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Thomas Jefferson (the Devil) and Thomas Paine Working To Undo The Pillar of Federalism

Fascinating Federalist cartoon, showing Thomas Paine as Mad Tom, working to destroy the pillar of American government, assisted by then President Thomas Jefferson, who is caricutured as the devil.

Paine and Jefferson are shown tearing down the pillar of the Federal Government (surmounted by a screaming eagle), with the names of George Washington and John Adams inscribed on the Pillar.  The Jefferson-Paine relationship was topic of significant public interest in the second half of 1801, on the eve of Paine's return to America, with Jefferson as his sponsor.

Thomas Paine can be identified by his "Letters to the Citizens" in his pocket, a reference to his  Letters to the Citizens of the United States, and particularly to the leaders of the Federal Faction. The "3rd Part" is a likely reference to The Age of Reason. Paine, a notoriously heavy drinker, is shown with a Brandy bottle at his feet.

The Devil (Thomas Jefferson) tells Paine, "Pull away pull away my son don’t fear! I’ll give you all my assistance."

Paine repies: "I fear it is stronger rooted than I expected but with the assistance of my old friend and a little more brandy I will bring it down." 

The Jefferson-Paine political cartoon was almost certainly done in the second half of 1801, following Jefferson's invitation to Paine to return to America after Paine's 15 year hiatus in France.  Jefferson's invitation to Paine and his arranging passage to America on Paine's behalf became widely known following the publication of Jefferson's letter to Paine in the National Intelligencer and Washington Advertiser on July 15, 1801. The newspaper the letter, which had originally appeared in the Paris press, probably placed there by Paine himself to publicize the honor.  The following months were filled with dueling newspaper articles between Federalist and Jeffersonian Democratic Republicans addressing Paine's homecoming. 

In their analysis of this political cartoon in The Virginia Magazine, Kelley and Lovell note:

 As it has with Jefferson, the passage of time has dulled the controversy surrounding Thomas Paine. In the 1790s, however, the author of Common Sense and The Rights of  Man was seen by Federalists as a dangerous radical and a defender of the Reign of  Terror, to which, in fact, Paine (some thought deservedly) almost fell victim.

The brandy-soaked anarchist shown here trying to pull down the federal government once was thought to be Thomas Jefferson, but the reference to intoxication and the political writings in his pockets identify "Mad Tom" as Thomas Paine. The highly individualized angular features of Satan, however, seem to depict Jefferson; this identification is more certain than that of the central figure in "A Peep into the Antifederal Club." If one recognizes the devil as Jefferson, the theme of the cartoon, Jefferson's support for political radicals and his hostility to order and government, is consistent with the central idea of the other early anti-Jefferson caricatures.  

Rarity

While the cartoon is quite famous, it is rare on the market.  We were unable to locate recent auction or dealer records for other examples of the print.

No copies located by OCLC.  We note examples at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (Elisha Whittelsey Collection), Houghton Library (Harvard) and Indian University.