Thomas Nast (1840–1902) has been called “the father of American caricature” because of his influential political cartoons. He was known for his legendary campaign against New York City’s Boss Tweed and the Tammany Hall political machine. He popularized the political symbols of the elephant for the Republican Party and the donkey for the Democratic Party. Between 1859 and 1896, he drew more than 2,200 political cartoons for Harper’s Weekly.

Worse than Slavery

The following image appeared in Harper’s Weekly in 1874. Note that the White League, founded in Louisiana in 1874, was a paramilitary group committed to white supremacy. While it had some links to the Ku Klux Klan, the White League operated much more openly: members (many of whom were former Confederate soldiers) did not hide their identities, and the group generally acted through mainstream political channels.