Show s Prince of Caricaturists Drew DrewA A Famous Memorial Day Picture Twice in His Career Thomas Nast Americas America's Greatest Cartoonist Laid Aside the Trenchant Pencil That Helped Win tale t e Civil War and Took Up the Brush to Make Paintings That Breathe the Spirit of Reconciliation Between the Blue and the Gray ti W Western Newspaper Union I II By Hy ELMO IO SCOTT WATSON name mIme is a synonym H HIS for merciless caricature caricature ture and stinging pictorial pictorial pic plc- tonal satire which made him the most powerful political cartoonist America has ever known And yet he could lay down the trenchant pencil that made politicians writhe and pick up crayon or brush to produce with tenderness Y and reverence two pictures a symbolical of the spirit of Memorial day One of them was a simple i newspaper sketch With Charity to All with Malice Toward None None Abraham Abraham Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln Lin Lin- coln first reproduced in the x New York Illustrated Times 1 September 19 1881 The other other oth oth- rj er was Peace in Union a magnificent canvas nine by twelve feet which he painted in 1895 and which now hangs in the G. G A. A R R. hall at Galena Ill In both the Blue and the Gray clasp hands in forgiveness of past hatreds and in token of renewed friendship and future trust trusty And the man who delineated them thus was one who had used his talent 1 a to help prosecute a vigorous war t until the superior numbers and g j resources of the determined Blue had worn down the resistance of the brilliant Gray and forced an i acknowledgment of defeat How well he used that talent is shown in the tribute paid him by two I r of the chief figures in the conflict of 1861 Lincoln called him our best recruiting sergeant Ulysses S. S Grant said he was the foremost r figure in civil life lite developed by bythe bythe a the war He lie did as much as any anyone anyone anyone one man to preserve the Union and bring the war to an end His name was Thomas Nast It was high praise indeed for forthe forthe the German immigrant boy who had grown up in poverty In lower o New York But history has confirmed con con- firmed their estimate of him For Forin Forin in later years he was to become i i. even more important in helping shape American history history to to be a amaker amaker amaker maker of Presidents and to overthrow overthrow over over- throw almost single-handed single the most corrupt political organization tion the country had ever known Horn Born In Bavaria I Nast was born in Landau BaI Bavaria Ba Da- I varia September 27 1840 the son I of a musician in the band of the Ninth Bavarian Davarian regiment Foreseeing Foreseeing Fore Fore- seeing the revolution which was soon to convulse Europe the elder i Nast emigrated to America when i young Thomas was six years old s The boy was educated in the public schools of New York city C i and early displayed a talent for drawing At the age of fourteen I he took a six-months' six course of Ct 7 to i 7 r A t x to l lf f e i x y k ka a With Charity to All With Malice l battle pictures to the illustrated press of New York London and Paris When he returned to the United States in February 1801 1861 it was with a training sketch In ing battle scenes such as had been enjoyed by no other American Ameri Ameri- can artist Nast's first Civil war pictures were made for Leslie's Illustrated News but in July 1862 he joined the staff of Harpers Harper's Weekly an association which was to bring him his greatest fame Already a defeatist sentiment had hod sprung up in the North and there was loud and insistent clamor for peace at any price with the South To combat this sentiment Nast drew a bitter cartoon called Compromise With the tho South which was at once recognized as one of the most powerful pictorial editorials ever produced It was used for campaign purposes and was circulated by the millions It turned the tide against the defeatIsts defeatIsts defeatists defeat defeat- and did much to solidify solidly the war sentiment in the North Nast was a great admirer of Grant In 1868 when the general ran for President the artist drew his famous cartoon with the title Match Him lIim It not only became an important campaign document itself but it inspired many songs and poems which were published under the same i rr x o L LIS q s I y I IS Peace In Union I I Appomattox Court louse House Virginia Palm Sunday April 8 1865 study under Theodore Kaufman an nn artist of some note but that j I was all the training he ever had p. p When he be was fifteen Nast secured secured secured se se- cured a job making drawings for Frank Leslie's Illustrated News News- i paper His llis salary was 4 a week But such was his skill that despite despite de de- spite his youth he was soon being 55 given Important assignments The first of these was to cover the Morrissey Heenan prize fight at Long Point Canada in 18 1853 1858 I and when Heenan fought Sayers at Aldershot In England two years later Nast was sent there to make sketches of ot that battle of the century After Alter this fight Heenan advanced Nast enough money to togo togo togo go to Italy where he joined Garabaldi's Garabaldi's Garabaldi's Gara Gara- baldis baldi's army While there he served as an anaide anaide anaide aide on the Italian liberators liberator's I staff and was entrusted with several several several sev sev- eral diplomatic missions of considerable considerable con con- importance But this did not interfere with his drawing drawing drawing draw draw- ing and he contributed numerous t 1 t title Later Grant said sold Two things elected me the sword of ot Sheridan and the pencil of Thomas Nast On January 1 15 1870 Harpers Harper's Weekly published a Nast cartoon cartoon cartoon car car- toon which gave us a political party symbol that survives to this day When Nast depicted a live jackass kicking a dead lion he intended only to symbolize the copperhead press which was then attacking the memory of Edwin EdwinM M M. M Stanton Lincoln's secretary of war who had died a short time after being elevated to the Supreme Supreme Su Suo Su- Su preme court by President Grant But Dut that bray braying ire figure became the Democratic donkey which has almost entirely replaced the crowing crowing crowing crow crow- ing rooster as the symbol of triumphant triumphant triumphant tri tri- Democracy During this period Harpers Harper's and Nast embarked upon their campaign campaign campaign cam cam- against William M. M Tweed the corrupt political boss of New NewYork NewYork NewYork York city and out of that campaign cam cam- which ended In the down down- Toward None None Abraham Abraham Lincoln fall all of Tweed came carne another political political po po- symbol made immortal by Nast's fasts pencil the Tammany tiger Yet this and the Democratic Democratic Demo- Demo cratic donkey were only two of several everal symbolical figures which carne came from his pen He lie developed the he elongated figure of Uncle Sam and the rag-doll rag baby of inflation the he square cap and the full dinner pail mil of labor and finally the Republican Republican Re- Re publican elephant This symbol came about when James fames Gordon Bennetts Bennett's New NewYork NewYork NewYork York Herald was greatly agitated at the thought of a possible third term erm for President Grant Nast depicted the Herald as a donkey In n a lions lion's skin rushing through the he jungle frightening the other animals with its braying The Republican vote grown large and awkward was represented as a clumsy elephant on the brink of ofa a precipice and almost ready to plunge lunge into an abyss labelled chaos From that time on the Republican party was almost invariably invariably invariably in in- variably pictured as an elephant Supports T. T R. R When the Tilden Hayes campaign campaign campaign cam cam- of 1876 developed into a biter bitter bitter bit bit- ter er feud Nast's cartoons were of so much aid to the Republicans that hat he was sent a check for 10 1000 10 00 Wishing to retain some semblance semblance sem- sem blance of of independence in poll poll- tics ics Nast returned the check But Dut this was a forecast of his action action action ac ac- tion in 1884 when he electrified the nation by refusing to support the Republican candidate James G G. G Blaine and instead swung his support support support-as as did Harpers Harper's Weekly to to Grover Cleveland But more important to his future was the fact act that although he did not support support sup- sup port sort the national Republican ticket he did support a young New Yorker named Theodore Roosevelt and that action later bore sore important fruit for him Although Nast returned to the Republican fold in 1892 his temporary temporary temporary tem tem- defection detection from its ranks in 1884 lost many friends for him At the same time financial dis dis- dis- dis aster overtook him Always a great admirer of Grant he in invested invested in in- vested his entire fortune in the book Dook publishing company of Grant and Ward When it failed in n 1884 Nast was left almost pen pen- I I Then he left Harpers Harper's Weekly and ard drifted from one publication to another He lie established Nast's Weekly but it lasted only a short time lie He Ile bought a silver sliver mine in Colorado but it failed to recoup his fortunes as he had bad hoped It became increasingly difficult for him to get a position on newspapers newspapers newspapers news news- papers for public taste had changed and his type of cartoons were no longer popular For the next 16 years this man who had been called the Prince i of Caricaturists and the Father Father Father Fa ther of the American Cartoon was called upon frequently to deny reports that he was dead In 1901 he was sought out by Leslie's Leslie's Les Les- lies lie's Weekly the magazine which 45 years earlier had given him his first job and engaged to do a Christmas picture picture his his last Early the next year Theodore Roosevelt who remembered gratefully Nast's support in 1884 and acting on the recommendation tion of Nast's friend John Hay flay appointed him to the obscure position position po po- of ot consul at Guayaquil In Ecuador He died there of yellow yellow yellow yel yel- low fever on December 7 1902 Nast's fight against Boss Doss Tweed is the outstanding example example example exam exam- in American journalism of the power of the cartoon As early as 1867 Nast had begun campaigning against the corrupt government of New York city which in a period of less than 30 months had defrauded the taxpayers taxpayers tax tax- payers of and added to the public debt Huge sums were paid to favored firms in city contracts in which members rs of the ring profited profiled By Dy 1869 Nast had singled out the principal individual targets for his political satire and chief among them of course was Boss Doss Tweed himself Friends urged Nast to give up what they called a hopeless battle bottle and it was even hinted that he might be assassinated if he persisted But Dut persist he did Tweed was at first con contemptuous ous of Nast's biting attacks and then defiant What are you going going going go go- ing to do about iU it he said when pressed by interviewers An Uneasy Boss But Dut Nast's relentless cartoon criticism finally aroused him The famous picture called Who Stole the Peoples People's Money showing showing show show- ing a group of men standing in a circle and each pointing to the theman theman theman man to his right particularly disturbed disturbed disturbed dis dis- the Boss Lets stop them d d-d d d pictures pictures pic pic- tures he said when he saw itI itI it I uI dont don't care so much what the papers write about me my me-my my constituents constituents con con- cant can't read but d n d-n n It they can see pictures Nast's money bag caricature of Tweed with a dollar sign for forthe forthe forthe the facial features also struck home and as a climax to his blasts was the famous Tammany Tamma ny Tiger Loose cartoon just before before before be be- fore the election I Tweed was convicted sentenced sentenced sentenced sen sen- to serve 12 years but was released after little more than a year He was then faced with a asuit asuit asuit I suit by the state for and in default of surety for 3 r bail was committed to the Ludlow street jail He was not actually confined however being permitted to ride in the afternoon and have dinner dinner din din- ner at home One day he took advantage of this liberty and escaped It was a fitting finale to Nast's pictorial crusade against the Boss that one of his cartoons resulted re resulted reo re- in Tweeds Tweed's capture in y u hY J r v r F Spain The cartoon appeared on June 27 1876 and showed Tweed in a remarkable likeness demonstrating dem his qualifications for forthe forthe forthe the New York governorship by his willingness to bring to justice justice justice jus jus- tice any number of lesser thieves the the thieves being symbolized by two street Arabs whom he heis heis heis is dragging to punishment Authorities at Vigo Spain where Tweed T was arrested had been supplied with a copy of this cartoon Under orders to seize and detain him they gathered from the picture that he was a kidnaper of little children 1 The cable announcing his arrest said that he had been identified and captured on the charge of kid kid- naping two American children Tweed was brought back to America and died in the Ludlow Ludlow Lud Lud- low street jail on April 12 1878 Origin of the Tiger Nast once was asked how he came carne to draw the tiger representing representing Tammany How did it occur to me meT he replied Simple SimpIe Simple Sim pIe enough when you know how The head of a tiger in a ring was the emblem of the Big Six the old fire tire company that Tweed used to belong to It was also adopted as the emblem of the American club When this organization organization or or- became known as Tammany hall against which I Iwas Iwas Iwas was waging war I hit upon this emblem I attached a body to the head and thus had the ti tiger tiger tiger ti- ti ger that we have heard so much about ever since One day on the street car I 1 saw a man near me looking at one of my Tammany Tammany Tam Tam- many cartoons with great inter est Finally his face assumed a look of terrible fierceness and drawing up his clenched fist and with an exclamation of the bitterest bitterest bitterest bitter bitter- est hatred he struck the picture of the tiger full in the head I knew that I too had made a hit Looking b back ck over my experIences experiences he declared further I deem it one of my most satisfying satisfying satisfy satisfy- ing reflections that I never allowed allowed al al- lowed myself to attack anything that I did not believe in my soul was wrong and deserving the worst wont fate that could befall it it |