Women in Political Cartoons of the Civil War

18thVirginia

Major
Joined
Sep 8, 2012
Somewhere in my memorabilia, I have two political cartoons that I've saved for years. One relates to my own family background, showing a moonshiner standing in front of a still, fending off revenooers, proclaiming "This is where I keep my snail darters."

Political cartooning came of age during the Civil War. The cartoons could be funny, tragic and disquieting, but all were a vehicle for political satire. Recently, I came across a couple of cartoons that featured women and thought it might be interesting to see how women or the feminine figure was portrayed by cartoonists of the era. These are only political cartoons or those featured in newspapers and some of them you may have already seen. If you have a favorite from the Civil War about women, by all means add it to the thread.

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"A Hint for the Sanitary Fair"
Visitor. "But don't you think you might have a little of your hair cut off without spoiling the general effect?"
Golden-haired Lass. "Oh no! I'm keeping it all for the Fair! I'll have Scissors, you know, and let the Cavaliers cut off little locks of it at the current prices for gold."

Artist: unknown

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0319.html

This was from 1861, about the upcoming Sanitary Fair in New York City.
 
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"Our Watering Places--The Empty Sleeve at Newport" The Brooklyn Museum
Harper's Weekly, August 26, 1865.

This image accompanied a story in Harper’s Weekly in which a captain returns home from war to find that his wife has learned to drive a horse and buggy in his absence. One might expect the veteran, who lost an arm in battle, to be grateful for the new skills his wife has acquired out of necessity. Yet he struggles to accept her new independence. The palpable tension between husband and wife in this image is indicative of larger postwar concerns surrounding women’s roles in both public and private spheres. https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/2479
 
The caption for the above cartoon is: An 1865 depiction of Emma Edmondson dodging a bullet on horseback.



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Ophelia (Young woman holding flag): "So, Topsey, you're at the bottom of this piece of wicked work--picking stars out of this sacred Flag! What would your forefathers say, do you think? I'll just hand you over to the new overseer, Uncle Abe. He'll fix you!"

Slave girl Topsey: "Never had no father, nor mother, nor nothing! I was raised by speculators! I's mighty wicked anyhow! 'What makes me ack so?' Dun no, missis-- I 'spects cause I's so wicked!"

Another slave, running down the stairs: "Hand us over to ole Abe, eh? Ize off!"
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In 1850, Jane Swisshelm, a reporter for the New York Tribune, became the first woman admitted to the press gallery to witness a session of the Senate. On that day. April 17, 1850, Thomas Hart Benton charged Henry Foote, who drew a pistol to defend himself. The debate was on the admittance of California as a free state. In the cartoon, a woman is depicted in the upper left gallery, and she appears to be saying "Oh I shall faint" while a man rushes to attend to her. I can't say that it's intended to be her; she did write an article describing the scene she witnessed, so, apparently, she did not faint. https://loc.harpweek.com/LCPolitica...9n0YLI18iP4RJpgXlWSSwI5jgL3ahkp_2vZ3SdQGUoQ3Y
 
In 1850, Jane Swisshelm, a reporter for the New York Tribune, became the first woman admitted to the press gallery to witness a session of the Senate. On that day. April 17, 1850, Thomas Hart Benton charged Henry Foote, who drew a pistol to defend himself. The debate was on the admittance of California as a free state. In the cartoon, a woman is depicted in the upper left gallery, and she appears to be saying "Oh I shall faint" while a man rushes to attend to her. I can't say that it's intended to be her; she did write an article describing the scene she witnessed, so, apparently, she did not faint. https://loc.harpweek.com/LCPolitica...9n0YLI18iP4RJpgXlWSSwI5jgL3ahkp_2vZ3SdQGUoQ3Y
I see that Swisshelm wrote about Daniel Webster's personal life, based on rumors that he fathered mulatto children. This embarrassed Greeley, so Jane lost her position writing for the Tribune. She also focused on writing about the Fugitive Slave Act, believing that it had the effect of nullifying abolition in Minnesota and other free states.
 
I see that Swisshelm wrote about Daniel Webster's personal life, based on rumors that he fathered mulatto children. This embarrassed Greeley, so Jane lost her position writing for the Tribune. She also focused on writing about the Fugitive Slave Act, believing that it had the effect of nullifying abolition in Minnesota and other free states.
In 1850, Jane Swisshelm, a reporter for the New York Tribune, became the first woman admitted to the press gallery to witness a session of the Senate. On that day. April 17, 1850, Thomas Hart Benton charged Henry Foote, who drew a pistol to defend himself. The debate was on the admittance of California as a free state. In the cartoon, a woman is depicted in the upper left gallery, and she appears to be saying "Oh I shall faint" while a man rushes to attend to her. I can't say that it's intended to be her; she did write an article describing the scene she witnessed, so, apparently, she did not faint. https://loc.harpweek.com/LCPolitica...9n0YLI18iP4RJpgXlWSSwI5jgL3ahkp_2vZ3SdQGUoQ3Y

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A bunch of thorny rascals for sure, whipping pistols out of pockets, as a fair lass looks down upon them. No wonder she dwelt on the Webster theme of procreation, with her blood stirred to the midriff, losing it all in the head!
Lubliner.
 
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