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France Debt to U.S. Caricature, 1835

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:800.00 USD Estimated At:1,200.00 - 1,600.00 USD
France Debt to U.S. Caricature, 1835
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Post-Revolutionary War to Civil War
President Andrew Jackson with French Debt to U.S.
May 21, 1835, Lithograph Caricature Cartoon, “QUI PAYE SES DETTES S’ENRICHIT” (He Who Pays His Debts Enriches Himself), Published in La Caricature, France, Choice Extremely Fine.
This Lithograph measures 7.25” x 11” with wide margins, matted to the overall size of 14” x 19” (print has not been laid down). Minor edge splits and slight tone; does not affect the overall appearance. This print is of the repayment of a debt that France owed to the United States that was granted throughout the Treaty of 1831.

Here United States President Jackson, in his military garb and mode, glares at the French while holding an oversized sword allowing the French to count and present the money to him. His larger than life stance serves as a contradiction to the bowing Frenchman, signifying the position in the world the United States had taken. The Frenchman, presenting the money to Jackson, is actually slipping a stack of gold coins into the back coat pocket, stealing from the United States right in front of the President. In the background is a woman being fleeced by four men.

Jackson was so angry at the procrastination of the French that he even went so far as to insinuate the United States might go to war to settle the matter. An early caricature that started the ways in which modern day political cartoons are represented. Repayment of Debt between governments? That can never happen today... or does history repeat itself? Live and learn!