In the early 1860s, Thomas Nast rose to fame as a staff illustrator for "Harper's Weekly." His career spanned the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Gilded Age, and by the time he left the magazine in 1887, his political cartoons were renowned around the world. He's credited with popularizing symbols like the Republican elephant and the Democratic donkey, as well as Uncle Sam and Santa Claus — and credited with taking down New York's Tammany Hall political machine, led by the infamous Boss Tweed.

And Not This Man

The caption of this political cartoon by Thomas Nast reads: "Franchise. And Not This Man?" It was published as former Confederates applied for pardons that would restore their voting rights, pointing out that African Americans — including veterans — were denied such a right. August 1865.

Thomas Nast Santa Claus

A cartoon by Thomas Nast that helped establish the modern image of Santa Claus (and depicted him as a supporter of the Union). 1863.

Church And State

A cartoon by Thomas Nast advocating for the separation of church and state, with "Justice" blocking the clergy from entering the "State" building. 1871.

Republican Elephant

This Thomas Nast cartoon, entitled "The Third-Term Panic" (about the possible third term of Ulysses S. Grant), is one of many of his cartoons that popularized the image of the Republican elephant and the Democratic donkey. 1874.

Andrew Johnson Portrait

Thomas Nast was known for his skewering portrayals of notable figures, including Andrew Johnson, who was president from April 1865 until March 1869.

Andrew Johnson Crying

Nast's depiction of Johnson crying while reading about the 1866 National Union Convention. The convention had set out to create support for his pro-Southern policies, but anti-Johnson Republicans ultimately won a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress.

Andrew Johnson Impeachment

This cartoon, also mocking Johnson, is about the president's 1868 impeachment. The first panel reads: "This Little Boy Would Persist in Handling Books Above His Capacity" and the second, with Johnson crushed by the Constitution, reads: "And This Was the Disastrous Result." 1868.

Massacre At New Orleans

In this poignant and pointed cartoon, Nast depicts the New Orleans Massacre of July 30, 1866, when peacefully demonstrating Black Freedmen were attacked by white rioters. Nast depicts Johnson, as king, standing aside as the violence unfolds.

Carpetbagger

Thomas Nast's description of a carpetbagger, a derogatory term for someone from the North who moved to the South after the Civil War. 1872.

Compromise With The South

One of the most famous cartoons Thomas Nast ever produced, "Compromise with the South" was published during the 1864 election. Showing the Confederate president, Jefferson Davis, standing on a Union soldier's grave, it warned of the consequence of compromise with the Confederates.

Christmas Station

Another of Nast's depictions of Santa Claus. 1889.

Boss Tweed

Another public figure who Thomas Nast mocked was William "Boss" Tweed, the political boss of Tammany Hall.

Boss Tweed Cartoon

This 1871 cartoon is captioned: "The 'BRAINS' that achieved the Tammany victory at the Rochester Democratic Convention."

Let Us Prey

An 1871 Thomas Nast cartoon of Tweed and his cohorts. Tweed once reportedly declared of Nast: “Stop them damn pictures. I don’t care what the papers write about me. My constituents can’t read. But, damn it, they can see the pictures.”

Boss Tweed With Two Boys

Nast caricatured Tweed so much that when Tweed fled to Spain after being convicted of fraud in the United States, Spanish authorities were able to use Nast's cartoons to identify and arrest him.

Tammany Tiger

Nast's depiction of the Tammany tiger. 1871.

Crowd Waiting For Lincoln

Nast's depiction of a crowd waiting for Abraham Lincoln to arrive in Baltimore. 1861.

For He's A Jolly Good Fellow

An 1889 depiction of Santa Claus.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Nast frequently invoked William Shakespeare's plays in his cartoons. This one, from the 1860 presidential election, depicts Congressman James Weaver of the Greenback-Labor Party as Bottom from A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Emancipation

A celebration of the emancipation of slaves after the Civil War, showing both the dark past and the hopeful future. 1865.

Horace Greeley Photograph

Another of Thomas Nast's frequent targets was Horace Greeley, the editor of the New-York Tribune who unsuccessfully ran for president against Ulysses S. Grant in 1872. Grant was the Republican candidate; Greeley represented the Liberal Republican party and was supported by the Democrats.

Liberal Mountain

A political cartoon from early 1872 that shows Republicans gathered around a "mountain" to witness the birth of their candidate, Greeley, as a "mouse."

Horace Greeley And The Democrats

In this 1872 cartoon, Nast mocks Greeley's alliance with the Democrats by depicting him kneeling in front of Satan, who holds the Democratic nomination. The caption reads: "'Satan, don't get thee behind me!' — Anything to get possession."

Greeley Shaking Hands With Booth

In this cartoon, also from the 1872 election, Nast depicts Greeley bowing and shaking the hand of John Wilkes Booth, Abraham Lincoln's assassin.

Democratic Donkey

Another of Nast's depictions of the Democratic donkey and the Republican elephant. 1879.

Democratic Donkeys

A cartoon entitled the "Fine-Ass Committee," showing a Democratic congressman blowing bubbles of inflation. 1874.

This Is A White Man's Government

This cartoon depicts Nast's view of the Democratic platform in 1868. It says: "This Is a White Man's Government" and "'We regard the Reconstruction Acts (so called) of Congress as usurpations, and unconstitutional, revolutionary, and void' — Democratic Platform."

A Republican Elephant

Another depiction of a Republican elephant. 1876.

Ulysses S Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was one politician who Nast did like. The two men often dined together, and Grant allegedly once said that Nast "did as much as any one to preserve the Union and bring the war to an end.”