Cartoon E: Randolph and Hancock Cartoon
In this cartoon drawn by Nast, we see the Democratic presidential candidate General Hancock on the right and on the left, speaking in Hancock’s ear we see Senator Randolph of New Jersey. Gen. Hancock was held in the highest regard as a war veteran. He was considered widely as a war hero in the battle of Gettysburg, which further propelled him as one of the most qualified commanders in the army. In the election of 1880, Gen. Hancock ran against Republican James A. Garfield. Due to the immense respect Hancock had as a war hero, there was little the republicans had in their arsenal to tarnish him as a viable presidential candidate, until, that is, Hancock made a public comment about the hottest topic at the time - tariffs.
During the 1880 presidential election, no issue was discussed and debated more than the issue of tariffs imposed in the United States. During the campaign, Gen. Hancock said publicly that the issue of Tariffs was a “local issue,” thus did not deserve the time discussing it on a national platform during the campaign. The republicans took the opportunity to pounce on Hancock, criticizing him by saying he lacked the political experience to be a good president.
I discovered that Thomas Nast was a Radical Republican and this made sense to me, as he clearly depicted Hancock as a confused and absurd candidate for president. The word “Confusion” is in the center of the cartoon hovering above Randolph and Hancock. On the bottom of the page is written, “Local Question” and then the sarcastic sentence that follows. “Who is tariff and why is he for Revenue?” The statement is used to portray Hancock as so uniformed as to mistake tariff for a person, not a political issue. This reminds me of when Sarah Palin made the comment that she could see Russia from Alaska. One comment was so greatly spun into a tidal wave of sentiment that the candidate was stupid, ridiculous or just absurd. I only bring this up as a comparison, not an argument whether public opinion was right or wrong on the matter. To add to my assertion that Nast is portraying Hancock as a dolt, Randolph seems to be coaching Hancock. He is leaning in towards him, with a box above his head, which says this is a lecture platform and not to take questions regarding the tariff until after the elections.
Hancock and the Democratic Party had endorsed tariff policy for revenue purposes and tried to avoid the contentious topic by saying it was a local issue. The Republicans wanted a tariff as well, however, they proposed a tariff so high, it would not only bring in revenue to the government, it would also discourage the purchase of foreign goods. This, in turn, would theoretically protect the economy as well.
Politicians looking and sounding confused seems to be a tradition in this country. The press has done and continues to do that. Like many military heroes that entered politics Hancock was well respected until he made that slip up and the Republicans jumped on him. In the cartoon it looks like the senator was even giving him bad advice. Or he is quietly explaining who Tariff is. If Grant had been given the nomination and went up for election against Hancock that would have made for good press, maybe even one of the most interesting elections in this country’s history.
ReplyDeleteThough I might be damned for repeating myself, it is important to note what Hancock was actually saying. He believed the tariff issue to be one that should be decided by the American people by way of their representation in Congress. Ironically, this is also the same stance taken by his competitor, James Garfield. And yet, because of his choice of words, and some clever political maneuvering by the Republicans, Hancock took it in the teeth over this topic. One has to wonder how much of an effect it had on the campaign in the end, as he lost the popular vote by less than one percent.
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