As long as there have been politicians in the United States, there have been political cartoonists to criticize them. Many today say the bitter political climate in Washington is unprecedented, but perhaps that is not the entirely the case. Today’s object is a print from the Beverly R. Robinson Collection. 150 years ago, a debate over the naval aquisition process raged in Washington, and cartoonists picked up their pens to document it. Curator Rob Doane takes us through this particular print’s history, and the narrative of what was then a fierce political debate.