In a paragraph, interpret the message of this Thomas Nast political cartoon, which shows Boss Tweed laughing as he is being arrested while the Shadow of Justice looks on. Be sure to read the captions
carefully and consider what each character in the cartoon might represent. In particular, what is suggested by the words of Sheriff Brennan and the Shadow of Justice?

The interpretation of the message of this Thomas Nast political cartoon, which shows Boss Tweed laughing as he is being arrested while the Shadow of Justice looks is the following.

Boss Tweed was the classical representation of corrupt practices of interest groups in United States politics in the Mid 1800s.

Boss Tweed(1823-1878) was a United States politician leader of the political machine of the Democratic Party called "Tammany Hall" in New York City. He was also a businessman with many economic interests and political agendas that bribed legislators to favor his own interests and other businessmen's interests.

So in the cartoon, Thomas Nast depicted the power and influenced Tweed had in New York with the text: "Sheriff Brennan merely nodded to Mr. Tweed, bade him 'Goode-day,' and laying his hand tenderly on his shoulder, said laughing, 'You're my man!' Tweed believed that he could control everybody, including the court system.

jayilych4real jayilych4real · Answer 2 · 2021-10-17T11:06:43+02:00

According to the given Thomas Nast political cartoon, we can see that:

Boss Tweed finds being arrested funny
The Shadows of Justice is in charge of arresting him.

To provide some context, it is important to note that Boss Tweed:

Represents the underhand dealings of the political groups in America in the 1800s.
Was an actual person who was also a businessman who engaged in corrupt practices such as bribery to gain economic favors.

As a result of these factors, we can see that the political cartoon is showing that even as Boss Tweed was being arrested, he was smiling because it was his belief that he could bribe his way out of trouble.