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Clasp Hands Across the Bloody Chasm |
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| “Let Us Clasp Hands over the Bloody Chasm” |
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Source: Harper’s Weekly |
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Date:
September 21, 1872, p. 732
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Click to see
the previous version of this cartoon |
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Complete HarpWeek Explanation:
One of the most spectacular “clasping hands” cartoons shows Greeley trying to
extend his reach across the grotesque vastness of the Union graves at
Andersonville Prison in a ludicrous effort to connect with the hand of a tiny
hooded figure on the far side. During the final year of the Civil War, 13,000
Union enlisted men perished of starvation or disease at the notorious
Confederate prison. The prison commandant, Henry Wirz, became the only person
executed for his participation in the Confederate war effort. “Let us Clasp
Hands Over the Bloody Chasm” (dated September 21, 1872) appeared in print on
September 11. In a stroke of fortunate timing, which Nast could not have
predicted, Greeley received an invitation on September 15 to visit Cincinnati
(September 19-21), which was hastily extended into a campaign swing through the
Upper South. The speaking tour made Greeley only the third major-party
presidential nominee to take his message directly to the people (Stephen Douglas
in 1860 and Horatio Seymour in 1868 took brief campaign trips).
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Background: 1859 - 1871
