Thomas Nast Cartoon, Signed by a Who’s Who of Republicans in the 1960-1982 Era

On December 27, 1879, a cartoon by Thomas Nast appeared in Harper’s Weekly, a very noted publication of the day. The caption was “Hold on, and you may walk over the sluggish animal up there yet.”

The cartoon suggests a scenario by which the Democratic Party in 1880 might win the presidency (a feat it had not accomplished since 1856). Democratic Senator Thomas Bayard’s firm position in favor of the gold standard could pull the Democratic Donkey away from the chasm of “financial chaos” into which it was toppling because of its desire for inflationary money – paper currency (“greenbacks”) or silver. In the background, a glum Treasury Secretary John Sherman, a leading contender for the Republican nomination, holds a document labeled “83 Cents Resumption,” while the Republican Elephant lies unconscious by a boulder reading “Let Well Enough Alone.” The image is critical of Sherman’s acceptance of the reintroduction of silver coins in 1878 (worth 83 cents to the gold dollar), which, according to cartoonist Thomas Nast, undermined the resumption of the gold standard in January 1879. By contrast, Bayard is praised for his congressional resolutions (which appear in his hat) to repeal the legal tender notes issued by the Treasury. In the lead editorial of the same Harper’s Weekly issue, George William Curtis called Bayard’s resolutions a “prompt and courageous act,” which would help define the position of the two parties on the money question.

A meeting of New Jersey Republicans was held in 1982, and fellow Republicans of note were invited. One of the attendees, from whom we obtained this directly, printed the Nast cartoon on an 11 by 17 inch board, and had many of the attendees sign. He ended up with a virtual Who’s Who in Republican politics in that era. These included former Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford, presidential candidate Barry Goldwater; Governors Nelson Rockefeller of New York, George Romney of Michigan (father of Mitt Romney), William Scranton of Pennsylvania, William Cahill of New Jersey, and gubernatorial candidate Raymond Bateman; U.S. Senators Clifford Case and Nicholas Brady of New Jersey; Congresswoman Marge Roukema; and Congressmen Peter Freylinghuysen and George Wallhauser of New Jersey. Affixed to a board for presentation.