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 Johnson's Candidacy

 


 "The Democratic Convention, New York, July 9th, 1868, Decline A.J. With Thanks"
  Cartoonist:  Thomas Nast
  Source:  Harper's Weekly
  Date:   July 25, 1868, p. 480

Click to see a large version of this cartoon...

Click to see a large version of this cartoon

Caption: Alarm! Enter King * * * *. - "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!"

Complete HarpWeek Explanation:
The 19th-century witnessed renewed interest in the works of William Shakespeare, and his major plays and characters were known to most Americans. Here, Nast portrays Johnson as Shakespeare's beleaguered Richard III demanding another horse after breaking his Republican and Democratic hobbyhorses. The medallion around King Andy's neck contains an image of a dead duck. The president had derided his journalistic critics as "dead ducks," but Nast seized upon the term to ridicule the president's lack of political clout. The hobbyhorse in the left-background is labeled "Conservative."
 

 

 

 
 

 

     
 

 

 
     
 

 

 
     
 

 

 

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