Skip to main content

Primary sourceBook1867

Swingin Round the Circle

David Ross Locke · 1867

A satirical 1867 book mocking President Johnson's 1866 speaking tour, written under a comic pseudonym and illustrated by Thomas Nast.

This satirical book mocks Johnson's own 1866 speaking tour, showing contemporary political opposition to him.

Ask Andrew Johnson about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Swingin Round the CirclePDF · 324 pages
David Ross Locke (as 'Petroleum V. Nasby'), Swingin Round the Circle, illustrated by Thomas Nast. Boston: Lee and Shepard, 1867.

About this source

What it is

This 1867 book by David Ross Locke, writing as the fictional 'Petroleum V. Nasby,' satirizes Andrew Johnson's 1866 speaking tour known as the 'Swing Around the Circle.' It collects letters written during 1866 and is illustrated by the famous cartoonist Thomas Nast.

Why it matters

Johnson's tour, meant to build support for his policies, was widely mocked by his political opponents. This book is a sharp piece of political satire that shows how deeply divided opinion was about Johnson's leadership and Reconstruction policies. It is a useful example of how humor and caricature were used as political weapons in this period.

Look closer

  • Why would an author choose a comic pseudonym to criticize a sitting president?
  • How might illustrations by a famous cartoonist shape a reader's opinion of Johnson?
  • What does satire like this tell us that a straightforward news report might not?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Andrew Johnson on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Andrew Johnson sources

Meet the AI Andrew Johnson →
Handwritten page 13 of the Articles of Impeachment against President Andrew Johnson, in cursive ink on lined paper. The text describes Johnson's speeches in Washington, D.C., in August 1866, including speeches made to crowds and his statements about Congress and the Union.Document

Primary source

Articles of Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

United States House of Representatives · March 1868

Handwritten manuscript page of the Joint Resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution, with the heading 'Joint Resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States' and the text of Section 1 of the 14th Amendment, including 'Article XIV.' Ruled border lines frame the text.Document

Primary source

14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights

United States Congress · 1868

Photo of a pink printed admission ticket from the U.S. Senate. Text reads 'Impeachment of the President, Admit the Bearer, Gallery, April 6th 1868, Geo. A. Brown, Sergeant at Arms.' A stub on the left reads 'To be taken up at Main Entrance, U.S. Senate, No. 176.'Document

Primary source

Admission Ticket to the Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson

United States Senate · 6 April 1868

Black and white head and shoulders studio portrait of a man with receding gray hair, dark suit jacket, white shirt, and bow tie, looking toward the viewer with a stern expression.Photograph

Primary source

Photograph of President Andrew Johnson

Mathew Benjamin Brady · c. 1870-1880

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.Painting

Primary source

Amphitheatrum Johnsonianum – Massacre of the Innocents at New Orleans

Thomas Nast · 30 March 1867

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Andrew Johnson now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions