Harper’s Weekly ran this Thomas Nast cartoon, “Uncle Sam’s Thanksgiving Dinner,” on November 20, 1869. (Click here to see the great big version.) Today we are used to “one-liner” political cartoons, but back then the idea was to cram as much allegory as possible into the scene. And Nast was the best.

The cartoon celebrates the passage of the 15th Amendment, guaranteeing voting rights to men of all races. (The amendment was not ratified until February of 1870.) The scene is a sumptuous dining hall decorated with statues of Justice and Liberty, and with paintings of Washington, Lincoln, and Grant. A neoclassical centerpiece represents Self Government on a foundation of Universal Suffrage. At the head of the table, Uncle Sam is carving the turkey. At the other end sits Columbia. (Columbia symbolizes the nation, Uncle Sam symbolizes the government. They’re happily married.) The other guests at the table are people of various races and ethnicities: whites, blacks, Indians, Chinese, Germans, Spaniards, and even a Frenchman are welcome at the feast.

Universal suffrage was a rare and wondrous thing in Nast’s day, a blessing to be thankful for, and a right worth dying for. It still is. Happy Thanksgiving.