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Playing Possum Cartoon

Description:

Thomas Nast's images of Horace Greeley were a fine example of his political cartoons. This cartoon features one of Greeley's catchphrases— “Clasp Hands over the Bloody Chasm”. Appearing in Greeley's letter accepting the Liberal Republican presidential nomination, that phrase was a call for sectional reconciliation, but in Nast's cartoons it became a symbol of the candidate's compromise of his principles.  Nast’s relentless use of these cartoons merged into a negative public image that helped bury the candidacy of Horace Greeley.

Creator:

Thomas Nast for Harper's Weekly

Creation Date:

August 24, 1872

Collection Title:

Harper's Weekly

Collection Number:

051 H236, 1872

Image Number:

aug 24, 1872