<Go back to the Topics Index results>


ALL THE WEST GOING FOR MATTY.
   
Complete Explanation:
A Whig cartoon spoofing Democratic claims of Western support for Van Buren during the election of 1840. Pursued by animals from the "Alleghany Mountains" and the Mississippi River, including among others a buffalo, alligator, beaver, turtle, and fox, Van Buren flees to the right saying, "This is going for me with a vengeance! I wish I was safe at Kinderhook! [his birthplace and family home was Kinderhook, New York] for I am a used up man!"

A parchment "Sub-Treasury Bill" has fallen at his feet, referring to the independent treasury plan, the centerpiece of Van Buren's fiscal program.


Website design © 2010 HarpWeek, LLC
All Content © 1998-2010 HarpWeek, LLC
Please submit questions to webmaster@harpweek.com