The Wasp — 1889 — page 41: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon depicts **Columbia** (personified America, left) confronting a female figure on the right, with a tower of stacked boxes between them. The boxes display names of various historical figures—**Russell**, **Pilster**, **Cutting**, **Bush**, **Levy**, **Donnell**, and others—suggesting these are candidates or political figures involved in disputed election recounts. The caption reads: "COLUMBIA: My daughter, I am ashamed of you," implying the figure represents election integrity or the electoral process itself, now "ashamed" by the proliferation of recounts. The cartoon satirizes what appears to be a contentious election period where multiple recount disputes created chaos and scandal. The stacked boxes suggest an overwhelming accumulation of contested results, mocking the epidemic of electoral disputes plaguing American politics.