Author: CARTOON
Title: The American Question. John Bull and Brother Jonathan.
Description: 10th June, 1856. Original pen and ink cartoon, 230 x 300 mm. closed tear to right hand side. Showing John Bull for Britain, exclaiming "Hookey Walker" to Brother Jonathan as a personification of New England, or in this instance, the United Sates, about the dispute more widely know as the Central American Question regarding the formation of an Anglo-American Central American Republic formed by the union of the five states of Central America. The term "Hookey Walker" is a slang term for expressing disbelief, but here has a double meaning as the proposal was the idea of General William Walker who undertook several expeditions into the region with the intention of establishing new colonies, known as filibustering, taking control of the Nicaraguan government in 1856 and declaring himself president. Although initially receiving support from the US government, he alienated the powerful Wall Street tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt by expropriating Vanderbilt's Accessory Transit Company, which operated one of the main routes for the transport of passengers going from New York City to San Francisco. Although he was ousted by military action led by Costa Rica, he tried again to establish his filibustering project but in returning to Central America was captured by the Royal Navy, handed over to the Honduran government which executed him in 1860. The dress of Brother Jonathan was later adopted by Uncle Sam, the personification of the United States government.

Keywords: Ephemera


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