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 Johnson's Candidacy

 


 "Moses in the Bulrushes, and Chase-In for a Party"
  Cartoonist:  Thomas Nast
  Source:  Harper's Weekly
  Date:   June 27, 1868, p. 407

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Complete HarpWeek Explanation:
In this small cartoon by Thomas Nast, President Andrew Johnson is seen as the infant Moses, a mocking reference to the president's pledge to become the Moses to the freed slaves. Johnson's racism and intransigent opposition to Congressional Reconstruction turned that promise into a travesty. By the time of this cartoon, Johnson was an impeached, lame-duck president whose chance of winning the Democratic nomination was slim.

Looking on in the background is Chief Justice Salmon Chase, who also desired the Democratic presidential nomination. The jumping frog in the center-left is probably a symbol for black manhood suffrage, which Chase strongly supported (see the similar figure in Nast's "Sickly Democrat," Harper's Weekly, July 11, 1868, p. 439) .

 

 

 

 
 

 

     
 

 

 
     
 

 

 
     
 

 

 

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