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(42,759 posts)Sneederbunk
(14,300 posts)appalachiablue
(41,171 posts)helped popularize the modern image of Santa Claus. Nast's Civil War period images of jolly old St. Nick in 'Harper's Weekly' served as propaganda for the Union and his other well known portrayals were made into the 1880s. He also gave us the donkey for democrats and the elephant for republicans.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/civil-war-cartoonist-created-modern-image-santa-claus-union-propaganda-180971074/
Union soldiers at Christmastime, Thomas Nast's first drawing of Santa Claus for Harper's Weekly, Jan. 1863.
'Merry Old Santa Claus' by Thomas Nast's most popular Christmas image, 1881.
LuvNewcastle
(16,856 posts)The Santa in the Nast drawing looks like a wizard with the stars all over his coat and his pointy hat. Of course, when you look closer you see that he has striped pants, so Santa was actually wearing an American flag. Interesting way to convey that Santa supported the U.S. war effort.
CozyMystery
(652 posts)I never noticed that toy, and I've seen that picture several times, until I read the article.
"Lest any reader question Santas allegiance in the Civil War, he wears a jacket patterned with stars and pants colored in stripes. In his hands, he holds a puppet toy with a rope around its neck, its features like those of Confederate president Jefferson Davis."
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/civil-war-cartoonist-created-modern-image-santa-claus-union-propaganda-180971074/
LuvNewcastle
(16,856 posts)That's the perfect thing to give your kids, if they're Pugsly and Wednesday.
3Hotdogs
(12,406 posts)News editors were writing about the corruption of Tammany. Boss Tweed didn't care. His followers couldn't read or didn't care to buy the papers. Nast's cartoons were something else. People understood the image of Tweed taking money from orphans and widows. Nast was offered money to stop and threatened.
One time, Nast's wife opened the front door and found a dead rat hanging from the front porch. That was beyond Tweed's conscience. He told he "aide" not to bother Nast's family. Samuel J.Tilden (Also an interesting character) prosecuted Tweed.
Tweed escaped jail and prison on two occasions. On one of those escapes, Tweed made his way to Barcelona where an American tourist recognized Tweed from Nast's cartoons. Tweed was arrested on request of the U.S. ambassador to Spain. Tweed was returned to the U.S. He died in a U.S. jail.