1862

Up a Tree. Colonel Bull and the Yankee 'Coon. Punch, Volume 42, January 11, 1862, p. 15

Lincoln and Seward's reply to the British ultimatum, a carefully worded disassociation from Captain Wilkes' actions, arrived in London on January 8. Although both nations had carefully stepped back from their warlike positions of the previous month, the British press trumpeted the outcome as an American submission to English power. Tenniel's cartoon echoes this feeling of triumph.

John Bull in the guise of a sporting country squire has treed a large raccoon, its face displaying Lincoln's petulant profile. From an aerial perspective near the "Yankee 'Coon," the viewer looks down the threatening barrel of John Bull's gun as Lincoln agrees to "come down" from his untenable position.