Thomas Nast

Thomas Nast, born in 1840 in Germany and raised in New York City, became one of the most influential political cartoonists in American history. By the time he was a teenager, he was illustrating for major publications, and by the Civil War, his images in Harper’s Weekly helped shape Northern support for the Union cause and abolition. Nast understood the power of pictures to stir emotion and drive political action. His cartoons didn’t just reflect the times, they helped shape them.

Nast’s pen became a weapon against corruption, most famously targeting William 'Boss' Tweed and the Tammany Hall political machine in New York. At a time when many Americans were illiterate, Nast’s sharp, satirical illustrations did what editorials couldn’t: they made corruption visible. His relentless visual assault helped fuel Tweed’s downfall, proving that art—especially when seen by millions—could hold the powerful accountable.

As the so-called 'Father of the American Cartoon,' Nast created symbols still etched in the national imagination. He popularized the Democratic donkey, the Republican elephant, and the modern image of Santa Claus. But like many historical figures, Nast was complex. While his work advanced anti-slavery causes and democratic accountability, he also produced caricatures that reinforced anti-Irish and anti-Catholic stereotypes, reflecting the nativist biases of his time.

During his 25-year career at Harper’s Weekly, Nast published over 2,000 illustrations and transformed the role of media in public life. His double-page spreads, packed with allegory and razor-sharp detail, reached hundreds of thousands of readers, effectively creating a national visual vocabulary. In an age before television or the internet, Thomas Nast proved that a single image, well-drawn and widely seen, could change the course of history.