Scope and Contents

The series includes prints ranging from 1860 to 1868, that is, from the election of Abraham Lincoln through the Civil War and concluding with the election of Ulysses S. Grant in 1868. There are about 280 prints in the series.

Prints from 1860 include all the candidates in a 4-way race: Lincoln of Illinois and Hannibal Hamlin of Maine (Republican), John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky and Joseph Lane of Oregon (Southern Democratic), John Bell of Tennessee and Edward Everett of Massachusetts (Constitutional Union), and Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois and Herschel V. Johnson of Georgia (Northern Democratic). Horace Greeley of the Tribune appears often in the campaign caricatures (in support of Lincoln), as do other depictions of the press. The image of Lincoln as the "rail splitter" is frequently used as a metaphor for him splitting the Union, with the abolition of slavery as a principal theme of the election.

1861 caricatures introduce the secession of the Southern states, with Jefferson Davis appearing frequently as the symbol of the South. The possibility of England's support for the South appears in several prints. In 1862, the emphasis begins to shift from the politics of secessionist maneuvering to war. Images of the human toll of death and injury begin to appear more frequently, with the theme of the Union's ineffective military leadership (e.g., Generals Pope and McClellan). 1863 brings into play the Emancipation Proclamation and the role of abolition in the war. European powers (England and France) and their geopolitical assessments are a frequent theme. There are continued images of Davis as traitor and the North fighting for liberty and to preserve the Union. Draft friction is depicted, including scenes of draft riots.

1864 prints often center on the McClellan vs. Lincoln election. Anti-Lincoln campaign themes include the threat of miscegenation, his sacrifice of the Union for abolition, his unconstitutional actions, and his folksy story-telling as a way to avoid discussing the war. Anti-McClellan themes include his ineffectiveness as general, his willingness to sell out to the South, and the potential subservience of the North to the South. Ulysses Grant's effectiveness as a general emerges as a theme. The conclusion of the war in 1865 brings imagery of the South's defeat, especially in terms of Jefferson Davis's attempt to escape in woman's clothing.

Themes in the post-war years include Union triumphalism, not only in holding the nation together, but in its ability to face and compete with European powers by expanding territorially to Mexico and in overall military might; President Andrew Johnson and his actions against Radical Republican legislation; negative views of the impact of emancipation; and financial speculation. The series concludes with the campaign of 1868, with the potential social and political impact of African-American civil rights a significant theme. Throughout the series caricatures of African-Americans are often demeaning, even when intended to be sympathetic.

Among the caricaturists that are particularly well-represented in the series are Currier & Ives and J.L. Magee.