1883 Keppler Satirical Cartoon of Democratic Party Infighting

A characteristically clever political satire, this 1883 chromolithograph was drawn by Joseph Keppler and appeared in Puck, the groundbreaking satire magazine. It represents deep divisions in the country, and more specifically in the Democratic Party, over trade and civil service reform. All the figures depicted were prominent members of the Democratic Party, and their disagreements would soon come to a head during the party's 1884 convention to nominate a candidate for that year's presidential election.

A Closer Look

This satirical cartoon lampoons the predicament of the Democratic Party at the time, deeply divided over the issues of trade and civil service reform. At left, George H. Pendleton, a Democratic Senator from Ohio, pulls the party towards civil service reform. He had been instrumental in getting a law through Congress that instituted a professional bureaucracy and ended the 'spoils system,' which rewarded party loyalists and donors with government jobs. Opposing him at right is John Kelly, who was the face of Tammany Hall at the time and had rebuilt the political machine after the downfall and death of William 'Boss' Tweed. Ironically nicknamed 'Honest John,' Kelly was very wealthy and extremely powerful in New York City, though he clashed frequently with Samuel Tilden, another Tammany Hall leader, and with a string of mayors of New York (who were elected every year at the time). Kelly vociferously opposed Grover Cleveland (Governor of New York and a Tilden ally) as the Democratic Party's candidate at the 1884 convention, in large part because Cleveland ran on a platform of anti-corruption.

The issue of trade also divided the Democratic Party, with Samuel Randall, recently the Speaker of the House, representing the pro-tariff wing of the party. This position was at odds with most of the party and cost Randall a second stint as Speaker when the Democrats regained the House in 1883. Randall supported Cleveland, who was initially ambiguous on tariffs, for president, but later opposed his efforts to reduce tariffs; by the end of his career, Randall was considered as a Republican in all but name. Opposite Randall is Abram Hewitt, a former Mayor of New York City and representative in the U.S. Congress for New York's 10th District, which included New York City. Hewitt was himself an entrepreneur and financier, who favored reducing tariffs to promote economic growth.

At center, Thomas Bayard holds up a banner of Thomas Jefferson that is being torn in two, while the third president's face wears a look of consternation. Bayard was an influential U.S. Senator from Delaware who had unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 1876 and 1880 and was considered a leading candidate for the 1884 election. In the end, however, he was hamstrung (as in 1876 and 1880) for a speech he had made at the outset of the American Civil War (1861 - 1865) advocating for Delaware's neutrality, and for his general sympathy with the South during Reconstruction.

Two cartoons on the verso continue the theme of Democratic Party politics, with one at left using a scene from Uncle Tom's Cabin as a metaphor for battles between New York City's Mayor Edson (an anti-Tammany Democrat) and Kelly, and the one at right simultaneously extolling and poking fun at Grover Cleveland's famous incorruptibility.

Chromolithography

Chromolithography, sometimes called oleography, is a color lithographic technique developed in the mid-19th century. The process involved using multiple lithographic stones, one for each color, to yield a rich composite effect. Oftentimes, the process would start with a black basecoat upon which subsequent colors were layered. Some chromolithographs used 30 or more separate lithographic stones to achieve the desired product. Chromolithograph color could also be effectively blended for even more dramatic results. The process became extremely popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when it emerged as the dominant method of color printing. The vivid color chromolithography produced made it exceptionally effective for advertising and propaganda imagery.

Publication History and Census

This political cartoon was drawn by Joseph Keppler and published in the April 25, 1883, issue of Puck Magazine. Although widely published, specific issues of Puck are scarce and hard to find on the private market. They are also poorly cataloged in institutional collections, so it is difficult to know how many of each issue survive. The present cartoon is only independently cataloged by the Library of Congress.