Judge — May 13, 1899 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This 1890 political cartoon depicts a large coffin labeled "DEMOCRACY" with a caricatured face (likely representing an older democratic figure or institution) being attacked by demonic or monstrous figures on either side. The coffin appears to be collapsing or being destroyed. The satire critiques what the cartoonist saw as threats to American democracy during this Gilded Age period. The demonic attackers likely represent corrupting forces—possibly monopolies, political corruption, or radical movements that Judge magazine (a Republican-leaning publication) viewed as dangerous to traditional democratic institutions. The dramatic, dark imagery emphasizes the perceived existential threat to democracy itself, a common theme in late-19th-century American political commentary about industrialization, immigration, and political reform movements.