"Gopher Train" illustration by Robert O. Sweeny

Titles: "Gopher Train" illustration by Robert O. Sweeny (Supplied title)

Description: Engraving on paper by Robert O. Sweeny, 1857. It is a political cartoon made in opposition to a proposed amendment to the Minnesota State Constitution allowing the state to issue $5,000,000 worth of bonds to assist the construction of railroads. The cartoon shows ten men under the tracks with $10,000 bags of gold weighting down their necks, each of which represent legislators bribed into passing the act. On the tracks is a train of cars drawn by nine gophers with human heads, each representing various advocates of the act. This widely spread cartoon is credited with giving Minnesota the nickname of "The Gopher State". Before this, the popular choice was to call Minnesota the Beaver State.

Dates

• Exactly 1857 (Creation)

Creation

• artist: Sweeny, Robert Ormsby

Identifiers

• Accession Number: AV1991.66

Holding Type: Art

Quantity: 1 print

Format

• Content Category: prints
• Medium/Materials: engraving
• Physical Support: paper
• Colorization: black and white

Measurements

• 14 3/4 inches height
• 19 inches width

Subjects

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