeley stands in front with
"What I Know About Emigration" in his pocket. He is flanked by Justice
David Davis of the U.S. Supreme Court seated on the left and former Confederate
president Jefferson Davis, holding a "bailed by H.G." paper on the right (see "What I Know About Horace Greeley"). Peering from behind Greeley is Senator Lyman
Trumbull, with 1868 Democratic presidential nominee Horatio Seymour standing
with oar aloft behind Trumbull. On the left side behind Davis (front to rear)
is: Senator Reuben Fenton, former president Andrew Johnson, Senator James
Doolittle of Wisconsin, and 1868 vice presidential nominee Frank Blair.
In reality, Sumner was pressed heavily to support the Liberal Republican move to
defeat President Grant. The Massachusetts senator's concern for his own failing
health and his urgent desire to secure Congressional passage of civil rights and
amnesty legislation, left him little time or inclination to participate in the
Cincinnati movement. In addition, he feared it could only injure his most
cherished objectives if the Liberals aligned later with the Democrats. Yet, the
senator opposed the president's expansionist foreign policy and declared
publicly that Grant was unfit for renomination. Finally, on July 29, Sumner
would write an open letter to black voters, asking them to support the Greeley
ticket. He then left the country for a vacation in Europe.