A complete issue · 16 pages · 1879
Puck — April 16, 1879
# "The New Exodus" - Puck Magazine, April 16, 1879 This cartoon satirizes the "Exodus" of African Americans from the South to Kansas during 1879. The title references the Biblical exodus, comparing the mass migration to slaves fleeing Egypt. The scene shows what appears to be a Black emigration agent (center, with net and materials) recruiting Southern African Americans to relocate northward. The figure labeled "Sambo" sits left, while potential migrants gather right with their belongings. The caption "Now, boss, how you like it yourself?" suggests irony: the agent is using persuasive tactics similar to those slavers once employed, now toward freedom rather than bondage. The cartoon critiques both the desperation driving Black migration and the opportunistic recruitment methods—presenting emigration as exploitative despite its liberatory goal. The satire mocks how methods of coercion persist even in nominally progressive contexts.
# Analysis This page is primarily **text content with no visible political cartoons**. It contains: 1. **Puckerings** (short satirical quips) mocking various targets: The Pope, a "brown dog" (unclear reference), Schneider, and others—typical of Puck's brief commentary style. 2. **"The New Exodus"** (main article)—a substantial piece criticizing post-Civil War Southern labor practices. It argues that freed slaves, despite nominal freedom, remain economically enslaved through exploitative wages and debt systems. The satire compares their condition unfavorably to actual freedom, suggesting the South has merely renamed rather than reformed slavery. 3. **Notices and advertisements** for back issues and subscription information. The page's satirical thrust targets Southern economic oppression of freed Black laborers during Reconstruction, using ironic comparison to mock the hollow nature of their liberation.
# Analysis of Puck Magazine Page 83 This page contains multiple satirical pieces rather than a single cartoon. "Our Thoroughfares" mocks pedestrian congestion and urban disorder in New York City, using a gentleman named Mr. Smith as an everyman figure to critique inadequate city management and working conditions for laborers. "For Doing His Duty" appears to satirize politicians' treatment of Captain Schevenson, who lost a ship. The piece criticizes how politicians and the Aaron Society gave him only a ceremonial reception rather than meaningful support, suggesting hypocrisy in public honors while ignoring practical needs. The "Rhymes of the Day" section contains light verse on matrimonial and clerical topics, typical of Puck's miscellaneous humor format. The overall theme critiques urban governance failures and political opportunism.
