Santa as he is known today first appeared in 1863 — a
year which was notable for the fact that the American Civil War was in full swing.
It's no coincidence that Santa appeared to spread a little holiday cheer,
thanks to artist Thomas Nast. Here's his fascinating and occasionally dark story.
During the 19th century, Christmas made the jump from a somber religious holiday to the
gift-and-merriment fest more familiar to 21st-century eyes, and Santa's a huge part
of that. Interestingly, Santa Claus in his all too familiar jolly old elf form first
showed up in a pair of Harper's Weekly cartoons that ran after Christmas, in January of 1863.
In one, a bearded Santa clad in stars and stripes is handing out toys to Union soldiers,
including a doll in the likeness of Confederate president Jefferson Davis,
dangling from a rope around its neck. The other features two separate drawings. As seen here,
on one side, a woman looks forlornly out a window, and on the other side,
a soldier sits staring into a fire. The background is part Christmas Eve,
complete with Santa getting ready to hop down a chimney, and part cemetery. It was powerful
stuff that drove home just how many people were separated by war, during that Christmas season.
Those images were the work of a Bavarian immigrant named Thomas Nast. Between 1863 and 1886, Nast
would create 33 Christmas illustrations featuring a version of Santa that was part self-portrait,
and partially based on works like A Visit from St. Nicholas and 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.
During the war, he used Santa to illustrate his beliefs in civil rights and the abolition
of slavery, and afterward, Santa got on board with other causes.
There's one illustration in particular that pretty much cemented Santa's image as a jolly,
rather round chap, sporting a big white beard and a preference for wearing red . But here's
the thing; it's not just a guy that's sneaking into homes to drop off toys.
Thomas Nast used Santa to push a lot of propaganda.
Take a look at the image. He's not carrying a sack of toys. That's a soldier's backpack he's got;
along with other military imagery like a dress sword and an Army belt buckle. Yet,
he's also carrying a horse and a pocket watch that could be considered toys. So what gives?
Historians believe that Nast and his colleagues had realized the popularity of Santa and their
Christmas images were a chance to spread wider awareness. In this particular case,
he was appealing for fair wages for soldiers. The horse is meant to represent the Trojan horse
and treachery of the United States government. The time on the watch, ten minutes to midnight,
signified the pressing need to make a decision to pay members of the military more.
Santa might not be as loaded with propaganda today, but when Nast first created him,
he was a vehicle that advocated for civil rights and social change.
Thomas Nast was an immigrant. He was born in Landau, Bavaria, in 1840.
According to his grandson, Thomas Nast St. Hill, Nast's father had liberal ideas controversial
enough that the whole family thought it best they seek their fortunes elsewhere.
They decided to immigrate to the United States. It was 1846,
and the Nast family patriarch finished his enlistment in the Bavarian 9th Regiment Band. He
moved across the Atlantic and was followed a few years after by his wife, son, and daughter. After
settling in his new home, he found work in an orchestra and finally in the Philharmonic Society.
As for the then 6-year-old Nast, his schooling was hampered by the fact that he couldn't speak
English. He could draw, though. He had enough promise that his parents transferred him to art
school, but ultimately weren't able to pay his tuition. At 15, Nast's formal education was over,
and he needed to find his own way in the world. So he did what any ambitious 15-year-old
would do, he walked into Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper and asked for a job.
Leslie told the kid to head down to a Manhattan ferry during rush hour and
draw a picture of the crowded boat, so that's what Nast did. Leslie was so impressed with
what he brought back that he hired him on the spot. It ended up being fortuitous,
as his salary allowed him to help support his family after the death of his father in 1858.
In 1860, States began seceding from the U.S., and it wasn't long before the conflict escalated into
a full-scale war. Thomas Nast joined Harper's Weekly not long after, in 1862, and according
to the Massachusetts Historical Society, he became known for his wartime illustrations.
At the same time he drew scenes that unconditionally supported the Union
and cheered them on their way to victory, he also drew some of the most sentimental,
touching scenes of what it was really like for soldiers on the front lines.
Good propaganda is important in any political cause, and it's impossible to overstate just
how popular Nast and his illustrations became. According to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Nast, quote,
"did as much as any one man to preserve the Union and bring the war to an end."
Santa Claus was part of that. Nast's depiction of Santa exemplified the loneliness of war, the
sadness of soldiers on the front, and the worry and heartache suffered by those at home. Harper's
Weekly had a circulation of more than 100,000. That's a lot of people seeing his message.
Even President Abraham Lincoln was said to have commented on the importance of his heralding of
emancipation. Lincoln is quoted as calling Nast… "our best recruiting sergeant [...] [His]
emblematic cartoons have never failed to arouse enthusiasm and patriotism,
and have always seemed to come just when these articles were getting scarce."
Even those who don't follow politics are familiar with the Democratic donkey and the Republican
elephant, and that's also the work of Thomas Nast. First, it's worth noting that contrary to popular
belief, Nast didn't actually create the Democratic donkey. That particular symbol was invented by
the opponents of 1828 presidential candidate Andrew Jackson, who likened his stubbornness
to a donkey. It was used briefly in the 1830s and was then forgotten until Nast's 1870 cartoon
depicting a donkey kicking a dead lion. The lion represented Lincoln’s press secretary
E.M. Stanton. The cartoon undeniably linked the stubborn animal to the political party.
The elephant is less clear, and there is some evidence that Nast that came up with
that particular association. It's believed he chose an elephant for the Republican
party as a reference to the Civil War and the Union's victory, but it's not certain. In 1874,
a cartoon depicting a donkey wearing a lion's skin chasing an elephant into a pit brought up
another suggestion. Nast may have chosen an elephant because it was big, powerful,
easily frightened, and dangerous when running scared. Whatever the intention,
Nast's illustrations are the reason the two symbols have endured for decades.
Thomas Nast was behind another enduring symbol of the U.S. as well: Uncle Sam.
Uncle Sam was a real person. His name was Samuel Wilson, and he was a New York meat
packer who supplied the Army with valuable rations through the War of 1812. The barrels
he shipped meat in were stamped "U.S.," which soldiers began calling "Uncle Sam's."
Newspapers took the reference and ran with it, and it wasn't long before Uncle Sam became synonymous
with the United States. But it wasn't until Nast began drawing a personification of Uncle
Sam that he started to take on a personality of his own. As illustrator Steve Brodner put it,
In 1869, Nast drew an illustration called "Uncle Sam's Thanksgiving Dinner," and it
illustrated an idea that Abraham Lincoln championed. It wasn't blood, nationality,
or ethnicity that made someone American, it was the sharing of common ideals and convictions.
Nast's illustration shows a diverse group sitting around a Thanksgiving Day table while Uncle Sam
carves the turkey. It includes the captions "Come one, come all" and "Free and equal."
The message is clear: Americans are Americans, no matter what they look like.
Gradually, Nast's Uncle Sam evolved to sport the white beard and the stars-and-stripes
wardrobe known today - though it is worth noting that the most famous depiction of Sam, the iconic
recruitment poster, wasn't Nast’s creation, but another artist named James Montgomery Flagg.
When it comes to racial stereotypes, there was one 19th century group The Washington
Post says were, quote, "associated with poverty, drunkenness, crime, and [...] one more thing:
terrorism." Who were the members of this supposedly nefarious group? The Irish.
Thomas Nast wasn’t a fan of the Irish, and he used
his political clout to popularize the image of Irish immigrants as sub-human ape-men,
like the one portrayed in his illustration "The Usual Irish Way of Doing Things."
Nast's hate of the Irish came because they were among the main supporters of Tammany Hall, the
ultra-corrupt bastion of the Democratic political party that ran New York City at the time.
It’s believed that Nast targeted the Irish seemingly for that reason alone, and would
have done the same for any ethnic group in that position. However, Thomas Nast Cartoons points
out that he was also hopping on and promoting stereotypes already rampant in an overwhelmingly
anti-Irish society. Stereotypes that were started in part by British colonizers who felt they
needed to justify their occupation of Ireland. Nast, they add, went one step further. He was a
firm believer in "racial-biological differences" that laid the groundwork for eugenics. He was one
of many who had his skull measured and documented as proof of his native, race-based intelligence.
One of Thomas Nast's biggest targets was the corruption of Tammany Hall,
New York City's stronghold of the Democratic party. It was led by William "Boss" Tweed.
To give an idea of how corrupt an organization this was, consider the building of the Municipal
Courthouse. Tweed was in charge of funds, and his kickbacks meant the courthouse ended up
costing the state $13 million. The original budget for the building was just $300,000,
but Tweed's oversight meant the state was charged $350,000 for carpet alone!
Nast kicked off a campaign to bring the corruption of Tweed and Tammany Hall to light.
In 1871, he was offered a bribe to go away to Europe, which he turned down, but he did move
his family to New Jersey when the situation escalated into a matter of personal safety.
Tweed and his immediate group of cronies were dubbed the Tweed Ring and made a habit of grossly
overcharging the state for construction projects. They were also known for naturalizing immigrants
in exchange for their votes and using their political influence to put an end to court cases.
Ultimately, it was Nast's cartoons that were credited with turning the public against Tweed and
his cronies, and Tweed was arrested. In a classic example of political corruption though, he still
kept his seat in the senate. What followed was a dramatic run from the law, which finally ended
when Tweed was arrested in Spain, where he was identified based on one of Nast's illustrations.
Thomas Nast's crusade against Boss Tweed was pretty successful. Tweed's cronies saw justice,
and Tweed himself died in 1878 as a prisoner of the city's Ludlow Street Jail. As for Nast,
the popularity he'd enjoyed during the Civil War only escalated, and he was known
nationwide for his crusading sense of justice as well as for the figures he'd made famous.
For a time, life was pretty good for Nast. According to Thomas Nast St. Hill,
he was fairly wealthy by this point. He'd also made a lot of
powerful friends. When Ulysses S. Grant was elected president,
he credited his victory in part "the pencil of Thomas Nast," and that's quite the shout-out.
Also among his list of friends was Mark Twain, and it was Twain who regularly tried to convince
Nast to go on the lecture circuit with him. Nast got tons of offers, but rarely accepted due to a
paralyzing fear of public speaking. He had little interest in leaving his corner of the world and
his family, so even when Twain pitched the idea of touring together, Twain would speak, and Nast
would document the tour in illustration form, Nast declined. This despite the fact that Twain
estimated they'd net a profit of around $75,000 for the tour - 1.8 million in today’s dollars.
Thomas Nast continued to work after the fall of the Tweed Ring, but things took a bit of a turn.
According to the Massachusetts Historical Society, much of Nast's work for Harper's Weekly had been
done under publisher Fletcher Harper, and Harper gave Nast the freedom to pretty much do whatever
he wanted. Over the course of his career, that had included things like promoting the idea that
newly freed slaves should be given the same civil rights as any other American, women's suffrage,
and granting rights for groups like the Chinese immigrants who were settling in the west.
Things changed after Harper's death, and along with a shift in management,
the industry was also seeing a change in printing methods.
New methods didn't work as well with Nast's distinctive style, and coupled with new
management's desire to become less radical, Nast found himself less frequently called upon.
Thomas Nast St. Hill says that his grandfather took the opportunity to travel and do some
investing. Tragedy followed. The silver mine he invested in fell through, and when he made
another investment in a Wall Street firm that ultimately failed, he lost all he'd risked.
Thomas Nast had severed his relationship with Harper's Weekly in 1886, and the series of
financial missteps he'd made and misfortunes he'd suffered had left him in a dire position.
In 1902, salvation seemed to come in the form of a job offer from then-President Theodore Roosevelt.
The offer was a far cry from his career as an illustrator: Roosevelt offered him
the position as American consul, and he would be stationed in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Nast accepted the position and headed to Ecuador. His appointment there was short-lived.
When he arrived in July of 1902, the country was in the midst of an outbreak of yellow fever,
and Nast quickly came down with it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
yellow fever is spread by mosquitoes and results in headaches, fatigue,
general exhaustion, and aches and pains for most people, with many recovering within the week.
However, some victims develop severe symptoms, including shock, fever, and organ failure.
Nast's symptoms were deadly, and unfortunately,
he died from the disease on Dec. 7, 1902. Check out one of our newest videos right here!
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