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Primary sourcePainting1831

The Rats Leaving a Falling House

Edward Williams Clay (attributed) · 1831

An 1831 political cartoon mocking the collapse of Andrew Jackson's cabinet during the Petticoat Affair.

Satirizes the collapse of Jackson's cabinet during the Petticoat Affair, showing turmoil in his administration.

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Lithograph cartoon titled 'The Rats Leaving a Falling House'. An elderly man with white hair sits in an armchair, surrounded by floating paper resignations. Beside him a devil perches atop a block labeled 'Altar of Reform'. Five rats with human heads scurry away across the floor, one holding a small ashtray-like dish nearby. Caption printed below the image.
Edward Williams Clay (attributed), The Rats Leaving a Falling House, 1831. Library of Congress.

About this source

What it is

This 1831 lithograph, attributed to Edward Williams Clay, shows an elderly man seated in an armchair surrounded by floating resignation papers, with a devil nearby and rat-like figures with human heads fleeing. It is held by the Library of Congress.

Why it matters

The cartoon satirizes the turmoil in Andrew Jackson's cabinet during the Petticoat Affair, when several cabinet members resigned amid scandal and infighting. It shows how contemporaries viewed Jackson's administration as chaotic and shows how political cartoons were used to criticize sitting presidents.

Look closer

  • Who do you think the rats and the seated man represent, and how does the cartoon make its point?
  • Why might a cartoonist use animals instead of showing real people directly?
  • What does this cartoon suggest about public opinion of Jackson's cabinet at the time?

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

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