Secession Cartoon, ca. 1861

A political cartoon, The "Secession Movement," published by Currier and Ives, ca. 1861, lampoons the leaders of the seceding southern states leading up to the Civil War. The representative of Alabama, riding the center donkey, says "Next follows Alabama, who declares, 'We go it blind, Cotton is King!'"

Political cartoon depicting men on horseback, each representing a southern state that has seceded riding toward the edge of a cliff
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
Political cartoon depicting men on horseback, each representing a southern state that has seceded riding toward the edge of a cliff