The Wasp — February 21, 1880 — page 2: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Mill Among the Mill-Hands" This satirical cartoon from *The Wasp* (February 21, 1880) uses a locomotive labeled "Machinery Constitution" as its central metaphor. The engine, operated by what appears to be industrial or political forces, is depicted grinding up workers—depicted as small human figures being caught in or crushed by the mechanical process. The title "The Mill Among the Mill-Hands" suggests criticism of how industrial machinery (literal or metaphorical) grinds up the laborers who operate it. This reflects 1880s anxieties about industrialization, worker safety, and whether constitutional protections favored capital over labor. The figures appear distressed, emphasizing the cartoon's message about the human cost of industrial progress and mechanization.