Secession

An Anxious Mamma and a Fractious Child

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Title: An Anxious Mamma and a Fractious Child

Year: 1861

Creator: Phunny Phellow, New York

Description: The Infant Southern Republic in the center portrayed as a child with his toys (a fort, gun and ship): “Boo hoo-hoo! I want Fort Sumter.”

Mrs. Buchanan on the left as she reaches for “Fort Sumter” on the fireplace mantle: “Now, Baby, you can’t have it. You’ve got two or three forts and a number of ships and arsenals already; and you won’t be allowed to keep even them, for here comes Honest Old Abe to take them all away from you!”

To the right, Abraham Lincoln enters through a door, carrying a stick. He has a firm and determined expression. On the wall, are drawings of George Washington and Bunker Hill as well as a map of the country. On the floor are some toy soldiers. The cartoonists seem to suggest that a firm parent can bring the difficult child under control with appropriate corporal punishment.