Winslow Homer Week at TechnoChitlins

Infogalatic:

Winslow Homer (February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) was an American landscape painter and printmaker, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th-century America and a preeminent figure in American art.

Largely self-taught, Homer began his career working as a commercial illustrator.[1] He subsequently took up oil painting and produced major studio works characterized by the weight and density he exploited from the medium. He also worked extensively in watercolor, creating a fluid and prolific oeuvre, primarily chronicling his working vacations.[2][3]

He is the quintessential American artist; was supposed to get his artistic education in Europe but instead started out doing illustrations for Harper’s Magazine during the Civil War. During and after the war he produced a body of work that has been enjoyed by many to this day. He was one of the best at capturing the unique American spirit.

Bad Elections are Not New

john-adams
John Adams- Federalist
thomas-jefferson
Thomas Jefferson- Democratic-Republican(!)

A great article at Lowering The Bar

Do you think it got rough out there this year? Not so fast, my friends. In 1796-

The Federalists published anonymous letters accusing Jefferson of having been a coward during the Revolution (scandalous!) and of having an affair with one of his slaves (scandalous! also true!). They also claimed Jefferson was mixed-race himself and that he planned to free all the slaves if he won (scandalous! also false), showing that playing the “race card” is nothing new. (Fun fact: The guy who wrote many of these slurs was Alexander Hamilton.) Other Adams supporters warned that Jefferson’s election “would result in a civil war and a national orgy of rape, incest, and adultery,” and that his supporters were “cut-throats who walk in rags and sleep amid filth and vermin[!].”

The other side, meanwhile, accused Adams of being sympathetic to England, being a monarchist (partly because he thought presidents should be called “His Excellency”), and even for being overweight, ingeniously combining the last two by referring to Adams as “His Rotundity.” They fat-shamed John Adams! 

Sounds kind of familiar, doesn’t it? Read the whole article here– we Americans have a long history of political nastiness. This year was relatively mild by comparison.