The Nation's Ward

Grant Hamilton's full-page Judge plate depicts federal Indian policy through contrasting imagery. At center, a massive snake—its coils labeled "Apache Atrocities"—crushes a white pioneer family against a dead tree posted "Uncle Sam's Pet / Hands Off." Uncle Sam himself stands at right, cheerfully spooning "Government Gruel" into the serpent's mouth. Background left shows a homestead burning; background right, government-built schools fly the American flag. Books on the ground reference Indian affairs legislation. Hamilton's argument is explicitly Republican: federal spending on reservations (opposed by reform Democrats) is depicted as rewarding violence against settlers while westward expansion continues. The title's irony anchors the cartoon's central claim.