| This
collection of more than 400 Lincoln-related cartoons is derived
from HarpWeek’s Lincoln and the Civil War.com database of
49 Civil War era periodicals. The cartoons have been scanned at
high resolution and come from 21 illustrated journals that
varied in type and allegiance. They include the three prominent
American weeklies of the period—Frank Leslie’s Illustrated
Newspaper, Harper’s Weekly, and New York
Illustrated News; campaign newspapers such as The Rail
Splitter, Campaign Plain Dealer, and Strong’s
Campaign Pictorial; satirical publications such as The
Comic Monthly, The Phunny Phellow, and Vanity Fair;
and pro-Confederate journals published in the American South—Southern
Illustrated News and Southern Punch—and in Britain—Fun
and Punch. The vast majority of the cartoons include
images of Lincoln, but a few only reference him textually. In
all, Abraham Lincoln Cartoons.com spans the period from
his presidential campaign in 1860 through the major events of
the Civil War to his assassination in 1865.
The index consists of main and
sub-entries, with the main entries organized into six
categories:
People:
important individuals who appear in the cartoons (e.g., William
Henry Seward).
Symbols:
nations, groups of people (e.g., Black Americans), or concepts
(e.g., peace) represented by human or mythological figures,
animals, or objects.
Geographic Places:
nations, states, regions, cities, neighborhoods, or streets of
importance (e.g., Wall Street) referenced in the cartoons; the
main entries are often further refined by topical descriptors
(e.g., “Chicago, government and politics”).
Topics:
a wide range of subjects that comprise the central and
supporting features of the cartoons; essentially, anything that
is not an individual person, symbol, or geographic place. The
following list gives an idea of the diverse types of cartoon
topics that have been indexed, with main entry examples of each:
Events
Land battles and skirmishes,
Civil War
New York City, riots and civil
disturbances
Parades and processions, United
States
Presidential campaign and
election, 1860
Thanksgiving Day
Business and the economy
Civil War, Union, public finances
Dry goods business and stores
Greenbacks and paper currency
Types of people
Freedmen (emancipated slaves)
Husbands
Irish immigrants and
Irish-Americans
Physicians and the medical
profession
Buildings and venues
White House
Congress
Barrooms, grogshops, saloons, and
taverns
Activities, behaviors, and
conditions
Diseases, illnesses, and medical
conditions
Fighting and brawling
Morality and ethics
Stagecoach travel, United States
Concepts
Higher Law
Memory and remembrance, Civil War
States rights
Expressions
Lectures, orations, and speeches
Mottoes, banners, slogans, and
epigraphs
Slang
Publishing and the arts
Literary references, Shakespeare
New York Herald
Songs
Verse illustrated
Organizations
Democratic Party, national
Sanitary Commission, United
States
Relationships
Government and politics,
comparison-contrast
United States and Britain,
foreign affairs
Animals
Cattle
Dogs
Natural phenomena
Earthquakes
Snow and snowstorms
Objects
Cabs and carriages, horse-drawn
Clothing and fashion, men's
Explosives
Musical instruments
Publications:
all index entries organized by the journal title in which they
appeared (e.g., Vanity Fair).
Artists:
each identified cartoonist (e.g., Frank Bellew) is a main entry,
with sub-entries of cartoon titles and subjects (since
illustrators and cartoonists often worked for more than one
publication, this category offers a way to view the scope of
their work).
Biographies:
In order for viewers to know about the people depicted in the
cartoons, the index also provides links to biographical sketches
created by HarpWeek of more than 60 public figures of
importance.
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