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THBDemocratic Workingman, Three Republican Propaganda Political Broadsides
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Cincinnati , OH 45232
United States
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About Auction
LiveNov 17, 2017 - Nov 18, 2017
Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com
View Full Catalog (372)
- Lot Description
Lot of 3 printed broadsides, the first approx. 12 x 19 in. A Challenge! New York: August 25, 1863. Broadside features large emboldened title at top, and full body of text below laying out the words and intentions of southern leaders such as John C. Calhoun of South Carolina and J Quitman Moore of Mississippi, which "prove beyond a doubt that the rebellion is designed to overthrow the rights and liberties of the people." Further allegations in the broadside include that the Southerners wish to replace the Republic with an aristocracy or a monarchy, and that "The traitors intend to prevent foreigners from enjoying the rights of citizenship, and propose to reduce them to the level of serfs and slaves." This last excerpt would have been particularly provocative in New York, as there was a large population of immigrant workers there fearful of job competition and already dwindling wages. Undersigned, "A Democratic Workingman."
The second approx. 11.5 x 19 in. A Great Fraud. New York: The N. Y. Workingmen's Democratic Republican Association, n.d. ca 1863. Broadside features bold title at top, with a body of text denouncing the "great fraud" of pro-slavery southern politicians, listing their unsavory actions one by one. The list includes allegations such as "In the name of Democracy they advocate the interests of traitors who hate freedom, and who believe that Slavery is the true condition of all Labor," and "In the name of Democracy they have stirred up the laboring men and have filled the streets of New York with bloodshed, arson, and riots, and have disgraced us in the eyes of the world." The broadside ends with the entreaty, "Comrades! Think for yourselves!...Stand firmly by the government, and vote only for men who will be true to you and to your children." Undersigned, "A Democratic Workingman."
The third approx. 11.75 x 18.75 in. A Traitor's Peace. New York: October 30, 1863. Broadside features a partial reprint of the conditions of peace reported by the Richmond Enquirer on October 16, 1863. Two of the conditions included are, "Recognition by the enemy of the independence of the Confederate States," and "Withdrawal of Yankee forces from every foot of Confederate ground, including Kentucky and Missouri." Another assertion reprinted from the Enquirer includes the phrase, "So surely shall we make them pay our war debt though we wring it out of their hearts." After the reprinted material is presented, the author entreats to "Workingmen" and "Comrades" once more, demanding, "Vote for the party that stands by the government...let the ballot-box tell the story of your patriotism, and your resolve not to be the 'white slaves' of traitors or their friends." Undersigned, "A Democratic Workingman." A faction of northern Democrats, known as the Copperheads, opposed the Civil War and sought to make peace with the Confederate South. They drew considerable criticism, with many viewing them as "snakes," hence the nickname. This pro-government appeal was probably written in direct response to the very vocal Copperheads in the north.
The working classes of heavily-immigrant New York City had been lukewarm to the war from the start, owing to the fact that a majority of the South's exports passed through the ports and markets of the city and therefore provided many immigrant jobs. The Emancipation Proclamation of January 1863 strengthened immigrant opposition to the war as many foresaw free blacks migrating to the city in droves to compete for already low-paying jobs. The Conscription Act of 1863 was the final straw, and local Democrats and Southern sympathizers seized on the opportunity to foment rebellion against blacks, Republican supporters and newspaper offices, and eventually federal troops, resulting in the New York City draft riots, which were likened to a Confederate victory. Printer Samuel Tousey put his presses to work immediately in order to quell the hysteria, and to remind people that their true enemy was the South and its traitors.
Although signed "A Democratic Workingman," Tousey was in fact a committed Republican. His New York Times obituary of 1887 states that "he joined the Republican Party at its organization, and throughout the war was on terms of intimacy with many of its leaders," and says of his appeals, that "a most wholesome effect was produced."
Provenance: Property of N. Flayderman & Co.
First broadside has one spot of separation at center crease on left side. Second broadside has a few small tears at edges. Third broadside has some discoloration and is mounted on linen.Condition
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