Primary sourcePainting30 March 1867

Amphitheatrum Johnsonianum – Massacre of the Innocents at New Orleans

Thomas Nast · 30 March 1867

A Thomas Nast cartoon from Harper's Weekly portraying Johnson as a Roman emperor watching the 1866 New Orleans massacre of Black citizens.

This satirical cartoon blames Johnson's policies for enabling the violence it depicts, directly criticizing his presidency.

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Engraving from Harper's Weekly titled Amphitheatrum Johnsonianum, Massacre of the Innocents at New Orleans. Left: a crowd of men in a gallery, with Andrew Johnson in a toga-like robe leaning near a pedestal marked REGO. Center: a bearded man leans on a ledge above a plumed helmeted figure. Right: an amphitheater filled with spectators watches a violent melee of soldiers and civilians below. — Thomas Nast, Amphitheatrum Johnsonianum – Massacre of the Innocents at New Orleans, Harper's Weekly, 1867. Library of Congress.

About this source

What it is

This engraving by cartoonist Thomas Nast was published in Harper's Weekly in 1867. It shows President Andrew Johnson dressed as a Roman emperor, watching from a gallery as a violent massacre unfolds below, an allegory for the 1866 New Orleans riot in which Black citizens were killed.

Why it matters

Thomas Nast was one of the most influential political cartoonists of his time, and this piece sharply criticized Johnson for policies that critics blamed for enabling racial violence in the Reconstruction South. It reflects how deeply divided public opinion was over Johnson's handling of Reconstruction and Black citizens' safety and rights.

Look closer

Why would Nast portray Johnson as a Roman emperor rather than as himself?
What is the cartoonist suggesting by showing Johnson merely watching the violence rather than acting?
How does satire like this differ from a straightforward news report of the same event?

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