E.W. Clay
Political Game of Brag, Shew of Hands
Publisher: Andrew Donnelly
Lithograph
1848 |
Presidential candidates play a game of three-card brag, an early version of poker, for the "Presidential Ante." During the campaign, Zachary Taylor, a hero of the Mexican-American war, won the Whig nomination over Henry Clay. Current President James K. Polk decided not to run for re-election while Senator Lewis Cass became the Democratic candidate.
This cartoon was most likely created after the Whigs chose Taylor at their convention on June 9 but before Martin Van Buren unexpectedly emerged as a strong third-party candidate when he was nominated by the Free Soil Party on August 9.
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