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 Civil War, "Bloody Shirt," and Black Americans

 


 “Behind Again”
  Cartoonist:  Thomas Nast
  Source:  Harper's Weekly
  Date:   July 24, 1880, p. 480

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

Click to see a large version of this cartoon

Complete HarpWeek Explanation:
Both Ulysses S. Grant and Winfield Hancock were respected Union generals during the Civil War. In 1868, the Democratic party bypassed nominating Hancock for president in favor of former New York governor Horatio Seymour, whose controversial placating of the 1863 draft rioters earned him the enmity of Republicans. During the 1868 and 1872 presidential campaigns the Democrats warned the American public of possible military dictatorship if an army general (Grant) were elected president. The contrast between the Democratic rhetoric in those elections and the Democratic nomination of a military general (Hancock) in 1880 is lampooned in this cartoon by Thomas Nast. Notice that Hancock's tall stature (right) makes him unable to ride the Democratic horse effectively.
 

 

 

 
 

 

     
 

 

 
     
 

 

 
     
 

 

 

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