Thomas Nast, Famous 19th Century Political Cartoonist

Thomas Nast is considered the father of modern political cartoons, and his satirical drawings are often credited with bringing down Boss Tweed, the notoriously corrupt leader of the New York City political machine in the 1870s. Besides his scathing political attacks, Nast is also largely responsible for our modern depiction of Santa Claus. And his work lives on today in political symbolism, as he is responsible for creating the symbol of the donkey to represent Democrats and the elephant to represent Republicans. Political cartoons had existed for decades before Nast began his career, but he elevated  political satire into an extremely  powerful and effective art form. And while Nast’s achievements are legendary, he is often criticized today for an intensely bigoted streak, especially in his depictions of Irish immigrants. As drawn by Nast, Irish arrivals to America’s shores were ape-faced characters, and there’s no obscuring the fact that Nast personally harbored a deep resentment toward Irish Catholics. Early Life of Thomas Nast Thomas Nast was born September 27, 1840, in Landau Germany. His father was a musician in a military band with strong political opinions, and he decided the family would be better off living in America. Arriving in New York City at the age of six, Nast first attended German language schools. Nast began to develop artistic skills in his youth  and aspired to be a painter. At the age of 15 he applied for a job as an illustrator at Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, a very popular publication of the time. An editor told him to sketch a crowd scene, thinking the boy would be discouraged. Instead, Nast did such a remarkable job that he was hired. For the next few years he worked for Leslie’s. He traveled to Europe where he drew illustrations of Giuseppe Garibaldi, and returned to America just in time to sketch events around the first inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, in March 1861. Nast and the Civil War In 1862 Nast joined the staff of Harper’s Weekly, another very popular weekly publication. Nast began to portray Civil War scenes with great realism, using his artwork to consistently project a pro-Union attitude. A devoted follower of the Republican Party and President Lincoln, Nast, during some of the darkest times of the war, portrayed scenes of heroism, fortitude, and support for the soldiers on the home front. In one of his illustrations, â€Å"Santa Claus In Camp,† Nast portrayed the character of St. Nicholas dispensing gifts to Union soldiers. His depiction of Santa was very popular, and for years after the war Nast would draw an annual Santa cartoon. Modern illustrations  of Santa are  largely based on how Nast drew him. Nast is often credited with making serious contributions to the Union war effort. According to legend, Lincoln referred to him as an effective recruiter for the Army. And Nast’s attacks on General George McClellan’s attempt to unseat Lincoln in the election of 1864 was no doubt helpful to Lincoln’s reelection campaign. Following the war, Nast turned his pen against President Andrew Johnson and his policies of reconciliation with the South. Nast Attacked Boss Tweed In the years following the war the Tammany Hall political machine in New York City controlled the city government’s finances. And William M. â€Å"Boss† Tweed, leader of â€Å"The Ring,† became a constant target of Nast’s cartoons. Besides lampooning Tweed, Nast also gleefully attacked Tweed allies including the notorious robber barons, Jay Gould and his flamboyant partner Jim Fisk. Nast’s cartoons were astoundingly effective as they reduced Tweed and his cronies to figures of ridicule. And by portraying their misdeeds in cartoon form, Nast made their crimes, which included bribery, larceny, and extortion, understandable to nearly anyone. There is a legendary story that Tweed said he didn’t mind what the newspapers wrote about him, as he knew many of his constituents wouldn’t fully comprehend complicated news stories. But they could all understand the â€Å"damned pictures† showing him stealing bags of money. After Tweed was convicted and escaped from jail, he fled to Spain. The American consul provided a likeness which helped to find and capture him: a cartoon by Nast. Bigotry and Controversy An enduring criticism of Nast’s cartooning was that it perpetuated and spread ugly ethnic stereotypes. Looking at the cartoons today, there is no doubt that depictions of some groups, particularly Irish Americans, are vicious. Nast seemed to have had a deep distrust of the Irish, and he was certainly not alone in believing that Irish immigrants could never fully assimilate into American society. As an immigrant himself, he was obviously not opposed to all new arrivals in America. Later Life of Thomas Nast In the late 1870s Nast seemed to hit his peak as a cartoonist. He had played a role in taking down Boss Tweed. And his cartoons depicting Democrats as donkeys in 1874 and Republicans as elephants in 1877 would became so popular that we still use the symbols today. By 1880 Nast’s artwork was in decline. New editors at Harper’s Weekly sought to control him editorially. And changes in printing technology, as well as increased competition from more newspapers that could print cartoons, presented challenges. In 1892 Nast launched his own magazine, but it was not successful. He faced financial difficulties when he secured, through the intercession of Theodore Roosevelt, a federal post as a consular official in Ecuador. He arrived in the South American country in July 1902, but contracted yellow fever and died on December 7, 1902, at the age of 62. Nast’s artwork has endured, and he considered one of the great American illustrators of the 19th century.

The Between Western Languages And Western Cultures

Literature, and particularly drama, is an important medium in which cultures express their own concepts of time, through the use of different narrative forms, such as myths, history, realistic or naturalistic novels. As Ricoeur maintains, it is evident that no culture can refer back to its own conception of time without having resort to the vital narrative activity which, linguistically, is expressed in an immense variety of stories , i.e. of narrative discourse (18). That is, oral traditions of many cultures could reveal the particular time concepts of each culture. It is true, however, that Western cultures tend to measure other societies against their own concepts of time, which, as Aguessy maintains, are measured solely in terms of industrialization( Ricoeur 19). The West also assumes that most cultures went through the same process of rationalization on the path to modernity. In addition, Western languages are different in the sense that they make no distinction, for example, between God and the demiurge who watches over the material and spiritual universe(Ricoeur 21). It will thus be worthwhile to note how different cultures and religious backgrounds recreate the concept of time in their writings, and how in many instances the colonized and the colonizer have diverse readings of the concept of time. Western and Arab thought have been greatly influenced by values from the Bible and Koran, respectively. The advent of Christianity , for example, hasShow MoreRelatedInfluence Of Western Culture1186 Words   |  5 Pages WESTERN CULTURES SHOULD/SHOULD NOT DOMINATE AND INFLUENCE OTHER CULTURES IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD (Name) (Course) (Date) Globalization is in most cases seen as global Westernization with the Western culture seeking to dominate the world. 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Contagious Disease

Question: Compare and contrast provision against contagious diseases in the nineteenth and twenty first centuries? Answer: Contagious disease Introduction: Contagious disease is described as infections which could be transferred from one person to another by direct contact. Contagious disease are still considered to be the major killing agents in the world and the situation has worsened with tuberculosis, malaria, HIV and now recently Ebola taking a huge toll on mankind. These are more apparent in developing world where the sheer survival in early childhood is again a major challenge to the question of survivability as acute respiratory diseases and diarrhoea accounting for close to six million young lives every year. While individuals falling sick require the medical expertise to survive the odd against these communicable diseases, its the assessment of cause and controlling measures that will help the community to fight against these diseases effectively. Background information of contagious disease Any contagious disease could either be epidemic or endemic. The epidemic forms usually are seasonal and most of the time any new form of contagious diseases are epidemic, whereas endemic forms are generally restricted to any geographical forms. The learning process of disease is a long complicated time consuming method where any new epidemic needs to be understood from its category, vectors involved and incubation period. The disease unless understood from factors cannot be controlled from spreading, and then eradicated properly (Ludwig, 2005).. Epidemiology is concerned with the community science where the common characteristics of a disease is compared with other relative ones and analysed. With every passing day the same bacterias and virus that could be killed or restrained with antibiotics are now getting stronger and stronger by mutating. The same virulent now could survive in multiple hosts and that makes the task even more complicated for mankind to survive in this ever changing scenario. Various factors both natural and artificial have influenced the manner in which these diseases have spread and became potent killers even in modern times. The nutrition pattern, diet, the general hygiene conditions, the health systems and overall medical advances along with perceptions have all contributed to both spreading and restricting into new segments of society. During the colonial period most of the causes of death were basically the infectious diseases and if there was any change in the rate of mortality it was only because The mode of transmission Immunity to disease Other methods were of course treatment of disease Aim of learning about contagious disease The main aim of learning about contagious disease is to prevent transmission and reduce the level of infection. The precautionary measures one has to undertake are flu vaccination, pre departure TB test and followed by re test after 12 weeks. The mode of transmission is another vital bit of information which is essential to reduce and finally stop the spreading of disease. Proper quarantine methods are also essential to eradicate the contagious disease from a geographical area or community. Limitations The spreading and infection depended completely on how these bacterias and virus survived in a particular weather pattern along with how well the spreading is restricted. The low death rates in New England were due to quarantine measures and laws which generally reduced the spread of the disease (Bashford, 2006). The higher death rates in south were mainly due to suitable weather patterns for these microbes to survive apart from no or minimal quarantine measures. Density of population, sanitation, nutritional intake all combine together how good a epidemic could be contained. These increase in infectious diseases affected negatively the children and their nutritional status. The nutritional deficiency resulted in deficit growth and development. Reduction in average weight and height of children Class difference resulted in difference in growth pattern as well Infection and contagious disease also resulted in higher casualty during war The wide spread use of antibiotics have made the medicines ineffective against the new strains of microbes. Humankind have become susceptible to new variants of disease which are either spread through animals, birds, body fluids, apart from the normal route of direct contact. Non availability of drugs, resistance to drugs, new entrants of vectors and wide spread use of medicines have led to a situation of emergency in many countries to fight against super bugs. Thesis statement Contagious disease is here to stay and the mutating microbes could become the greatest risk factor for the survival of the entire human kind. Vaccination historical background The term vaccine is basically a Latin word derivation which means cow prevented a disease. As vacca means cow and as cowpox prevented the spread of small pox (Ludwig, 2005). The vaccine era began in 1774 when Benjamin Jesty showed the immunity to small pox. This person had cowpox and later on inocoluted his wife and sons. Almost 22 years later Edward Jenner published his work and mouse pox virus replaced cowpox in the vacine. It was noticed that the vaccine lost its potency when it went through serial human testing and the virus mutated when it passed from human to another and was no longer immunogenic. Contagious disease summary Measles Category : Measles is caused by the measles virus Vectors : Humans are the natural hosts of the virus; no other animal reservoirs are known to exist. Measles is an endemic disease and many people have developed immunity Statistics : WHO in 2011 estimated that there were about 158,000 deaths caused by measles down from 630000 in 1990 Vaccinition : MMR vaccine is given to children to immunizeagainst measles at 12 months Symptoms : Fever, Dry cough, Runny nose, Sore throat, Inflamed eyes or conjunctivitis, Tiny white spots with bluish-white centers, skin rash Historical background : It was known even during 165 AD and was known as plague of Galen. Responsible for the many deaths in Inca civilization, and in between 1855 and 2005 it is estimated to have killed 200 million people worldwide Influenza Category : It is caused by the influenza virus Vectors : Animals birds human contact. By direct transmission, airbourne transmission, and through hand to hand, hand to nose, hand to mouth and contaminated surfaces Statistics :The disease kills between 2 and 20% of those who are infected. The first influenza virus was isolated in 1901 from poultry. Vaccinition :Influenza vaccin Symptoms :Fever or feeling feverish/chills, Cough, Sore throat, Runny or stuffy nose, Muscle or body aches, Headaches, Fatigue Historical background :The human influenza were present 2400 years ago. The disease was first described in 1703 by J. Hugger of the University of Edinburgh. Tuberculosis Category : Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacteria Vectors : Human, cattle and deer Statistics : Almost one-third of the world's population has been infected with tuberculosis with new infections occurring in about 1% of the population each year. Tuberculosis is the second-most common cause of death from infectious disease after HIV / AIDS Vaccination : BCG Symptoms : Coughing that lasts three or more weeks,Coughing up blood, Chest pain, or pain with breathing or coughing, Unintentional weight loss. Fatigue, Fever, Night sweats, Chills. Historical background : Tuberculosis has been present in humans since ancient times. The first evidence of the disease is found in the remains of bison in Wyoming dated to around 17,000 years ago. Cholera Category : Intestinal bacterial infection Vectors : Human waste, drinking water, food Statistics :The first cholera pandemic occurred in the Bengal region of India starting in 1817 through 1824. The disease has killed tens of millions of people in 19th century Vaccination : Oral vaccination Symptoms :Rapid heart rate, Loss of skin elasticity, dry mucous membranes, low blood pressure, Thirst, Muscle cramps. Historical background :Cholera has originated in India and was prevalent in the Ganges delta since ancient times. Small pox Category : caused by virus Vectors : Transmission occurs mainly by inhalation of airborne variola virus, mostly by droplets from the oral, nasal, or pharyngeal mucosa of an infected person. Statistics : The disease, for which no effective treatment was ever developed, killed as many as 30% of those infected. In the early 1950s an estimated 50 million cases of smallpox occurred in the world each year, a figure which fell toaround 10 15 million by 1967 because of vaccination Vaccination : within three days of exposure and smallpox vaccine is a live virus preparation given to patient using bifurcated needle. Symptoms Historical background : Originated in ancient India at around 1500 BC Comparison of contagious disease in 19th and 21st century Similarities Contagious disease 19th century Contagious disease 21stcentury New strains of virus and bacteria New mutated strains of virus and bacteria Virus and bacteria thrived due to non-availability of vaccines and effective drugs Virus and bacteria thrives due to over use of drugs and antibiotics Virus and bacteria transferred from animals into humans Virus and bacteria can now survive in both human and animal Animals served as reservoir of virus and bacteria Virus and bacteria can now survive in dual host easily Malaria, TB and other contagious disease could not be controlled effectively The malaria, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases remain enormous global problems Casual approach of community against contagious disease Careless attitude of communities encourages contagious disease spreading Difference Contagious disease 19th century Contagious disease 21st century Vaccines and drugs were not effective against most disease Vaccines and drugs are developed to effectively reduce the infection level Research time for any infection detection was more Faster research time and development of drugs Preventive measures against contagious disease were not effective Better enhanced preventive measures against contagious disease Government contribution for research work Private and Government partnering against contagious disease research work Selective cooperation between countries Better and enhanced country to country and research units across the globe Conclusion: Use of vaccine in limited amount of drugs against microbes in controlled manner can control and reduce the threat to humankind. The advent of over usage and uncontrolled use of drugs caused mutations of these microbes and hence has led to a situation where people are more susceptible to disease (Easterlin, 2009). The change in life style, food intake and living conditions have increased the threat level of microbe invasion even more than what it was in early 19th century. The strains are more powerful and immune to drugs. The advent of super bug has now taken the challenge of microbe led war against humankind to a new level. References: 1. Nutbeam, D. (2000). Health literacy as a public health goal: a challenge for contemporary health education and communication strategies into the 21st century.Health promotion international, 15(3), 259-267.2. Olshansky, S. J., Passaro, D. J., Hershow, R. C., Layden, J., Carnes, B. A., Brody, J., ... Ludwig, D. S. (2005). A potential decline in life expectancy in the United States in the 21st century.New England Journal of Medicine,352(11), 1138-1145.3. Tulchinsky, T. H., Varavikova, E. A. (2014).The new public health: an introduction for the 21st century. Academic Press.4. Sclar, E. D., Garau, P., Carolini, G. (2005). The 21st century health challenge of slums and cities.The Lancet, 365(9462), 901-903.5. Bashford, A. (2006).Medicine at the border: disease, globalization and security, 1850 to the present. Palgrave Macmillan.6. Easterlin, R. A. (2009).Growth triumphant: the twenty-first century in historical perspective. University of Michigan Press.7. Barnett, T. P. (2005).The Pe ntagon's new map: War and peace in the twenty-first century. Penguin.8. Arnold, D. (1993).Colonizing the body: State medicine and epidemic disease in nineteenth-century India. Univ of California Press.9. Abraham, T. (2007).Twenty-first century plague: the story of SARS. JHU Press.10. Aginam, O. (2002). International law and communicable diseases.Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 80(12), 946-951.11. Hess, G. R. (1994). Conservation corridors and contagious disease: a cautionary note.Conservation Biology, 8(1), 256-262.12. Fischer, J. R., Stallknecht, D. E., Luttrell, P., Dhondt, A. A., Converse, K. A. (1997). Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis in wild songbirds: the spread of a new contagious disease in a mobile host population.Emerging infectious diseases,3(1), 69.