Newspapers Political Cartooning and Cultural Trends of the…

Late 19th and Early 20th

Century

How is the press changing and/or being changed by?

Technology

Economics

Culture

Population

Harper’s Weekly 1857-1916• Founded 1817, NYC• Becomes largest book publisher in US• Mag: like London illustrated weeklies 1850s• Publishes Charles Dickens’ novels• 1850s called “Harper’s Weakly” by abolitionists

– moderate stance on slavery– Supported Stephen Douglas in 1860– Becomes pro-Republican paper after 1860/ Lincoln

• Thomas Nast joins in 1862, a force for 20 years– “the presidential maker” Grant, Hayes, Cleveland all

helped by his cartoons:

C.S. Reinhart. "A City Mission School." April 11, 1874.

Winslow Homer. "The Chinese in New York -- Scene in a Baxter Street Club-House." March 7, 1874.

Theo R. Davis. "The New York Elevated Railroad From Franklin Square." September 7, 1878.

The World (NY)

• Joseph Pulitzer creates “Yellow journalism” 1883• “Hogan’s Alley”

The Yellow KidRF Occault

1898600,000-1 million / day

San Francisco Academy of Comic Art Collection, The Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library

More picturesFont warsReporters made newsSensationalismCrusading journalism

New York JournalWilliam Randolph Hearst

Buys paper, mimics JP…lures away Occault and the Yellow Kid, 1895, thenDavenport and Opper

Puck MagazineJoseph Keppler• like Nast, was a German speaking

immigrant. Arrived ’67– Recruited by Frank Leslie to counter

Thomas Nast

• Founded Puck in 1876: b/w and color illustrations– Front and centerfolds are political– Back page is social commentary

Named for Shakespeare’s

Puck, of “A Midsummer Night Dream”

• Puck made fun of everyone, but developed a generally pro-Democratic slant

• NOW look at the cartoon carefully…

Puck Inspires a Rival…

The Judge1881-1932

• James Wales leaves Puck and founds a new magazine, attracting Gilliam and others

• At first with similar views, it soon found identity as a Republican “Puck”

Straightforward News…?New York Tribune (Log Cabin - Horace

Greeley 1841) and NY Times (1851…1884….Adolph Ochs 1896)

“All the news that’s fit to print”

C.G. Bush. "Election Returns --- Scene in Front of the New York 'Tribune' Office at Midnight, November 6-7." November 24, 1866.

Universities Changing

• Johns Hopkins

• Charles Eliot

• University of Chicago

• Morrill Land Grant Act

• Alumni

How Revolutionary the Social Sciences?

Oliver Wendell Holmes

Richard Ely

The Turner Thesis

Thomas Nast, Who Stole the People's Money? Harpers Weekly, (19th August, 1871). Cartoon showing William Tweed, Peter Sweeney,

Richard Connolly and Mayor Oakley Hall

If all the people want is for someone to be arrested…

Tammany Hall, 1902

The Tweed Courthouse, 52 Chambers Street, ManhattanCost to City: $13 million, Cost to build: $3 million

Today houses NYC Dept of Education!

Boss Tweed• A native born Protestant• Grand Sachem of Tammany 1861-1871

– $ for Irish political exiles– Ensured Catholic schools and

orphanages got charitable donations– 1869 got a law passed covertly that enabled Catholic schools to received city funds.

• Public works – 100s of jobs and contracts…– siphoned $ by arrangement; Estimates vary: $30-200

million??• Aftermath of Tweed’s 1871 conviction:

– “Honest John” Kelly and Samuel Tilden reform Tammany– But soon Tim Sullivan restores Tammany to ill form

Nov. 16, 1867

“The First Vote”

Thomas Nast

Influential Thomas Nast• Civil War supporter in tepid NYC

– Lincoln: “our best recruiting sergeant”• Civil rights during Reconstruction• Boss William Tweed takedown in NYC ‘69-71

– Tammany Hall machine– Harper’s lost a contract for publishing books for NYC

schools when it did not fire Nast– He refused a bribe of $500,000 to stop…when his

salary was $5000.• Also attacked power of trade unions and Catholic

Church

h"Stop them damned pictures. I don't care so much what the papers say about me. My constituents don't know how to read, but they can't help seeing them damned pictures!!!!"

- William “Boss” Tweed

Big Tim Sullivan

• Tammany Boss and Mobster in early 1900s– Controlled police dept

• A 1st!! 1911: Sullivan Law: bans the carrying of a concealed handgun in NYC without a permit– “His” Police Dept issues permits

• Guess his motivation for getting first gun control law?

Tenement Life

Party Symbols Invented...The Off Year, 1877

Realism

• What is realism and how is it a product of the period?

• William Dean Howells– Emile Zola– Feodor Doestoevsky

Realism

The Gross Clinic, Thomas Eakins (1875)

The Agnew Clinic (1889)

What is realism and how is it a product of the period?

President: Rutherford B Hayes• “Rutherfraud” to Democrats, but

personally honest• Strongly supported

– higher tariffs– Hard currency

• Spoke out against poor treatment of southern blacks

• Avoided collecting political contributions from office seekers

• v

SOAPSToneS This!

• Source: Currier and Ives described itself as "Publishers of Cheap and Popular Pictures". Connecticut

• In 1835–1907, produced more than a million prints by hand-colored lithography.

• Staff of artists: colors applied by an assembly line, German immigrant girls

• Depicted a variety of images of American life

President: James Garfield• Division of Republicans

into Half Breeds and Stalwarts

• Assassinated by a Stalwart lawyer

• Honest Civil War General who opposed waving the bloody shirt

• Supported some civil service reform • New Pres. Chester Arthur

signs Pendleton Act

1884 Election Blaine Exposed…..Bernard Gilliam, “Phryne Before the Chicago Tribunal” 4 June, 1884.

Grover Cleveland• Winner 1884

– ICA– Tariff issue– Civil Service– Wins fight with

Senate over executive privilege and his hiring and firing of civil servants

Tammany Hall Tiger

What’s this about?

“The Mistake of a Lifetime” 

by  Frank Beard August 16, 1884

Harrison, the sequel• 1888 BCE Benjamin

Harrison– Def GC over tariff issue

– “Tippecanoe and Morton too”

– Financially conservative, but billion dollar Congress (1290)

• Tom Reed “We’re a billion dollar country”

– 1st Pan American Congress

– Sherman Anti-Trust Act

Grover Cleveland, again

Defeats Harrison in 1892• Depression 1893-97 - OUCH

– Stock Market crash– 600 Vetoes– Pullman Strike 1594

Currency Issue– Abandons Sherman Silver

Purchase Act– JP Morgan and Wall

Street bolster gold reserves with deal

Judge v. Puck

Election of 1896: The Realignment

Dee-lighted, Pure Act, and The Big Stick

1898 – The Rough Rider is approached by Boss Platt

A VP Candidate

“What Could the Poor Boy Do?” William Allen

Rogers Harper's Weekly 

June 30, 1900

“Branded But Not ‘Broken’ " 

Udo J. Keppler September 12,

1900

“Firm Stance on the Rebate Bill”

Homer Davenport, 1902

Puck illustrates allegations against TR in ‘04…but is it misleading?

“Putting the Screws on Hi by Udo J. Keppler November 2, 1904

“Lining Up for the Greatest Race in the World"  William Allen Rogers, Harper's Weekly, July 2, 1904

A 1904 campaign bill

By Homer Davenport

“Once More into the Breach, Dear Friends, Once More” Edward Windsor Kemble  Harper's Weekly  July 18, 1908

(Who invented bball?)“Goal!: Just a Little Basket Ball Practice in the White House

Gym”

 Frank Nankivell March 4, 1908

 “The Voice of Jacob, But the Hand of

Esau”

 William Allen Rogers 

 Harper's Weekly  February 29, 1908

“I Believe in Giving Every Man a Square Deal” 

Edward Windsor Kemble Harper's Weekly 

March 9, 1912

"The Latest Arrival at the Political

Zoo"  

Edward Windsor Kemble 

Harper's Weekly  July 20, 1912

?????

“W. J. B.: ‘Say, Debs…” 

  Edward Windsor Kemble 

Harper's Weekly September 21, 1912