An Uncommon Animal...

In 1842, Democrat Wilson Shannon and Whig candidate Thomas Corwin were running for governor of Ohio.  The two parties were fiercely divided over banking. Democrats wanted the establishment of local banks while Whigs preferred a more powerful centralized banking system.  The two became even more cleft after Congress passed the Apportionment Act of 1842, requiring states with more than one Representative to elect them from separate districts of contiguous territory.  Whigs were against this bill as they believed Democrats proposed it to gerrymander the state in favor of their party.

The article is from the Dayton Journal on Monday, August 22, 1842.  I could not help but research this interesting image further!  Though the article is discussing a "Gerrymander" as an uncommon animal near the Ohio River, it is clearly using this creature to represent how boundaries are being manipulated in this region before the election.  It states that Mr. Byington, a Democrat from Lorain County, and his crew found a Gerrymander late one evening with the intention of taking it alive.  Mr. Schenck, a member of the Whig party from Warren County, disliked "the savage look and dangerous character of the varmint, gave it a shot and crippled it."  He decided the next day to behead, skin, stuff, and exhibit the Gerrymander "for the gratification of the curious."

After further research, I found that the Democrats wanted to (figuratively) add these "creatures", or congressional districts, to their menagerie while the Whig party wanted them gone altogether. The Whigs used these images in newspapers throughout Ohio to showcase what they believed to be the Democratic Party's corrupt actions.  Follow the Ohio History Host link below to see more examples like the article above!

Sources:

http://www.ohiohistoryhost.org/ohiomemory/archives/1333

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Wilson_Shannon

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Robert_C._Schenck

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=55112428