The "shoulder-hitter" (far left) is a physically powerful man (perhaps a former prize-fighter) of shady character, who enforces the will of an urban political "boss" by threats or acts of violence. His cigar-chomping, grimacing countenance, along with his "Reform Brute" belt, leaves no doubt that he means business. His attire combines the stripes and chains of a jailbird with the garish garb of the 19th-century "sporting man"-hat tipped at a rakish angle, polka-dot cravat, French cuffs, and jeweled studs.

The shoulder-hitter lugs the wailing "Reform Rag Baby" by the hand. The Rag Baby was a common symbol of inflation or soft-money (see Monetary Policy in Issues). Debt-ridden Americans, many of whom were farmers, demanded that the federal government follow a soft-money policy of expanding the money supply, which they hoped would generate inflation and thus ease the burden of debtors. The Democratic party was divided over the issue, with hard-money (gold standard) supporters (primarily in the Northeast) and soft-money or inflationist advocates (from the West and South).

The "Reform" label on all the characters refers sarcastically to the expected Democratic nominee, Samuel Tilden, who was known as a reform governor of New York and chose reform as his campaign theme. Tilden was a hard-money partisan, which accounts for the tearful condition of the Rag Baby. Tilden would be nominated along with Thomas Hendricks, whose contrary inflationist views would be grist for the Republican cartoon mill.

Behind the shoulder-hitter is the head of a Ku-Klux-Klan member. His mask and pointed hat mimic those of the Italian banditti, a symbol of lawless brutality. On his hat is the skull-and-crossbones emblem of death, commonly associated with the Ku-Klux-Klan and connoting their violent resistance to Reconstruction and black civil rights.

In the center is a Roman Catholic priest who carries a portfolio inscribed "Death to Public Schools." Catholic immigrants, many of whom were Irish or German, constituted an important voting bloc within the Democratic party. There was a great deal of anti-Catholic prejudice in 19th-century America. Protestants often accused Catholics of being loyal first to the Vatican ("Pope" and the Vatican symbol appear on the portfolio), rather than to the United States.

Public schools in the 19th century, although supposedly non-sectarian, were essentially Protestant. Historically, state funds had been allocated to a variety of schools, including religious ones, so Catholics simply sought their share of the largesse. Public-school backers, however, were erroneously convinced that the Catholic Church was trying to destroy the emerging public school system.