The months between Election Day on November 7, 1876 and Inauguration Day on March 5, 1877 were stressful for the country. Thomas Nast created political cartoons for "Harper’s Weekly" depicting the situation in the United States sometimes putting a humorous spin on this serious situation. Nast was a staunch supporter of the Republican Party at the time, though he did not like the Republican Hayes, going so far as to not depict Hayes in his political cartoons. Nast also editorially attacked the Democratic candidate Tilden. Click through the images of Nast's political cartoons on the election of 1876 on the slideshow below and consider the question: How are political cartoons useful for understanding the aftermath of the 1876 election?

Thomas Nast portrays himself on the cover of 

 He is sharpening his pencil readying himself to continue the fight for Hayes to become President in the still-undecided election. 

Nast attempts to elicit patriotism through this drawing by illustrating President Ulysses S. Grant as a memorial monument to the fallen. At the foot of the monument is a garbage can with a discarded paper bearing a quotation from Jefferson Davis, former President of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War: 

When we cease thus to control this nation...we shall then resort to a dissolution of the Union

Even though Nast illustrated this over a decade after the end of the Civil War, this strife was still fresh in the minds of many Americans. 

Nast tries to calm the country emphasizing through these words that war and disunion are behind us. Nast endorses the election of the Republican Hayes who Nast believes can continue with President Ulysses S. Grant’s agenda. .

What do you think the title of this political cartoon means?

Thomas Nast drawing published on the cover of Harper's Weekly on December 2, 1876.

Donated by Nancy C. and Thomas A. Cantwell

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Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

No Rest for the Wicked- Sentenced to More Hard Labor

Ten days after the election the results were still unknown, so Nast created this comical self-portrait.  Nast depicts himself sitting in a refrigerated bathtub labeled “The Polar Refrigerator” with an ice block tied to his head and bellows blowing air as he fans himself. Through this image,  Nast conveys that he is trying to keep cool during this time of political unrest. 

Through this cartoon Nast urges viewers to keep cool and stay calm, not to believe the sensationalism of the newspapers that had been reporting incorrect stories of Tilden’s victory. This can be seen in the newspaper Nast illustrates himself reading bearing the headline “New York Sensation” and the tickertape running that says “Hayes, Tilden, Hayes, Tilden . . .”.

Thomas Nast engravings printed in Harpers Weekly on December 2, 1876

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"Keep Cool!" Ten Day After the Election and Go South Young Man

In this political cartoon, Nast illustrates Democrats going to buy and count votes for Tilden in the undecided states of Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Oregon.

Nast illustrates the figure of John Hoffman, former Governor of New York leading this Democratic push for votes. Hoffman holds a sign with the inscription: 

W.H. Barnum care J.T Hoffman Ex. Gov (?) (Counted in Governor 1868) 

Dispatch Received. You May Buy or Count One More "Electoral" Mule for Tilden

In this inscription, Nast is referencing an earlier event in the election campaign where W.H. Barnum, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, sent a coded telegram telling an Indiana Democrat to "buy 7 more mules". This meant the man could spend $7,000 to buy votes.

Nast illustrates the figure of John Morrissey, a former boxer, New York City political boss (Irving Hall) and Tilden supporter in the background running to the South as well. Boss William Tweed is referenced on the poster affixed to a wall in the background as going to count the votes, even though Tweed was in jail.

In this political cartoon published during the Christmas season, Nast pictures toy soldiers, a popular children's toy often given as a gift in the 19th century, to represent the four artillery companies that President Grant asked General Sherman to send to the Capitol. 

In December 1876 the Presidential Election was still undecided. President Grant brought the troops to the Capitol to prevent riots. Nast was a loyal supporter of President Grant. The artist drew this political cartoon replacing actual soldiers with toy ones, perhaps to soften President Grant's action. 

Engraving by Thomas Nast published in Harper's Weekly on December 9, 1876

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4-00,000 More

In this cartoon, Nast depicts the uncertainty of the 1876 election as a literal football game. The three feet kicking the “ball”, actually a ballot box, represent the states where the election results were contested: Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Oregon, represented by the toe of the boot just out of the picture frame on the right.

In 1876, football was a new game. It evolved from rugby and soccer. The ball was kicked or carried; the forward pass had not been included in the game yet. 

Thomas Nast engraving published in Harper's Weekly on December 23, 1876

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A National Game that is Played Out

In this cartoon, Nast illustrates the symbolic figure of Uncle Sam sitting with his back to the viewer holding a copy of the Constitution of the United States of America, reading it upside down. Nast comments on how the Constitution has been turned upside down by the 1876 election results still undecided two and a half months after the election. 

Thomas Nast image published in Harper's Weekly on January 27, 1877

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The Electoral Vote

In this image, Nast depicts the Republican Elephant with two tails and no heads and the Democratic Tiger with two heads and no tails hanging on a coat rack. 

, Nast suspends the symbols on coat hooks to illustrate the proverbial "coin toss" that the 1876 election has become, and how long the process is taking. Heads, and the Democrats win, tails and the Republicans win.

Nast illustrates a nation hamstrung by the lack of a decision. 

What do you think it felt like to not have election results three months after the election?

Thomas Nast engraving printed in Harper's Weekly on February 24, 1877.

Standards for Using Political Cartoons to Understand the 1876 Election

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework

National Core Arts Standards