An optimistic view of the presidential prospects of Martin Van Buren, nominated at the Free Soil Party's August 1848 convention in Buffalo, New York. Here Van Buren rides a buffalo and thumbs his nose as he sends Democratic candidate Lewis Cass (left) and Whig Zachary Taylor flying. Both are about to land in Salt River.
Van Buren says defiantly, "Clear the track! or I'll Ram you both!"
Cass, whose "Wilmot Proviso" hat has already landed in the river, exclaims, "Confound this Wilmot Proviso, I'm afraid it will lead to something bad." (On the Wilmot Proviso see "Whig Harmony," no. 1848-21.) Cass's opposition to the proviso put him at odds with a large number of Democrats.
Taylor speculates, "If I had stood on the Whig platform firmly, this would not have happened." He cites his reluctance to decisively embrace the regular Whig party doctrines. His cap flies in the air, spilling a packet of "Dead Letters." (On the "dead letter" matter see "The Candidate of Many Parties," no. 1848-24.)
