Thomas Nast, the famous 19th-century political cartoonist gave us Uncle Sam, the Republican elephant and Democratic donkey, and some of our most beloved images of Santa Claus. His modern-day counterparts still mimic his illustrations of the corrupt Boss Tweed of the 1870s to illustrate present-day corrupt officials.
More than 100 years later, his images still inform how we understand our history and culture. It’s no surprise that Nast, who lived in Morristown for about 20 years, has been nominated for the New Jersey Hall of Fame. But there’s a problem: Nast was deeply bigoted toward the Irish and the Catholic Church. Browse through the archive of images at Harper’s Weekly, where he was published at the height of his fame, and you’ll see deeply offensive images of Irish men as drunken apes and Catholic cardinals as alligators invading American shores.
Sean Pender, president of the New Jersey Ancient Order of Hibernians, wants Nast barred from this or any year’s nomination list. “He does not represent the best of what is in New Jersey,” Pender said. A lot of stereotypes about the Irish that persist originated with Nast’s nasty images, he said.
All true. But it’s impossible to separate historic figures from their eras. We wouldn’t honor Thomas Jefferson or any of the slave-holding Founding Fathers if we viewed them solely through the 21st-century understanding of human rights. We’ve no doubt honored men who opposed women’s rights to vote and work outside the home.
So let Nast take his place in the hall. He reflects American history in all its complexity, and reminds us of how far we’ve come.