1-150-567 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage-Images

'Humble Pie (?)', 1869. After the American Civil War, the US government claimed compensation was due from Britain in respect of the damage done by the Alabama, a ship fitted out in Britain to raid the commerce of the United States. The row had rumbled on for some time and, in November 1868, a Convention had been signed allowing commissioners to be appointed to adjudicate. This cartoon shows Mr Reverdy Johnson, the recently appointed US Minister to Britain, being presented with a pie depicting the amount of damages being claimed. Johnson is to offer the pie to John Bull. In April 1869, the US Senate had rejected by a majority of some 54 to 1 the proposed Treaty. One Senator, Mr Sumner, said that Britain had dealt the US such a blow that it was difficult to quantify. This matter was still rumbling on into the 1870s. From Punch, or the London Charivari, May 15, 1869.