Fig. 4. This cartoon satirizes the 1838 New York City mayoral election. The artist Clay again favors the Whig candidate, and particularly mocks the radical Democrat, or “Loco-Foco” (named after the recently invented quick-lighting match) candidate, whose weak horsemanship cannot match (and is intertwined with) his fiery radicalism. In desperation, he asks for the “ghost of Sam Purdy,” the famous jockey who subsequently won election as a New York City ward alderman. Notice, too, the gambling and racial slurs among the white men in the background. “The Three Mares (Mayors), New York Course, Spring Races, 1838.” Engraved by Edward Williams Clay (signed “Shanks” short for pseudonym “Sheepshanks,” a name used by Clay), published by H. R. Robinson, New York, 1838. Courtesy of the Political Cartoon Collection, American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts. Click on image to enlarge in new window.
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