Title | Senate Screeching. |
Artist/Maker | Unidentified |
Date | 1890-09-06 |
Medium | Lithograph, colored |
Dimensions | h. 9.375 x w. 8.375 in. (h. 23.8125 x w. 21.2725 cm) |
Credit Line | U.S. Senate Collection |
Accession Number | 38.00848.001 |
Judge first appeared in 1881, after cartoonist James A. Wales fell out with Joseph Keppler at Puck. In 1885 Wales sold Judge to William J. Arkell, who used his wealth to lure away several of Pucks cartoonists, including F. Victor Gillam (ca. 1860-1920), who signed himself "F. Victor" or "Victor" to distinguish himself from his older brother Bernhard Gillam.
Cartoonists often used birds and animals to represent their human targets. In "Senate Screeching," which appeared on September 6, 1890, Uncle Sam covers his ears and demands silence as senatorial parrots from both parties screech. The cartoon represented a Senate filibuster over the "Force bill." In June 1890 the House passed a bill requiring federal supervision of elections in the Southern states to ensure that African Americans could vote. States-rights advocates filibustered against it in the Senate, and the Force bill was never enacted.