In Memoriam—Our Civil Service As It Was

Nast frames the spoils system as a monument deserving a funeral. A mock equestrian statue shows Andrew Jackson astride a pig—replacing the heroic horse of Clark Mills's famous Lafayette Square bronze—waving his hat in triumph. The pig tramples skulls alongside words carved into its base: Fraud, Bribery, Spoils, Plunder. The pedestal inscription drives the attack home: "To the Victors Belong the Spoils. —A. Jackson." The caption below reads In Memoriam—Our Civil Service As It Was, framing the image as an obituary for a corrupt era. Published weeks into the Hayes administration, the cartoon argues that Jackson's patronage legacy had rotted the federal civil service—and that reform, not partisan reward, must replace it.