Judge — July 5, 1884 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Republican Pharisees" — The Judge, July 5, 1884 This cartoon satirizes Republican hypocrisy during the 1884 presidential election. The title references Biblical Pharisees—hypocrites who publicly performed virtue while lacking moral substance. The three figures in robes appear to represent Republican leaders or party members engaged in self-righteous posturing, with the caption "Thank God we are not like other men" (a direct Biblical quote from Luke 18:11, spoken by a boastful Pharisee). The satire suggests Republicans were publicly proclaiming moral superiority while, in the Judge's view, behaving hypocritically. This likely critiques Republican attacks on Democratic candidate James Blaine regarding personal scandals, while ignoring similar failings within their own party. The cartoon uses religious imagery to expose perceived moral pretense as the central political weapon of the moment.