By Tom Deignan

A political cartoon appears in a newspaper and there is an uproar. The cartoonist is targeted as a troublemaker. Anger towards the cartoonist becomes so heated that armed guards are sent to protect him. This, however, is not the Middle East or Europe today. It is New York City in the 1870s. Up on 124th Street, the home of the most influential newspaper cartoonist ever, Thomas Nast, was ringed by police officers.

Later, Nast felt it necessary to move to New Jersey, partly because he did not feel his family was safe in New York, where so many of his enemies held position of power.

And Irish Americans were one of Nast’s enemies.

Now is an interesting time to look back at Nast and his relations with Irish immigrants. But it is also interesting to think about how Nast is remembered to this very day. Many people still think of him merely as the inventor of cute icons.

Go to Thomasnast.com and you will read that he is “perhaps the most important American political cartoonist of all time” and is “best known for his invention and development of popular symbols like the Republican Elephant, Democratic Donkey, a fat, jolly Santa Claus and a lean, goatee-wearing Uncle Sam.”

The Thomas Nast Society in Morristown, New Jersey adds that “editorial cartoonists the world over can trace much of their artistic legacy to Nast’s single creative force.”

Curiously, there is no mention of Nast’s rabid anti-Catholic and anti-Irish sentiments at these sites. This is an interest thing to ponder as protests continue to explode across the Middle East and Europe, in the wake of a Danish newspaper’s decision to publish a cartoon depicting the prophet Mohammed. That, of course, is forbidden by Muslim law. The result has been not just violence and death but a broader debate about how seriously to take illustrations, which run in newspapers.

This, however, is a debate, which took place in New York Irish circles 130 years ago.

Nast was a liberal according to the political standards of his day. He opposed slavery and political corruption. This, of course, led Nast to target the Democratic machine in New York run by William Tweed.

Even those who believe machines did good things for the poor in general and the Irish in particular need to acknowledge the vastness of the machine’s criminality. Unfortunately, Nast’s opposition to corruption also led him to target the Catholic Church as an enemy of American-style freedom. And, because the Irish supported the Democratic machine, he often depicted them as ape-like slaves to the Church who were incapable of living peacefully in America.

And yet, Nast remains best known for creating folk images of Americana. Yes, Nast was profoundly influential and played a major role in toppling the corrupt Tweed Ring.

That all being said, there’s no reason to deny the fact that the guy was more or less a racist.

Thankfully, in today’s Thomas Nast circles, not all people deny historical reality.

To mark the centennial of Nast’s death four years ago, Ohio State University held a symposium called “Celebrating Thomas Nast’s Contributions to American History and Culture.” In his keynote presentation, Prof. Morton Keller of Brandeis University acknowledged Nast’s, well, nasty attitude towards the church and the Irish.

Does this mean that Irish Americans today should sympathize with angry Muslims around the world? At least one Irish American responder at University of Michigan professor Juan Cole’s blog had this to say: “Every Christmas some History Channel or PBS show will honor Thomas Nast,” writes Jane Johnson. “But I have a different reaction to Thomas Nast. ... I’m 4th generation American of Irish background ... and he still offends and bothers me. Cartoons are powerful. Especially when groups are being demonized and discriminated against — the Irish in the late 1800’s, the Jews in 1930’s Germany, and currently Muslims.”

Contact Sidewalks at tomdeignan@earthlink.net.