JF Ptak Science Books Quick Post
So thought the great Thomas Nast, who in his enormous endeavors at Harper’s Weekly drew this political statement as a small corner-filler for the weekly issue of October 12, 1872. The fear for him was the resurrected Phoenix of Tammany Hall and the K.K.K. as a result of electing Horace Greeley to the presidency of the U.S., and he was no effort in making his statement with any nod to the subtle. We can clearly see the characteristics of each group emblazoned on the wings of the Phoenix–less visible in the background are the ruins of the “Colored orphan asylum” and “school houses”, targets of the despicable Klan. The election was only weeks away at this point, and Greeley was running as a splinter Liberal Republican, and was trounced by Ulysses Grant in the electoral college. As it turns out, Greeley would be dead three weeks later.
