Mad Tom in a Rage

This satire responds to the bitter presidential election of 1800, where two rounds of voting were required to confirm Thomas Jefferson's victory over the sitting John Adams. A radical shift in policies followed as the new Democratic-Republican administration strove to limit federal power and promote agrarianism and individual liberty—where the Federalists under Adams, and George Washington before him, had worked to establish a strong central government and national institutions.

Clearly pro-Federalist, this image centers on Thomas Paine, who returned to the United States in 1802 at Jefferson's invitation. Paine gained fame when he first moved to America from England in 1774 and published his widely read Common Sense pamphlet in 1776. Once independence had been won, however, his public reputation deteriorated. After defending the French Revolution in Rights of Man (1791), he moved to France and began to attack former allies. He criticized revered figures such as Washington, espoused Deism, and ridiculed Christianity. In this print, the Devil encourages Paine to pull down a column inscribed with the names of Washington and Adams that represents the Federal Government. Some scholars see Jefferson's profile in the Devil’s face but, whether the attack on America’s third president is implicit or explicit, the print affirms the freedom of expression treasured by the new nation’s citizens.