Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Ajax Blaine Defying Mulligan Lightning. |
Creator |
McDougall, Walter, 1858-1938 |
Date |
1884-09-28 |
Signed Name |
McDougall |
Finding number |
CGA.BL.1.011 |
Start Date |
1884 |
End date |
1884 |
Genre |
Editorial cartoon |
Subject |
Corruption Politics Republican party Republican scandals Reputation Temperance Lightning Storms Lightning strikes Castles & palaces Keystones Tattoos Belts (Clothing) Crates Railroad companies Bribery Capitol buildings Banners Demagoguery Lobbying Lobbyists Presidential campaign Presidential candidacy Presidential candidates Presidential elections Churches State legislature Maine Congress Editing Senate Secretary of State Coal mining Bonds (Financial records) Bond issues Buckets Smear campaigning Newspaper editors Third parties |
Related people |
Blaine, James G., 1830-1893 Logan, John Alexander, 1826-1886 Butler, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1818-1893 Elkins, Stephen B. (Stephen Benton), 1841-1911 Dana, Charles A. (Charles Anderson), 1819-1897 |
Shown |
Church Congregations Greek Mythology |
Published in |
New York World |
Publication Vol. |
25 |
Publication No. |
8440 |
Medium |
Ink/Newsprint |
Width (cm) |
23.500 |
Height (cm) |
34.000 |
Collection |
Bill Loughman Collection of McDougall and Gribayedoff Cartoon Tearsheets |
Description |
James G. Blaine, with several other politicians behind him (his running mate James Logan, Greenback Party nominee Benjamin Butler, industrialist Stephen Elkins, and newspaper editor Charles Dana), raises his fist in anger as a castle ("Castle Blaine") collapses due to lightning striking it (the lightning is labeled "Mulligan Letters"). Blaine is covered in tattoos referencing his various corruption scandals and other insults, specifically "Guano Statesman", "Little Rock" (a railroad company he took bribes from), "Lobbying", "Demagogism", "Northern Pacific" (another railroad company involved in his corrupt dealings), "Mulligan Letters" (the name of a scandal where his deals with the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad company were exposed), and "Briber". His belt reads "Millionaire", and he is standing on a box that reads "20 Years Spoils". Depicting Blaine as covered in tattoos was common at the time. "Castle Blaine" also contains references to Blaine, mostly relating to the better parts of his reputation. Several bricks read "Church Member", "Member of Maine Legislature", "20 Years in Congress", "15 Years A Republican Editor", "20 Years A Teetotaler", "6 Months Secretary of State", "Senator", "Owner Of Coalmines Hocking Valley". A few of the bricks, however, contain references that attack Blaine's character: the doorframe's keystone reads "Little Rock Haul", and other bricks read "Bond Peddler For Caldwell & Fisher", and "Lobbyist". The cartoon satirizes Blaine's loss of a good reputation due to his numerous corruption scandals, demagoguery, and personal wealth. |
Credit line |
Bill Loughman Collection of McDougall and Gribayedoff Cartoon Tear sheets, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum |
Accession number |
CGA.BL.2011 |
Version |
tear sheet |