"Young America"

By Brian Todd Smith

Harper’s Weekly published “Young America”on September 1, 1860, during the campaign for the presidential election of 1860, which ultimately resulted in the election of Abraham Lincoln and the secession of South Carolina and other Deep South states from the Union. This was a time of heated debates and even violence between the free states and the slave states states brought upon by opposing views on the institution of slavery. “Young America” shows how some white northerners hoped to ward off the evil advance of secession and disunion.^[1]

In this cartoon, a baby sits on top of a box marked “BALLOT BOX” and in each hand he holds a snake: one labeled with the word “Secession” and on the other with the word “Disunion.” Behind the baby stands Columbia, a representation of the United States, who praises, “Well done, Sonny! Go it while you’re young, for when you’re old you can’t.” The baby and the snakes are likely allusions to the Greek myth in which sends two snakes to kill the infant Hercules. In the myth, Hercules grabs the snakes without much effort and strangles them. By representing America as an infant Hercules, the artist depicted the victory over secession and disunion as obtainable with the power he holds, which is the vote of the people.[1]

This cartoon embodies the views of the optimistic northerner, who believed that the Union would protect itself from the breakaway of the slave states. The artist also believed that, even though seemingly timid in the face of secession, America would prevail unharmed. Unfortunately, this was not the case, and secession could not be halted by a simple vote.

Endnotes

^[1] “Young America Rising at the Ballot-Box and Strangling the Serpents Disunion and Secession,” The Presidential Elections, 1860-1912, accessed February 5, 2015, http://elections.harpweek.com/1860/cartoon-1860-Medium.asp?UniqueID=3&Year=.