Puck — November 7, 1877 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Political Satire: Hayes and the "Pennsylvanian Blister" This November 1877 *Puck* cartoon mocks President Rutherford B. Hayes as "the modern Sir Walter Raleigh." The central figure, Hayes, wears an elaborate cloak labeled "Commission of John Welsh—A Pennsylvanian Blister," which he offers to Queen Elizabeth Evans (a female figure, likely representing something Hayes is trying to conciliate). The satire targets Hayes's appointment of John Welsh as a Pennsylvania commissioner following broken political promises. By comparing Hayes to Raleigh (who allegedly laid his cloak for Queen Elizabeth), the cartoon suggests Hayes is making grand, hollow gestures to cover up political failures—offering pageantry instead of substance to smooth over broken commitments ("mud-puddle of broken promises").