Puck — June 1877 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Ex-President Abroad" This June 1877 *Puck* cartoon satirizes an unnamed former U.S. president traveling in Europe. The caption "We wish him morning glory" appears to be a bitter send-off. Three caricatured figures in a European street scene gesture dismissively at a departing political figure, suggesting ridicule or mockery of his exile. The timing (1877) and "ex-president" reference likely indicate Andrew Johnson, whose presidency ended in 1869 and who did travel abroad during this period. The cartoon reflects contemporary political hostility—Johnson remained a controversial Reconstruction-era figure. The satire mocks his departure as if removing him from American politics was cause for celebration, embodying the era's deep post-Civil War political divisions.