To Our Starving Poor, If You Want Relief Go to Ireland political cartoon, 1880
Permanent ID:
12155Language:
EnglishDate:
February 25 1880Image Description:
In the political cartoon, a group of poor Irish men, women, and children wearing ragged clothing sit on a dock. They are drawn in a manner reflecting the racial and ethnic stereotypes and prejudices of the era. The group watches as two boats carrying aid and relief funds set sail for Ireland. The first boat is labeled "Parnell Relief Fund" and "Agitator." It is filled with packages with cent signs written across them. The larger boat is labeled "Herald Relief Fund" and "J.G Bennett." The packages on the boat have dollar signs written across them. In the distance there is a rainy island labeled "Ireland."The cartoon implies that any money sent to Ireland would be better spent helping the poor in America. It also suggests that the Parnell Relief Fund was being used to aid Irish "agitation." Charles Stewart Parnell was the president of the Irish National Land League, an organization which aimed to help poor Irish tenant farmers gain ownership of the land they worked. Most Irish farmland was owned by wealthy Englishmen, and so the League raised funds to help the tenants who had been evicted by their landowners in retaliation for refusing to pay rent and for fighting against the oppressive system. Editor of the New York Herald James Gordan Bennett also sought to help the Irish tenant farmers, and used his influence to raise over $200,000 in food and clothing.
Format:
Political cartoons; Chromolithographs; ClippingsDimensions:
Width: 32.5 cm, Height: 24.5 cm (image)Publisher:
Collection:
Balch Broadsides: Satirical CartoonsRelated People or Organizations:
James Albert Wales, 1852-1886 (artist)Biunno, Diane (Transcribed by)
Biunno, Diane (Encoded by)
Mayer, Merkel & Ottmann (lithographer)
Historical Society of Pennsylvania (repository)
Bennett, James Gordon, 1841-1918 (depicted)
Parnell, Charles Stewart, 1846-1891 (mentioned)
Keppler & Schwarzmann (publisher)