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| How would Joe Biden look at the anvil? Traditionally, political cartoons have portrayed US Presidents as blacksmiths and, sometimes, farriers. Here you see President Woodrow Wilson portrayed in 1917 as a striker, not the smith. Uncle Sam is the smith, and he is urging Wilson to swing and hit, while the iron is still hot. The shoe has "crisis" written on it; it probably refers to the hesitation of the United States under Wilson to abandon isolationism and enter World War I on the side of the Allies. This old political cartoon by William Allen Rogers is from the archive of the Library of Congress's Cabinet of American Illustration. |
Saturday Night Live notwithstanding, there hasn’t been much to laugh about when it comes to US politics lately. And ever since former-farrier Lincoln Chafee dropped out of the Democratic primaries back in 2015, there have been almost no tie-ins at all to hoofcare, horseshoes or even horses.
But it hasn’t always been that way. In the past, people got their news (and opinions) by reading newspapers, and the editors were clever enough to know that political cartoons would attract the eye and get people to read them even if they didn’t want to read columns of type.
Cartoons were important. They were the Twitter of the past 300 or so years: a cartoon was a headline translated to humor, read in a single glance.
The common blacksmith shows up time and again in political and election humor, and in many spectacular ones, the entire scene was set in a forge. And this is just in the United States; in the old Soviet Union and other communist countries, the noble blacksmith was the ideal icon of the worker proletariat, so he was a star of newsprint, and always portrayed with his hammer and anvil.
The Hoof Blog offers a gallery of some outstanding political cartoons set in the smithy, or starring blacksmiths.
And this is not a new tradition: the oldest surviving political cartoon set in the forge was published in 1776--on the other side of the Atlantic:
“Forging Fetters for the Americans” shows the interior of a blacksmith's shop where not horseshoes but shackles are being forged by powerful British noblemen. They are all smiling as if the revolt in the American colonies was amusing. As it turned out, the American Revolutionary War was Britain's first overseas defeat.
William Murray, First Earl of Mansfield, is forging the links to a chain to re-bind the rebellious colonies. Prime Minister Lord Frederick North, author of the prohibition of trade act that led to the Boston Tea Party, is standing to the left holding his opera glasses and, in his right hand, he holds his “tea act”.
Cartoons were important. They were the Twitter of the past 300 or so years: a cartoon was a headline translated to humor, read in a single glance.
The common blacksmith shows up time and again in political and election humor, and in many spectacular ones, the entire scene was set in a forge. And this is just in the United States; in the old Soviet Union and other communist countries, the noble blacksmith was the ideal icon of the worker proletariat, so he was a star of newsprint, and always portrayed with his hammer and anvil.
The Hoof Blog offers a gallery of some outstanding political cartoons set in the smithy, or starring blacksmiths.
And this is not a new tradition: the oldest surviving political cartoon set in the forge was published in 1776--on the other side of the Atlantic:
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| “Forging Fetters for the Americans”: Fetters refer to a chain or manacle used to restrain a prisoner, usually by shackling the prisoner's ankles. This cartoon etching was published in England in reaction to an Act of Parliament in 1776. It was the British response to the American Revolutionary War. |
“Forging Fetters for the Americans” shows the interior of a blacksmith's shop where not horseshoes but shackles are being forged by powerful British noblemen. They are all smiling as if the revolt in the American colonies was amusing. As it turned out, the American Revolutionary War was Britain's first overseas defeat.
William Murray, First Earl of Mansfield, is forging the links to a chain to re-bind the rebellious colonies. Prime Minister Lord Frederick North, author of the prohibition of trade act that led to the Boston Tea Party, is standing to the left holding his opera glasses and, in his right hand, he holds his “tea act”.
North’s trade restrictions weren't limited to tea; they also banned American colonists from making their own nails for shoeing horses, as well. American smiths were forced to use imported British nails.
John Montagu, 4th earl of Sandwich (“Lord Sandwich”) was charged with waging a naval war on the colonies (which had no navy, at the time). He is aiming a hammer rather weakly at an anchor, which he steadies in a bare hand. John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute, is working the bellows chain between North and Sandwich, with other unidentified men coming and going. Looking through a window at left is King George III, himself.
A more pointed example comes from the May 2, 1863 issue of the American periodical Harper’s Weekly, which carried news of the ongoing Civil War. "Yankee Doodle" at right cautions a British blacksmith not to be over-confident as he forges a sword for Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy: “Wal, look out it don’t fly up and hit yer in the eye!” is his caution.
John Montagu, 4th earl of Sandwich (“Lord Sandwich”) was charged with waging a naval war on the colonies (which had no navy, at the time). He is aiming a hammer rather weakly at an anchor, which he steadies in a bare hand. John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute, is working the bellows chain between North and Sandwich, with other unidentified men coming and going. Looking through a window at left is King George III, himself.
For more details or to learn more: Library of Congress file on this print.
A Word to the Wise, 1863
On the wall of the smithy is a sign reading "Palmerston & Co. Armourers to the C.S.A." (Confederate States of America) and below it: "England's Vice" with "rapacity" emblazoned on the reins of the vice.
Lord Palmerston was Prime Minister of England during the Civil War, and supported the Confederacy even though he was anti-slavery. He sought to keep the Confederacy as an English ally because it was England's source for cotton and tobacco. He also wanted to limit the growth of the United States, which he saw as a growing threat in the picture of world powers.
England exported horseshoes to the Confederacy, a commodity much needed for the their military horses; a few horseshoes lie on the floor of the forge in this cartoon, representing that trade. Horseshoes made good ballast on ships, which could be filled with cotton and tobacco for the return trip.
This cartoon was published 60 days before the Battle of Gettysburg.
You can see tariff-defending US Speaker of the House Samuel Randall of Pennsylvania (far left) nailing on a shoe labeled "Protection". A white beard singles out Tammany Hall-era New York mayor (and later US Congressman) Abram Hewitt, who also was an iron industrialist who began the Cooper-Hewitt Trenton Ironworks and built the New York subway. His shoe is labelled "Free Trade".
Congressman and former Civil War General Benjamin Butler, of Gloucester, Massachusetts, wears a square hat, is nailing on the "Incidental Tariff" hind shoe.
Louisville, Kentucky journalist (and later Congressman) Henry Watterson works on a shoe labeled "Western Policy" and Delaware Senator Thomas Bayard reaches for a shoe labeled "Elastic Policy".
In the right foreground, conservative New York Tribune editor Charles A. Dana is cooling rods; notice that each rod has a politician's head forged on it. At the forge fire itself is the man who would become the presidential candidate in the next election: Grover Cleveland.
In the background on the right are three New Yorkers: Irish Tammany Hall boss John Kelly, controversial journalist and Democratic politco Joseph Pulitzer, and Oswald Ottendorfer, editor of the New York's influential German-language paper; the cartoon suggests that the Democrats had the press on their side.
The poor mule--notice it is not a Democratic donkey--is labeled "Democracy". On the wall in the upper left, a notice states "Tariff Tinkering Done Here".
Puck was the first successful humor magazine in the United States and was published from 1871 until 1918.
The blacksmith shop was the setting for a parody of the plight of small companies in the pages of Puck in 1906. The illustration by Udo Keppler shows a large man labeled "Big Shipper" as a blacksmith flattening a tiny man labeled "Small Shipper" on an anvil labeled "The Rail Road". His hammer is labeled "Rebates"; on the floor, at his feet, is a pile of coins labeled "Illegitimate Profits", and eager schoolchildren (with the faces of known politicians of the day) gather at the entryway hoping to "catch the burning sparks that fly like chaff from the threshing floor".
Under the art, Puck has penned a politically-potent revision of Longfellow's great poem, "The Village Blacksmith".
Here's President Theodore Roosevelt as "The Village Blacksmith" in Puck Magazine in 1910. The artist was L.M. Glackens.
Roosevelt, with his hand resting on a sledgehammer labeled "My Policies", is standing at the entrance to his shoeing shop. "T. Roosevelt, Horseshoer & Wheelwright" says the sign over the door; a sign on the wall states: "Autos, Air-ships & Bicycles Repaired".
In 1910, when the cartoon was published as a lavish double-page spread, Roosevelt had finished his term as president. This cartoon represents the chaos caused by the unfinished business he left behind.
England exported horseshoes to the Confederacy, a commodity much needed for the their military horses; a few horseshoes lie on the floor of the forge in this cartoon, representing that trade. Horseshoes made good ballast on ships, which could be filled with cotton and tobacco for the return trip.
This cartoon was published 60 days before the Battle of Gettysburg.
Canada's White Elephant, 1879
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In Canada in 1879, the Conservative party under Prime Minister John A. Macdonald had a plan to unite their nation from end to end and stimulate employment, partly by using tariffs to remove competition on trade from US manufacturers and partly by building a transcontinental railroad system. Liberal opponents referred to Macdonald’s policies as a "white elephant". In this early cartoon, John Macdonald is forging leg bands for the white elephant, each labeled with a part of his policy at the anvil. This cartoon is reproduced courtesy of the McCord Museum of Canadian History. |
The Democratic Smithy: Odd Shoes for the Mule, 1883
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| Can politicians possible work together to shoe a mule? This cartoon by master artist Bernhard Gillam appeared in the magazine Puck on June 20, 1883 and features, among others, President Grover Cleveland, who is working the forge. |
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| A classic Russian political cartoon. |
Congressman and former Civil War General Benjamin Butler, of Gloucester, Massachusetts, wears a square hat, is nailing on the "Incidental Tariff" hind shoe.
Louisville, Kentucky journalist (and later Congressman) Henry Watterson works on a shoe labeled "Western Policy" and Delaware Senator Thomas Bayard reaches for a shoe labeled "Elastic Policy".
In the right foreground, conservative New York Tribune editor Charles A. Dana is cooling rods; notice that each rod has a politician's head forged on it. At the forge fire itself is the man who would become the presidential candidate in the next election: Grover Cleveland.
In the background on the right are three New Yorkers: Irish Tammany Hall boss John Kelly, controversial journalist and Democratic politco Joseph Pulitzer, and Oswald Ottendorfer, editor of the New York's influential German-language paper; the cartoon suggests that the Democrats had the press on their side.
The poor mule--notice it is not a Democratic donkey--is labeled "Democracy". On the wall in the upper left, a notice states "Tariff Tinkering Done Here".
Puck was the first successful humor magazine in the United States and was published from 1871 until 1918.
The Big Shipper as The Village Blacksmith, 1906
Under the art, Puck has penned a politically-potent revision of Longfellow's great poem, "The Village Blacksmith".
Teddy Roosevelt as The Village Blacksmith, 1910
Here's President Theodore Roosevelt as "The Village Blacksmith" in Puck Magazine in 1910. The artist was L.M. Glackens.
Roosevelt, with his hand resting on a sledgehammer labeled "My Policies", is standing at the entrance to his shoeing shop. "T. Roosevelt, Horseshoer & Wheelwright" says the sign over the door; a sign on the wall states: "Autos, Air-ships & Bicycles Repaired".
In 1910, when the cartoon was published as a lavish double-page spread, Roosevelt had finished his term as president. This cartoon represents the chaos caused by the unfinished business he left behind.
Roosevelt would run for president again in 1912, unsuccessfully, as a third-party candidate with the Bull Moose Party. He was shot in the chest while giving a campaign speech in Milwaukee that year--and still managed to finish the speech.
All was chaos in his front yard in 1910, according to Puck. Road signs labeled "Republican Turnpike" are pointing into the background. A wagon labeled "Indiana Campaign" has lost a wheel, and President Taft is driving a sulky labeled "Aldrich Tariff". It is pulled by the Republican elephant, and has lost the rim to one wheel.
A woman labeled "Woman's Suffrage" is holding a bicycle with damaged tires; "La Follette" is pointing to the foot of a horse labeled "Wisconsin Campaign". "Parsons" and "Woodruff" are in an automobile that has had an accident, "Murdock" appears to be kicking one of the tires, an airplane labeled "Conservation" with "Pinchot" and "Garfield" on board, has crashed into a tree labeled "Ballinger".
In the lower left corner is the shadow of the Democratic donkey. Glackens managed to get a lot of politics into one cartoon!
All was chaos in his front yard in 1910, according to Puck. Road signs labeled "Republican Turnpike" are pointing into the background. A wagon labeled "Indiana Campaign" has lost a wheel, and President Taft is driving a sulky labeled "Aldrich Tariff". It is pulled by the Republican elephant, and has lost the rim to one wheel.
A woman labeled "Woman's Suffrage" is holding a bicycle with damaged tires; "La Follette" is pointing to the foot of a horse labeled "Wisconsin Campaign". "Parsons" and "Woodruff" are in an automobile that has had an accident, "Murdock" appears to be kicking one of the tires, an airplane labeled "Conservation" with "Pinchot" and "Garfield" on board, has crashed into a tree labeled "Ballinger".
In the lower left corner is the shadow of the Democratic donkey. Glackens managed to get a lot of politics into one cartoon!
Between the Hammer and the Anvil, 1944
Have you ever been caught between a rock and a hard place? Long before the Rolling Stones' great song, the more common expression was to regret being stuck between the hammer ("le marteau" in French, in this cartoon) and anvil (l'enclume" in French). That expression took on new meaning during World War II, when French artist Jean Carlu published this bit of modernist French Resistance political art during the German invasion and occupation of France, which had its back to the sea as it faced invaders.
We all know that the Allies invaded (or re-invaded) Europe in June 1944 on D-Day, when they landed on the beaches of Normandy in northern France. What is less known, is that D-Day's master plan had two parts. The Normandy invasion was code-named "The Hammer", and an invasion from the south of France was code-named "The Anvil".
We all know that the Allies invaded (or re-invaded) Europe in June 1944 on D-Day, when they landed on the beaches of Normandy in northern France. What is less known, is that D-Day's master plan had two parts. The Normandy invasion was code-named "The Hammer", and an invasion from the south of France was code-named "The Anvil".
The goal was to crush the German forces, signified by the swastika, that were occupying France between "The Hammer" from the north and "The Anvil" from the south. Hence, this poster's double (and secret) meaning.
"The Anvil" invasion was delayed by campaigns in North Africa and Italy and the difficulty in freeing Rome, while "The Hammer" proceeded as planned.
Even though the meaning of the poster was out of sync when the two invasions didn't happen at once, this poster was still distributed to give hope to the French people that they would be liberated.
"The Anvil" invasion was delayed by campaigns in North Africa and Italy and the difficulty in freeing Rome, while "The Hammer" proceeded as planned.
Even though the meaning of the poster was out of sync when the two invasions didn't happen at once, this poster was still distributed to give hope to the French people that they would be liberated.
Thanks to the Library of Congress and other sources for assistance compiling this collection. These are just a few of the cartoons published in magazines like Puck and Punch.
To learn more:
Political Animals: Republican Elephants and Democratic Donkeys (Smithsonian Magazine website, October 2012)
© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; please, no re-use of text or images on other sites or social media without permission--please link instead. (Just ask if you need help.) The Hoof Blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a headlines-link email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). Use the little envelope symbol below to email this article to others. The "translator" tool in the right sidebar will convert this article (roughly) to the language of your choice. To share this article on Facebook and other social media, click on the small symbols below the labels. Be sure to "like" the Hoofcare Facebook page and click on "get notifications" under the page's "like" button to keep up with the hoof news on Facebook.
To learn more:
Political Animals: Republican Elephants and Democratic Donkeys (Smithsonian Magazine website, October 2012)
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