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Republican Presidential Candidates |
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“The Political ‘Army of Salvation’” |
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Cartoonist: Joseph Keppler |
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Source: Cartoons From "Puck" |
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Date:
March 31, 1880, p. 19
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Click to see a large version of this cartoon |
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Complete HarpWeek Explanation:
Promoting the third-term candidacy of former president Ulysses S. Grant
(1869-1873) are members of the Stalwart (or conservative) wing of the Republican
party. Artist Joseph Keppler depicts them as marching Salvation Army
evangelicals, singing the praises of Grant, the Civil War hero who saved the
nation militarily and will now save it politically from the folly of Republican
reformers and Democrats. All of those pictured were leading "spoilsmen"
(politicians who gained political power by distributing patronage) or associated
with political scandal.
Leading the chorus is Senator Roscoe Conkling of New York, bearing the Grant
banner aloft. He is surrounded by (clockwise from the left): George Robeson,
who, as secretary of the Navy under Grant, was investigated by Congress on
charges of allowing waste and favoritism in the Navy Department; William Belknap,
who, as secretary of war under Grant, was impeached by the House for taking
bribes from Indian Post traders, but resigned before the Senate voted on his
removal; Senator James Donald "Don" Cameron of Pennsylvania; Senator
John Logan of Illinois; Alexander Shepherd, the corrupt former head of the Board
of Public Works for the District of Columbia (he is often compared to
"Boss" Tweed of Tammany Hall); and Thomas Murphy, former collector of
the Port of New York (the country's most important patronage position). Press
and popular criticism of Grant's candidacy as a bald grab for power is indicated
by the designation "Empire" atop the banner's pole. |
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