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From the exhibition

Matched (?)

Thomas Nast · October 31, 1868

Matched (?)
Nast sets two figures in deliberate contrast under the header MATCHED (?). Left: U.S. Grant, bearded and composed, surveys a defeated Confederate camp at Vicksburg—a fallen C.S. flag at his feet, an American flag cresting the hill behind him. The caption reproduces his unconditional-surrender demand to General Pemberton. Right: Governor Horatio Seymour of New York, the 1868 Democratic presidential nominee, addresses a mob during the 1863 Draft Riots, flames and chaos visible behind him. The flanking slogans— *"Let Us Have Peace"* and *"A Mob Can Revolutionize as Well as a Government"*—frame the Republican argument: Grant offers order and honor; Seymour represents Democratic lawlessness.

Thomas Nast Public domain