Judge — July 12, 1884 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This Judge cartoon satirizes the 1884 presidential election. It depicts two men labeled "JONES" and "INDEPENDENT REPUBLICAN" attempting to "beat Blaine" (James G. Blaine, the Republican candidate). The phrase "over the bloody chasm" references the post-Civil War sectional divide. The cartoon mocks Republican Party fracturing: dissident "Independent Republicans" (called "Mugwumps") are shown conspiring against their own party's nominee. The figures carry banners identifying their factions, suggesting internal party conflict. The satire criticizes these party defectors as willing to cross traditional Civil War divisions to undermine Blaine's candidacy, treating the "bloody chasm" between North and South as negotiable in pursuit of partisan advantage. The text's mock-benedictory tone reinforces the satire.