his cartoon appeared in the last issue of Harper's Weekly to hit the newsstands
(on October 27) before the presidential election. Taking as his inspiration the
Democratic call for a change of the party in power, cartoonist W. A. Rogers
shows the Democratic campaign banner being adversely altered by none other than
the presidential nominee himself, Winfield Hancock, and by a personification of
Southern Democrats, a former Confederate soldier.
The Democratic platform had endorsed a tariff for revenue only, and a segment of
the party supported outright free trade. Late in the campaign, however, Hancock
told a New Jersey newspaper that the tariff issue was a local one. His
politically inept statement was used against him by Republicans. Here, the
Democratic nominee writes on the banner that the Democratic position "is
folly." In the left-foreground an angry James Randall, Democratic speaker
of the house, gestures emphatically at the marred banner, while a perplexed John
Kelly, political boss of Tammany Hall, scratches his head. (For more information on Hancock's tariff gaffe, see the explanation for "A Local Question" or the 1880 Overview to this website.)
William English, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, had been an ardent
War Democrat during the Civil War, so his candidacy was not popular with
Southern Democrats. English, a wealthy Indianapolis banker, was also very
reviled in his home state. Rushing (in the center of the picture) to repaint the
banner is Louisville Courier-Journal editor Henry Watterson, who was a leading
advocate of the tariff-for-revenue-only position. On the sidewalk (right), an
amused Uncle Sam, with an American-Eagle-headed umbrella, watches the chaotic
scene.