Description: Slow & Steady Wins the Race political cartoon, 1864

Slow & Steady Wins the Race political cartoon, 1864

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Unknown Artist (Creator)
Collection:	Historical Society of Pennsylvania cartoons and caricatures collection (#3133)
Date:	1864
Alternate Date:	1864
Dimensions:	44 x 29 cm
Extent:	1 loose sheet
Box Number:	Box 5
Folder Number:	Folder 17
Format:	Electronic
Language:	English
Subjects:	Lithograph Political cartoons
Copyright:	Please contact Historical Society of Pennsylvania Rights and Reproductions (rnr@hsp.org)
Online Access:	https://digitallibrary.hsp.org/index.php/Detail/objects/11756

Summary:	Presidential candidates Abraham Lincoln and George McClellan are shown in the middle of a horse race. At the left of the cartoon, Lincoln is in the lead as he rides "The Union Roadster," a horse labeled "Slow and Steady." He holds an American flag, labeled "Union, The Government, Laws," topped by a liberty cap. In the middle, McClellan is shown trying to ride two horses at once (a common circus trick at the time); he has one foot on the back of "Mac's War-Horse," labeled "Brag & Bluster," and his other foot on the back of "The Peace Donkey," labeled "Fawn & Cringe." This likely refers to McClellan's attempts to campaign both on his military reputation as a Union general and on a platform of reconciliation with the South. The donkey carries a sack labeled "Rebel War Debt," filled with notes, and kicks behind him. Behind the donkey is a McClellan's running mate, George H. Pendleton of Ohio, dressed as a circus clown or jester. Pendleton whips the donkey and holds a scroll that reads "Peace! Peace! Anything for Peace!" At far right, in the background, a man standing in a carriage, watching the race through a pair of binoculars, predicts Lincoln's victory in a thick accent. The Library of Congress and other historians identify this man as a stereotype of a Jewish peddler.

Summary:

Presidential candidates Abraham Lincoln and George McClellan are shown in the middle of a horse race. At the left of the cartoon, Lincoln is in the lead as he rides "The Union Roadster," a horse labeled "Slow and Steady." He holds an American flag, labeled "Union, The Government, Laws," topped by a liberty cap. In the middle, McClellan is shown trying to ride two horses at once (a common circus trick at the time); he has one foot on the back of "Mac's War-Horse," labeled "Brag & Bluster," and his other foot on the back of "The Peace Donkey," labeled "Fawn & Cringe." This likely refers to McClellan's attempts to campaign both on his military reputation as a Union general and on a platform of reconciliation with the South. The donkey carries a sack labeled "Rebel War Debt," filled with notes, and kicks behind him. Behind the donkey is a McClellan's running mate, George H. Pendleton of Ohio, dressed as a circus clown or jester. Pendleton whips the donkey and holds a scroll that reads "Peace! Peace! Anything for Peace!" At far right, in the background, a man standing in a carriage, watching the race through a pair of binoculars, predicts Lincoln's victory in a thick accent. The Library of Congress and other historians identify this man as a stereotype of a Jewish peddler.

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Slow & Steady Wins the Race political cartoon, 1864

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