THOMAS NAST

CHILDHOOD

• Thomas Nast was born in Landau, Germany
• His father left Germany and enlisted in the French Navy.
• In 1846 they moved to New York
• Thomas was given crayons by a neighbor developing a passion for drawing

BEGINNING OF CAREER

• Attended Academy of design
• At 15 he showed his drawings to publisher, Frank Leslie
• He drew for Leslie's illustrated newspaper
• In 1859 he left Leslie's and went to the newly established, New York Illustrated

LIFE BEYOND DRAWING

• Enjoyed traveling and especially loved, England and Italy
• Married Sarah Edwards in 1861
• Had five children: Julie, Thomas Jr., Edith, Mabel, and Cyril

NEW YORK TO HARPERS WEEKLY

• Began drawing political campaigns
• He sent his cartoons to many other publication, including Harpers Weekly
• By 1862 he was working full time at Harpers Weekly

CIVIL WAR

• Thomas was assigned to draw battles of the Civil War
• He was pro union and was opposed to slavery
• Being illiterate he had to express his beliefs through art
• Harpers Weekly published Nast's "Compromise with the South"
• This is a drawing of a union soldier shaking the hand of a confederate

TAMMANY TIGER

• After the war he began illustrating books
• Tweed was a democratic official involved in a ring of crimes
• Nast did not approve of Tweed and his ring
• Nast used his forum to inform readers of Tweed's crimes
• He invented the "Tammany Tiger" representing Tweed

TWEED vs. NAST

• Tweed tried to buy out Nast with $500,000
• But Nast refused and Tweed went to Harpers Weekly
• Tweed tried to get Nast fired but he failed
• In 1871 Tweed and his ring were voted out of office
• Tweed was sued, sent to prison and died there in 1878

NAST'S DECLINE

• Times changed but Nast stayed the same
• A factor in his decline was the change in American society
• Readers wanted advice on fashion, family matters etc.
• This was expensive and Nast slowly declined

NAST'S MARK ON AMERICA

• Drew the first Santa Claus, now the model for his famous figure
• Used a donkey to rep the Democrats, and an elephant to rep the republicans
• Developed John Chinaman

END OF NAST

• Nast was bankrupt and was left with nothing
• His friend Theodore Rossevelt, U.S. President offered him a job
• Nast became Consul General in Ecuador
• Unfortunately he died of yellow fever six months after leaving the U.S.
• Nast would forever remain an icon

KEYS ITEMS TO KNOW

• "Father of the American Cartoon"
• Created the modern image of Santa Claus
• Was illiterate but used that to his advantage through drawing
• Ran Boss Tweed into prison

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Thomas Nast." Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936. Biography in Context. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
• Thomas Nast." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Biography in Context. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
• Nast, Thomas." Gilded Age and Progressive Era Reference Library. Ed. Lawrence W. Baker and Rebecca Valentine. Vol. 2: Biographies. Detroit: UXL, 2007. 141-149. U.S. History in Context. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
• "Thomas Nast." American Civil War Reference Library. Kevin Hillstrom and Laurie Collier Hillstrom. Ed. Lawrence W. Baker. Vol. 2: Biographies. Detroit: UXL, 2000. 333-338. U.S. History in Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.