Judge — December 1, 1888 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a political cartoon satirizing the "Mugwumps"—Republicans who bolted their party to support Democrat Grover Cleveland in the 1884 presidential election. The cartoon depicts their political demise as a funeral, with various figures mourning or attending. The satire mocks these independent-minded Republicans, treating their loss of party standing as a death worthy of mourning during Thanksgiving celebrations. The "innocent little Mugwump" reference is ironic—suggesting these politicians deserve sympathy for their political self-destruction by abandoning Republican loyalty. The cartoon reflects the fierce partisan anger Mugwumps faced from regular Republicans who viewed them as traitors. Judge magazine, a Republican-leaning publication, clearly endorsed this hostile perspective toward party defectors.