Judge — July 12, 1884 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical cartoon depicting the "Ghost of Boss Tweed," the infamous Tammany Hall Democratic boss who died in 1878. The cartoon shows a well-dressed Republican figure (right, in top hat) shaking hands with Tweed's ghost, while Democratic figures in the background protest with signs reading "The Old Democracy" and "The Same To Yesterday & Forever." The satire suggests Republicans are hypocritically allying with corrupt Democratic machine politics—specifically invoking Tweed's notorious legacy of graft and patronage—to gain political advantage. The joke critiques Republican claims of moral superiority while they pragmatically embrace the very corruption they ostensibly opposed. Scattered newspapers and political materials at the bottom emphasize the scandal's prominence in contemporary discourse.