Thomas Nast Portfolio
Nast powerfully combats the defeatism that pervaded
the Union during the summer of 1864, when Lincoln himself
expected to be defeated for reelection. A tattered American
flag hangs upside down in a signal of distress because
northern cities are devastated. Columbia, symbolizing the
nation, weeps as a disabled Union veteran’s handshake with
a Confederate officer dissolves into an abject surrender. The
triumphant Confederate’s foot treads on a Union soldier’s
grave and breaks the northern sword and northern power.
In the South, its flag resplendent in victory despite the crimes
listed in its folds. An African American Union veteran and his
family are reshackled in slavery. The title of the work refers to
the recent Democratic presidential nominating convention,
which had promulgated a platform pronouncing the war a
failure, criticized emancipation, and advocated a cease-fire
and negotiations with the Confederacy. This cartoon was
widely reproduced by the Republican Party for use in
President Lincoln’s campaign.