8th DRP - Lesson 5

​ Thomas Nast was born in Landau, Bavaria, on September 27, 1840, and came to the United States with his mother at the age of six. Nast loved to draw as a child and began his career at the age of 15. For four dollars a week he worked as a draftsman for Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. Thomas Nast also depicted important events and sketched war scenes for newspapers in London, Paris, and New York. Some of his best work was completed during the Civil War when his cartoons made a political statement in favor of the North. These influential illustrations appeared in the very popular magazine Harper's Weekly. Among his other accomplishments were his cartoons that brought about the defeat of Horace Greeley in the 1872 presidential campaign and his drawings of the

​Tammany Tiger that helped break up the notorious political organization of William "Boss" Tweed in New York City in 1876. Thomas Nast is also credited with the pictorial origination of the symbols of Uncle Sam, the Democratic donkey, and the Republican elephant.

​ Although politics was Nast's main focus, he also created the present-day idea of Santa Claus in a series of drawings completed between 1863 and 1868 for Harper's Weekly. These illustrations represented Santa as a jolly, stout man with a white beard as he appeared in the poem "A Visit from St. Nicolas" by Clement C. Moore.

​ Who would have ever known that a young boy from Bavaria named Thomas Nast would wield such great influence on his adopted country and rock the boat of the American political scene?

​ Thomas Nast was born in Landau, Bavaria, on September 27, 1840, and came to the United States with his mother at the age of six. Nast loved to draw as a child and began his career at the age of 15. For four dollars a week he worked as a draftsman for Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. Thomas Nast also depicted important events and sketched war scenes for newspapers in London, Paris, and New York. Some of his best work was completed during the Civil War when his cartoons made a political statement in favor of the North. These influential illustrations appeared in the very popular magazine Harper's Weekly. Among his other accomplishments were his cartoons that brought about the defeat of Horace Greeley in the 1872 presidential campaign and his drawings of the

​Tammany Tiger that helped break up the notorious political organization of William "Boss" Tweed in New York City in 1876. Thomas Nast is also credited with the pictorial origination of the symbols of Uncle Sam, the Democratic donkey, and the Republican elephant.

​ Although politics was Nast's main focus, he also created the present-day idea of Santa Claus in a series of drawings completed between 1863 and 1868 for Harper's Weekly. These illustrations represented Santa as a jolly, stout man with a white beard as he appeared in the poem "A Visit from St. Nicolas" by Clement C. Moore.

​ Who would have ever known that a young boy from Bavaria named Thomas Nast would wield such great influence on his adopted country and rock the boat of the American political scene?

​ Thomas Nast was born in Landau, Bavaria, on September 27, 1840, and came to the United States with his mother at the age of six. Nast loved to draw as a child and began his career at the age of 15. For four dollars a week he worked as a draftsman for Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. Thomas Nast also depicted important events and sketched war scenes for newspapers in London, Paris, and New York. Some of his best work was completed during the Civil War when his cartoons made a political statement in favor of the North. These influential illustrations appeared in the very popular magazine Harper's Weekly. Among his other accomplishments were his cartoons that brought about the defeat of Horace Greeley in the 1872 presidential campaign and his drawings of the

​Tammany Tiger that helped break up the notorious political organization of William "Boss" Tweed in New York City in 1876. Thomas Nast is also credited with the pictorial origination of the symbols of Uncle Sam, the Democratic donkey, and the Republican elephant.

​ Although politics was Nast's main focus, he also created the present-day idea of Santa Claus in a series of drawings completed between 1863 and 1868 for Harper's Weekly. These illustrations represented Santa as a jolly, stout man with a white beard as he appeared in the poem "A Visit from St. Nicolas" by Clement C. Moore.

​ Who would have ever known that a young boy from Bavaria named Thomas Nast would wield such great influence on his adopted country and rock the boat of the American political scene?

​ Thomas Nast was born in Landau, Bavaria, on September 27, 1840, and came to the United States with his mother at the age of six. Nast loved to draw as a child and began his career at the age of 15. For four dollars a week he worked as a draftsman for Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. Thomas Nast also depicted important events and sketched war scenes for newspapers in London, Paris, and New York. Some of his best work was completed during the Civil War when his cartoons made a political statement in favor of the North. These influential illustrations appeared in the very popular magazine Harper's Weekly. Among his other accomplishments were his cartoons that brought about the defeat of Horace Greeley in the 1872 presidential campaign and his drawings of the

​Tammany Tiger that helped break up the notorious political organization of William "Boss" Tweed in New York City in 1876. Thomas Nast is also credited with the pictorial origination of the symbols of Uncle Sam, the Democratic donkey, and the Republican elephant.

​ Although politics was Nast's main focus, he also created the present-day idea of Santa Claus in a series of drawings completed between 1863 and 1868 for Harper's Weekly. These illustrations represented Santa as a jolly, stout man with a white beard as he appeared in the poem "A Visit from St. Nicolas" by Clement C. Moore.

​ Who would have ever known that a young boy from Bavaria named Thomas Nast would wield such great influence on his adopted country and rock the boat of the American political scene?

​ Thomas Nast was born in Landau, Bavaria, on September 27, 1840, and came to the United States with his mother at the age of six. Nast loved to draw as a child and began his career at the age of 15. For four dollars a week he worked as a draftsman for Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. Thomas Nast also depicted important events and sketched war scenes for newspapers in London, Paris, and New York. Some of his best work was completed during the Civil War when his cartoons made a political statement in favor of the North. These influential illustrations appeared in the very popular magazine Harper's Weekly. Among his other accomplishments were his cartoons that brought about the defeat of Horace Greeley in the 1872 presidential campaign and his drawings of the

​Tammany Tiger that helped break up the notorious political organization of William "Boss" Tweed in New York City in 1876. Thomas Nast is also credited with the pictorial origination of the symbols of Uncle Sam, the Democratic donkey, and the Republican elephant.

​ Although politics was Nast's main focus, he also created the present-day idea of Santa Claus in a series of drawings completed between 1863 and 1868 for Harper's Weekly. These illustrations represented Santa as a jolly, stout man with a white beard as he appeared in the poem "A Visit from St. Nicolas" by Clement C. Moore.

​ Who would have ever known that a young boy from Bavaria named Thomas Nast would wield such great influence on his adopted country and rock the boat of the American political scene?