Santa Claus hasn’t always been the symbol of Christmas joy we all know. The first illustration of Santa Claus arose out of a tense political period in America and the creator behind the image was intent on making a political statement—one in favor of the Union.
In 1863, during the Civil War, Thomas Nast created the first iconic image of Santa Claus with an illustration on the cover of Harper’s Weekly, one of the most popular magazines of the day. Nast was a staff illustrator at the magazine from 1859-1860 and 1862-1886.
Nast based Santa’s bearded face and round belly partially on himself, according to Ryan Hyman, a curator at the Macculloch Hall Historical Museum. Located in Nast’s hometown of Morristown, NJ, the Macculloch Hall Historical Museum holds a large collection of Nast’s work.
A German-born American, Nast lived from 1840-1902. He spent most of his life working as a political cartoonist. In his illustrations, Nast popularized the image of Uncle Sam as well as the donkey as the symbol for the Democrats. He created the elephant as the political symbol for the Republican Party (GOP).
Examples of the Christmas holiday began to appear in literature by the 1800’s, including the poem “Twas the night before Christmas” by Clement Clarke Moore’s in 1823 (which is actually from the first verse of his “A Visit from St. Nicholas”), and “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens in 1843.
Dr. Paul Barba, an assistant professor of history at Bucknell University, explains that at the time of the 1863 illustration, Thomas Nast played a role in convincing white Northern audiences of the merits of emancipation—working as Abraham Lincoln’s visual propagandist through his cartoons.
According to Civil War General Ulysses Grant, Nast “did as much as any one man to preserve the Union and bring the war to an end.”
It is well documented that Nast staunchly supported abolition and civil rights. “Nast is a fascinating historical figure, both in terms of his changing political views and his contemporary (Civil War era) lure,” Barba said.
Also note Santa’s stars and striped clothing. The doll he is holding mockingly has been suggested to represent a famous Confederate general.
Was Nast the first to create the first image of what we think of when we think of Santa Claus today? And was he trying to sway readers of Harper’s Weekly to support Union ideals during the Civil War? Probably.
According to Barba, “some credit him with creating the first images of the modern Santa, but it’s really hard to discover ‘the first’ of most pop culture phenomena. He seems to have been among the earliest to popularize the images we associate with Santa today, although the figures of ‘Santa Claus’ and ‘Father Christmas’ have a long history, both in North America and Europe, which reveal similar iconography.”
What Nast did do, without question, is continue to perpetuate his ideology of Santa Claus. Though they varied from year to year, Nast’s illustrations of Santa Claus continued to be published in Harper’s Weekly for about twenty years after the war ended. He completed over thirty Santa Claus illustrations. Almost all of them included subtle political statements.
One of Nast’s most famous drawings is an 1881 image known as “Merry Old Santa Claus.” In this illustration, it looks like Santa has a bag of toys with his characteristic red suit. But actually, Hyman says, it’s more propaganda, this time related to the government’s indecisiveness over paying higher wages to members of the military. “On his back isn’t a sack full of toys; it’s actually an army backpack from enlisted men.” Look closer and you will see a sword and belt buckle which is said to represent the Army.
“Nast was always pro-military,” Hyman says. “He created the modern image of Santa Claus.”
Fortunately, in modern day, we don’t think about Civil War imagery or Union Army propaganda when we’re singing “Santa Claus is coming to town” or opening presents on Christmas day.
