A complete issue · 16 pages · 1877
Puck — July 25, 1877
# Analysis of Puck Magazine, July 25, 1877 **Main Cartoon: "Digging Their Own Graves"** This political satire depicts a skeletal figure labeled "The Belliger[ent] Striker" wielding a scythe in a cemetery. The caption suggests labor strikers are self-destructively harming themselves through their actions. The cartoon references the **1877 railroad strikes**—violent labor unrest that swept across America that summer. The imagery equates strikers with death and destruction, portraying the labor movement as ultimately fatal to strikers themselves rather than to their employers. The skeleton's appearance and graveyard setting convey that Puck's editors viewed strikes as doomed, self-defeating endeavors. This reflects the magazine's apparent anti-labor position during this pivotal moment in American labor history.
# Analysis of Puck Magazine Page 2 This page contains satirical commentary rather than visual cartoons. Key content includes: **"The Political Pull-Back"** criticizes President Hayes's administration for perceived governmental weakness. The piece mocks Hayes and his cabinet for failing to act decisively, suggesting rival factions (David Dudley Field and Charles A. Dana) have more influence than the president himself. **"An Arithmetical Problem"** presents a humorous reader question about a canal mule's value—a satirical commentary on mercantile absurdity and perhaps railroad labor disputes. **"Puck's Personal Intelligence"** offers gossipy notes about Boston journalists and political figures, including references to elections and publications like the *Skowhegan Palladium*. The page emphasizes Puck's satirical mission: mocking governmental ineffectiveness, corporate interests, and journalistic pretension during the Gilded Age.
# Analysis of Puck Page 3 This page contains an unpublished editorial attacking President Rutherford B. Hayes as both "a fraudulent president" and "a murderer." The piece references Hayes's contested 1876 election victory and accuses him of complicity in the death of John H. Key during the Richmond Supremacy riots. The editorial argues Hayes fraudulently assumed the presidency and, through political malfeasance, bears responsibility for Key's murder. It condemns Hayes's failure to prevent violence and suggests his administration enabled or tolerated political violence. The "Answers for the Anxious" advice column below addresses unrelated reader queries about various personal matters. This represents harsh partisan political criticism typical of Puck's satirical approach to Republican leadership during Reconstruction-era politics.
