Senator Charles Sumner thrusts his head into a roaring lion's jaws while clutching papers labeled "U.S. Sold to France Arms" and what appears to be a resignation document. Tucked in his coat pocket is a folder marked "Alabama Claims"—the American grievance against Britain for outfitting Confederate raiders during the Civil War. Behind him, Carl Schurz watches with visible alarm. Nast's argument is pointed: Sumner, crusading against Britain's neutrality violations, is simultaneously ignoring America's own breach of neutrality in selling arms to France during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. The hypocrisy puts him, lion-tamer-style, in genuine danger.
About this artifact
- Creator
- Thomas Nast
- Date
- Harper's Weekly, March 9, 1872
- Rights
- Public domain — free to view, share, and reuse.
- Restoration
- Digitally restored and hosted by ComicBooks.com.
Part of our mission to preserve and restore the public-domain heritage of the medium.