BIO: One of the most prolific and influential anti-Irish nativists of the 1860s and 1870s was Thomas NAST. Born in Germany in 1840, he immigrated to America and became a well-known illustrator and political cartoonist for such publications as "Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper" and "Harper's Weekly." He created the symbols of the Democratic ("donkey") and the Republican ("elephant") parties, as well as the modern image of Santa Claus. He also gained national fame for his harsh and derogatory cartoons of the Irish. Nast was already famous when he began attacking Tammany Hall and Boss William TWEED in NYC from 1869 to 1872. The notoriously corrupt Tammany Hall was a symbol of rising Irish political influence and power in the city. Nast's anti-Tweed cartoons played a major role in bringing down Boss Tweed in a corruption scandal that erupted in 1871. Nast was particularly concerned about the rising influence of the Catholic Church in politics and the public schools, and many of his cartoons were explicitly anti-Catholic.

Thank you for sharing this info on Thomas Nast. When I was a young girl my father gave me a box of old Harper's Weekly from this time frame. What an education I got flipping through page after page of anti-Irish propaganda. While there is no denying Nast's talents as an Artist his political views were shocking even by today's standards. So if you ever have an opportunity to see reprints of his work take the time to look at them. Margaret