An Heir to the Throne, Or the Next Republican Candidate 1860

This lithograph was made in the United States by Louis Maurer, likely during the 1860 presidential campaign. It uses caricature to convey political ideas about race, slavery, and the future of the Republican party. Here we see Abraham Lincoln endorsing a Black man as a presidential candidate with the backing of P.T. Barnum. The image satirizes Lincoln's evolving stance on racial equality and the fears of some white Americans about Black enfranchisement. By associating the Republican party with abolitionism and racial equality, the print critiques the party’s progressive policies. It plays into the racist anxieties of the time, suggesting that Lincoln’s policies would lead to Black people holding positions of power. Understanding this image requires research into the social and political context of the Civil War era, examining sources such as political speeches, newspaper articles, and other visual propaganda. The meaning of art is always contingent on the social conditions in which it's made and viewed.