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Line 1: − + − + + + + + − * the [[Republican Party]] elephant (still used today as the symbol of the Republican Party)+ − * the [[Democratic Party]] donkey (still used today as the symbol of the Democratic Party)+ − * [[Uncle Sam]]+ − * [[Santa Claus]]+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + − + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + − His cartoons against the corruption in [[Tammany Hall]] were immensely effective against it.<ref>https://billofrightsinstitute.org/activities/cartoon-analysis-thomas-nast-takes-on-boss-tweed-1871</ref>+ + + − A German Protestant immigrant himself, Nast was notably hostile to Irish Catholic immigrants and some of his cartoons reflected his anti-Irish and anti-[[Catholic]] prejudice.<ref>http://www.hsp.org/default.aspx?id=394</ref>+ + − + + + − <references/> + + + + + + + +
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[[Image:Thomas Nast Santa Claus.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Thomas Nast's [[Santa Claus]]]]
[[File:Thomas Nast Santa Claus.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Thomas Nast's [[Santa Claus]]]]
'''Thomas Nast''' (1840-1902) is considered to be the greatest political cartoonist in [[United States of America|American]] history. His cartoons created many images popular to this day, including:
'''Thomas Nast''' (September 27, 1840 – December 7, 1902) is considered to be the greatest political cartoonist in [[United States of America|American]] history. His cartoons created many images popular to this day, including:<ref name=britannicabio>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Nast Thomas Nast]. ''Britannica''. Retrieved November 13, 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Uncle-Sam Uncle Sam]. ''Britannica''. Retrieved November 13, 2021.</ref>
*the [[Republican Party]] elephant (still used today as the symbol of the Republican Party)
*the [[Democratic Party]] donkey (still used today as the symbol of the Democratic Party)
*[[Uncle Sam]]
*[[Santa Claus]]
Nast immigrated to the [[United States]] from [[Germany]] at the age of six, and was a staunch supporter of the Union during the [[American Civil War]], when he first became popular as a cartoonist while in his early 20s.
His cartoons against the corruption in [[Tammany Hall]] were immensely effective against it.<ref name=nasttakesontweed>[https://billofrightsinstitute.org/activities/cartoon-analysis-thomas-nast-takes-on-boss-tweed-1871 Cartoon Analysis: Thomas Nast Takes on “Boss” Tweed, 1871]. ''Bill of Rights Institute''.</ref><ref name=illustrationhistorybio>Wei, Stella (January 7, 2021). [https://www.illustrationhistory.org/essays/thomas-nast-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-father-of-political-cartoons Thomas Nast: The Rise and Fall of the Father of Political Cartoons]. ''Illustration History''. Retrieved November 13, 2021.</ref> A German Protestant immigrant himself, Nast was notably hostile to Irish Catholic immigrants and some of his cartoons reflected his anti-Irish and anti-[[Catholic]] prejudice.
Nast's works were effective and often elicited positive reception; one source commented:<ref name=illustrationhistorybio/>
{{cquote|He not only enthralled a vast audience with boldness and wit, but swayed it time and again to his personal position on the strength of his visual imagination.}}
==Career==
During the [[American Civil War]], Nast solidly supported the Union.<ref name=thoughtcobio>McNamara, Robert (April 5, 2017). [https://www.thoughtco.com/thomas-nast-1773654 Thomas Nast]. ''ThoughtCo.'' Retrieved November 13, 2021.</ref> His cartoons at Harper's Weekly would attack those opposed to the war efforts (namely [[Copperheads]], or "Peace Democrats"<ref>Glass, Andrew (January 15, 2018). [https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/15/this-day-in-politics-jan-15-1870-339085 Dems' donkey rears its head in political cartoon, Jan. 15, 1870]. ''Politico''. Retrieved November 13, 2021.</ref>) against the [[Confederacy]], and condemned [[slavery]].<ref name=britannicabio/> President [[Abraham Lincoln]] referred to Nast as:<ref name=britannicabio/>
{{cquote|...our best recruiting sergeant.}}
Indeed Nast's blistering criticisms of [[George B. McClellan]] bolstered Lincoln's successful re-election campaign in 1864.<ref name=thoughtcobio/> Nast also opposed the policies of Lincoln's successor, President [[Andrew Johnson]]. During the early [[Reconstruction]] period, his cartoons decried Johnson and the Democratic Party as ruthless racists and exemplified his bitterness towards weak policies against [[the South]].<ref name=britannicabio/>
A reoccurring theme in Nast's cartoons were the condemnations of the Democratic Party as a whole for their racism and intolerance, as opposed to only attacking certain factions. In his 1868 publication ''This is a White Man's Government'', Nast showed that the Southern Confederates (symbolized by First [[Ku Klux Klan]] founder [[Nathan Bedford Forrest]]), ballot box stuffers, and Northern Irish Catholics all shared the same advocacy of [[white supremacy]].<ref>[https://hti.osu.edu/opper/lesson-plans/reconstruction/images/this-is-a-white-mans-government This is a White Man's Government]. ''History Teaching Institute''. Retrieved November 13, 2021.</ref>
===Opposition towards Tweed and Irish Catholics===
Nast's excoriation of Irish Catholics were of practically equal harshness as his disdain for Southern Confederates. His attacks against Catholic immigrants often portrayed them as un-American and in degrading manners,<ref name=thoughtcobio/> and were attributed to his early life witnessing their frequent violence and atrocities in [[New York City]].
Nast immigrated to the [[United States]] from [[Germany]] at the age of six, and was a staunch supporter of the Union during the [[American Civil War]], when he first became popular as a cartoonist while in his early 20s.
In New York City, the sheer political corruption of Tammany Hall led by [[William Tweed|William M. "Boss" Tweed]] drew Nast's attention. Although Tweed boasted that his constituents were too illiterate to read reports by newspapers,<ref name=thoughtcobio/> Nast's cartoons which exposed the corruption and hypocrisy of the political machine were effective in exposing Tammany Hall's scandals.<ref name=nasttakesontweed/><ref name=illustrationhistorybio/> Tweed desperately attempted to bribe Nast to no avail, and faced arrest.
After being convicted, Tweed escaped from prison to [[Spain]], where authorities encountered difficulties searching for him. Nast's cartoons proved successful in the capture of the Tammany Hall boss,<ref name=thoughtcobio/> who was arrested and later died in jail in 1878.<ref name=nasttakesontweed/>
===Support for Chinese immigrants===
Nast's cartoons at Harper's Weekly frequently and consistently sympathized with the plight of Chinese immigrants to the United States who often faced racial discrimination and violence.<ref>Walfred, Michele (January 29, 2016). [https://thomasnastcartoons.com/2016/01/29/justice-for-the-chinese-27-march-1886/ “Justice for the Chinese” 1886]. ''Thomas Nast Cartoons''. Retrieved November 13, 2021.</ref>
===Opposition towards Garfield, 1880===
During the [[United States presidential election, 1880|1880 presidential election]], [[Half-Breed]] dark house candidate [[James A. Garfield]] was nominated by the party convention to become the nominee in the general election. Nast resentment for Garfield's corruption and opposition towards [[Radical Republican]]-favored positions, in addition to his friendship with Democrat nominee Winfield S. Hancock, led to his support for the latter.<ref name=illustrationhistorybio/>
Nast submitted a cartoon to Harper's Weekly that expressed support for Hancock, which the magazine rejected from publishing.<ref name=illustrationhistorybio/> He then drew cartoons that assailed the Democratic Party as a whole while leaving out Hancock from them.
===Nast opposes Blaine, breaks with Harper's Weekly===
During the [[United States presidential election, 1884|1884 presidential election]], Nast refused to support corrupt [[Half-Breed]] Republican nominee [[James G. Blaine]],<ref name=illustrationhistorybio/> who he actively despised,<ref>[https://www.loc.gov/item/2010717274/ [James Blaine with "As speaker" and "R.R. jobs" letters sticking out of his back pocket and reaching for "the Mulligan letters" over "Blaine's record" hat<nowiki>]</nowiki>]. ''Library of Congress''. Retrieved November 13, 2021.</ref> instead joining the GOP [[Mugwump]] faction. His open support for [[Bourbon Democrat]] nominee [[Grover Cleveland]] instead led to disputes with other editors in Harper's Weekly, as well as additional complaints.<ref name=illustrationhistorybio/>
Nast's breaks with Harper's Weekly editors only increased by 1885 due to differences over image production techniques,<ref name=thoughtcobio/> middle-class cultural shifts, and the Republican Party.<ref name=illustrationhistorybio/> His last cartoon published from the magazine was in the following year.<ref name=britannicabio/> Although Nast's works would be published by other journals, they became infrequent.
Consequentially, Nast's opposition towards Blaine that handed Cleveland an election victory proved detrimental for Harper's Weekly in addition to his own career and standing. A source stated on the lose-lose outcome:<ref name=illustrationhistorybio/>
{{cquote|In quitting Harper's Weekly, Nast lost his forum; in losing him, Harper's Weekly lost its political importance.}}
===Death===
Nast died in early December 1902 of [[yellow fever]].<ref name=thoughtcobio/> Harper's Weekly published in its obituary on him:<ref>[https://library.osu.edu/site/thomasnast/ Thomas Nast: Prince of Caricaturists]. ''The Ohio State University''. Retrieved November 13, 2021.</ref>
{{cquote|He has been called, perhaps not with accuracy, but with substantial justice, the Father of American Caricature.}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
== References ==
==External links==
*[https://thomasnastcartoons.com/ Illustrating Chinese Exclusion] – ''Thomas Nast's Cartoons
*[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/08/02/106774821.pdf The Historic Elephant and Donkey] – ''The New York Times'', published August 2, 1908
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nast, Thomas}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nast, Thomas}}
[[Category:German People]]
[[Category:American People]]
[[Category:Political Figures]]
[[Category:Political Figures]]
[[Category:Cartoonists]]
[[Category:Cartoonists]]
[[Category:United States History]]
[[Category:United States History]]
[[Category:American Civil War]]
[[Category:Abolitionists]]
[[Category:Christians]]
[[Category:Patriots]]
[[Category:Reconstruction]]
[[Category:Gilded Age]]