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Cartoons Satirizing "Southern Claims"

Southern Claims.

A political cartoon titled Southern Claims, published in the February 15, 1879, edition of Harper's Weekly, depicts Saint Peter in heaven reading an excerpt from a speech in the Congressional Record by E. John Ellis, a Louisiana member of the U.S. House of Representatives, which extols the loyalty of the men who fought for the Confederacy. According to the text, the Confederate soldiers "had been loyal to their country. Loyal to their God. Loyal to the noblest holiest emotions ever breathed by the human soul." Saint Peter, with the key to the gate of heaven affixed to his belt, says in the caption below, "If this is the case, it will be best for them to wait—till they come up here."

Thomas Nast, who opposed claims for compensation by southerners after the Civil War, created this cartoon.  

Citation: Harper's Weekly. AP2 .H32. Special Collections, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.

Original Author: Thomas Nast

Created: February 15, 1879

Medium: Engraving

Courtesy of University of Virginia Special Collections

Probabilities.

A cartoon titled Probabilities, published in the May 4, 1878, edition of Harper's Weekly, satirizes the long-winded congressmen, most of them southerners, who prolonged the forty-fifth session of Congress by continually speaking in favor of "southern claims"—that is, compensation for losses incurred by southerners during the Civil War. The blowhard depicted here has a bellows for a head, a goatee, long hair, boots, a "slave" button pinned on his chest, and pockets containing a bullwhip, gun, knife, and a bottle of alcohol identified as "cold tea." The speaker ignores the pile of papers on the desk in front of him that appear about to slide into the pot holding the national debt. One paper states that "southern claims" have already added about $200,000,000 to the country's debt; another refers to former Confederates entering the U.S. Army and Navy.

Thomas Nast, who opposed "southern claims," created this cartoon. 

Citation: Harper's Weekly. AP2 .H32. Special Collections, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.

Original Author: Thomas Nast

Created: May 4, 1878

Medium: Engraving

Courtesy of University of Virginia Special Collections

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  • Southern Claims.

    A political cartoon titled Southern Claims, published in the February 15, 1879, edition of Harper's Weekly, depicts Saint Peter in heaven reading an excerpt from a speech in the Congressional Record by E. John Ellis, a Louisiana member of the U.S. House of Representatives, which extols the loyalty of the men who fought for the Confederacy. According to the text, the Confederate soldiers "had been loyal to their country. Loyal to their God. Loyal to the noblest holiest emotions ever breathed by the human soul." Saint Peter, with the key to the gate of heaven affixed to his belt, says in the caption below, "If this is the case, it will be best for them to wait—till they come up here."

    Thomas Nast, who opposed claims for compensation by southerners after the Civil War, created this cartoon.  

    Citation: Harper's Weekly. AP2 .H32. Special Collections, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.

    Original Author: Thomas Nast

    Created: February 15, 1879

    Medium: Engraving

    Courtesy of University of Virginia Special Collections

    Slideshow Featured In
  • Probabilities.

    A cartoon titled Probabilities, published in the May 4, 1878, edition of Harper's Weekly, satirizes the long-winded congressmen, most of them southerners, who prolonged the forty-fifth session of Congress by continually speaking in favor of "southern claims"—that is, compensation for losses incurred by southerners during the Civil War. The blowhard depicted here has a bellows for a head, a goatee, long hair, boots, a "slave" button pinned on his chest, and pockets containing a bullwhip, gun, knife, and a bottle of alcohol identified as "cold tea." The speaker ignores the pile of papers on the desk in front of him that appear about to slide into the pot holding the national debt. One paper states that "southern claims" have already added about $200,000,000 to the country's debt; another refers to former Confederates entering the U.S. Army and Navy.

    Thomas Nast, who opposed "southern claims," created this cartoon. 

    Citation: Harper's Weekly. AP2 .H32. Special Collections, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.

    Original Author: Thomas Nast

    Created: May 4, 1878

    Medium: Engraving

    Courtesy of University of Virginia Special Collections

    Slideshow Featured In