Time Works Wonders

1868

Campaign for Ulysses S. Grant

Plays an important role in the 1868 presidential campaign, ridiculing the loser Horatio Seymour; Ulysses S. Grant attributes his victory to “the sword of Sheridan and the pencil of Thomas Nast.”

26 June 1869

Switches to drawing in pencil on the wood block

Starting with a cartoon of June 26, 1869, he draws in pencil directly onto the wood block so that the engraver follows his linework, giving rise to the bold cross-hatching of his mature style; earlier he used brush and ink wash. The change was influenced by the English illustrator John Tenniel; after 1870 his compositions grow simpler, built around a strong central image.

1870–1871

Campaign against the Tweed Ring

Nast, whose cartoons attacking Tammany corruption had appeared occasionally since 1867, focuses on the four principal players of Boss Tweed’s Ring in 1870 and especially in 1871; the Ring had defrauded the city of many millions of dollars. Harper’s Weekly reaches almost 300,000 copies at the height of the campaign, and with passalong readership Nast’s audience reaches 500,000 to more than a million viewers.

1870–1871

Tweed tries to bribe Nast

Tweed, fearing the campaign, sends an emissary to offer a $100,000 bribe, presented as a gift from wealthy benefactors so that Nast could study art in Europe. Feigning interest, Nast negotiates for more, then refuses an offer of $500,000, saying he has made up his mind to put some of those fellows behind bars.

7 November 1871

The Tweed Ring falls at the polls

In the election Tammany Hall loses its majority in both houses of the New York State legislature, and the Ring’s power dissolves. Tweed is arrested in 1873 and convicted of fraud, while the other main Ring members mostly escape punishment.

1872

Moves to Morristown, New Jersey

He and his wife move to Morristown, New Jersey, where they raise a family that eventually numbers five children.