Uncle Sam Sick With La Grippe 1837
This political satire depicts the effects of the Panic of 1837. The artist places blame for the severe recession on President Andrew Jackson and his successor, Martin Van Buren, who tried to bar the use of paper and limit money to specie (coin) as the only legal tender. Economists today blame the emphasis on specie for the recession.
The scene is an 19th century sickroom. Uncle Sam represents the United States, and wears a liberty cap, a stars-and-stripes dressing gown, and moccasins (all symbols of the United States at the time). As Uncle Sam slumps ill in a chair, his hand holds a piece of paper outlining recent bank failures and their costs.
On the left, President Andrew Jackson blames over-expansion for America's economic problems. To Jackson's right, Senator Thomas Hart Benton (a Jackson ally) promotes "mint drops" (coinage) as the proper cure. To Benton's right, President Martin Van Buren (criticized as a "weak old woman" called "Aunt Matty") blames the over-issuing of paper money for the recession.
An eagle, also representing the United States, sits on the floor and moans that it will starve to death. A broken bust of George Washington, Father of the Country ("Pater Patriae"), indicates the artist's belief that the nation is falling apart.
Seen through the window, Nicholas Biddle, prominent banker and the last president of the Second Bank of the United States, has arrived with the cure ("post notes" and "bonds", e.g., paper money). He is welcomed by Brother Jonathan, another common representation of the United States in the 18th century. Biddle says he will ask "Dr. John Bull" (he will ask banks in the United Kingdom for help).
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Martin Van BurenMartin Van Buren war vom 4. März 1837 bis zum 4. März 1841 der achte Präsident der Vereinigten Staaten und gilt mit Andrew Jackson als Begründer der modernen Demokratischen Partei. .. weiterlesen