as a nationally known figure.3
             It wasn't long before Thomas Nast became known as a cartoonist rather than as an illustrator, and during the twenty-five years following the close of the war, Nast's cartoons expressed the artist's view on every national issue of political and social significance. The cartoons were, in fact, illustrated chronicles of American history during this period.
             No American cartoonist before Nast had sustained an impact on the public over a period of time. Newspapers and periodicals did not carry cartoons as a regular part of their publications. He made cartooning a respected and a powerful journalism form.4
             Thomas Nast's cartoons were a vital factor in every presidential campaign between 1864 and 1884. Nast's work ha
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