The Same Ultramontane Cat All Over The World

The caption reads "The Same Ultramontane Cat All Over The World." At center, a tall, stern William Gladstone opens a sack labeled GREAT BRITAIN, releasing a black cat — the "Roman political church" — onto the steps. To his left, uniformed figures representing Germany and Italy hold their own now-empty bags, having already let the same cat loose. At right, Uncle Sam slips away clutching a full U.S. bag, suggesting America has yet to release — or is resisting — the same papal influence. A placard near the cat reads "Apostolic Infallible." A second label near Sam references the Vatican Council. Nast's argument: ultramontanism — the doctrine of supreme papal political authority affirmed at Vatican I in 1870 — is a single transnational threat wearing different national disguises. The cartoon reflects widespread Protestant and liberal anxiety about Catholic Church interference in secular government, a sentiment Nast wielded repeatedly and with little subtlety throughout the 1870s.