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Tilden's Candidacy |
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“Boom!!! —So Near, and Yet So Far” |
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Cartoonist: Thomas Nast |
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Source: Harper's Weekly |
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Date:
July 10, 1880, p. 433
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Click to see a large version of this cartoon |
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Complete HarpWeek Explanation:
As in the two previous cartoons, artist Thomas Nast again portrays Samuel
Tilden, the 1876 Democratic presidential nominee, as an Ancient Egyptian
sarcophagus. Although Tilden had issued a letter announcing that he would not
seek his party's nomination in 1880, the former New York governor hedged his
chances by not explicitly saying that he would not accept it, if offered. Nast
highlights the ambiguity of Tilden's statement by adding to the sarcophagus a
lightning rod to attract the nomination and the dual-purpose "letter of
withdrawal or a fresh bid."
The hieroglyphics on the sarcophagus refer not only to the 1880 Democratic
nomination but also to his 1876 "barrel campaign" and the "Cipher
Telegrams" scandal. (See,"It Is Whispered Again That Tilden Has Given In.")
The lightning has been divinely diverted "By
Jupiter!" to General Winfield Hancock, the presidential choice of the 1880
Democratic Convention. General Hancock, as commander of the Atlantic Division of
the U.S. Army, was stationed at Fort Columbus (today, Fort Jay) on Governor's
Island, off New York City. He continued in that position after the election. |
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Warning
1860
