The four Rips; or, twenty years behind the age
Subject(s): African Americans--Civil rights, American Civil War (1861-1865), Beards, Blaine, James Gillespie, 1830-1893, Businesspeople, Commerce, Foraker, Joseph Benson, 1846-1917, Older people, Reid, Whitelaw, 1837-1912, Sectionalism (United States), Sherman, John, 1823-1900, Uncle Sam (Symbolic character), Van Winkle, Rip (Fictitious character)
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Uncle Sam is seated at a table in front of “Uncle Sam’s Inter-State Market,” with a businessman labeled “Northern Capital” on the right and an agricultural producer labeled “Southern Goods – Cotton, Sugar, Tobacco, Whiskey” on the left. Standing before the table are James G. Blaine labeled “Bloody Shirt,” and John Sherman, Whitelaw Reid, and Joseph B. Foraker, who all have long flowing hair and beards like Rip Van Winkle. Blaine is leaning on a rifle labeled “Shot Gun.” Two young African American men are sitting on a bale of cotton and a keg of “Tobacco” in the lower right corner, and in the middle ground African Americans are harvesting cotton. In the background, along the shores of a harbor, is a prosperous city. Caption: Uncle Sam “My fossil friends, the War ended twenty years ago. Have you been sleeping ever since?”
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1885-09-16
Creator(s)
Period
Dakota Rancher (June 1884-1886)
Repository
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Page Count
1
Record Type
Image
Resource Type
Rights
These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
The four Rips; or, twenty years behind the age. [September 16, 1885]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o287725. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Gillam, Bernhard, 1856-1896. The four Rips; or, twenty years behind the age. [16 Sep. 1885]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. January 22, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o287725.
APA:
Gillam, Bernhard, 1856-1896., [1885, September 16]. The four Rips; or, twenty years behind the age.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o287725.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. January 22, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
APA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
