This drawing is by Thomas Nast, a pictorial reporter with the New York Illustrated News who would later go on to work as a political cartoonist for Harper's Weekly. In the drawing, a large group of men congregate in the lobby of the famous Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. on March 6, 1861, just two days after President Abraham Lincoln's first inauguration. Notable among the men is Horace Greeley, the editor of the New York Tribune, who stands conversing with another man on the right. The German-born Nast is widely considered to be one of the premiere political cartoonists in American history, famous for his early 1870s crusade against William Marcy "Boss" Tweed in New York City.
This illustration appeared in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper on April 6, 1861. It accompanied a scathing article on the people who would aggressively seek employment or special favors from the president, which was common practice in the 19th century. Any person approved for appointments with the president would seek anything from salaried government appointments to special requests granted. Abraham Lincoln staunchly defended their right to be present in the White House.
