i. In the background of the primary scene, a scene of burning and pillaging of an area can be observed. A man is also seen hanging dead from a tree. This is an exaggeration of the possible consequences of attempting to force the members of the Free Soil Party to accept the terms of decisions involving slavery. This background can also quite literally portray acts of violence in Kansas such as the Raid on Lawrence. The exaggerated character feature focuses on an idea about the character. Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas and President Franklin Pierce force a black man into the giant’s gaping mouth. This represents the Democrats attempting to enforce decisions about slavery through the Free Soil Party.The main doctrine of the Free Soil Party, however unorganized, is to prevent the spread and use of slavery in the territories. The giant in the cartoon is a free soiler, which could represent the fact that while it was quite difficult for the Democrats to impose their will about slavery on the Free Soilers, it was not impossible and they put many resources and effort into it.
ii. The symbol is the “Democratic Platform.” The author is blaming the democrats for the violence against anti slavery settlers in Kansas, as a result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Democratic leaders such James Buchanan, Stephen Douglas, and Franklin Pierce are seen on the platform because they are the most prominent leaders of the Democratic Party. Their wishes are what the rest of the party carries out. They are supposed to represent the party as a whole, because they are the faces of it.
iii. The labels on the Democratic Platform are “Kansas”, “Cuba”, and “Central America.” This is referring to the Democratic intentions for the expansion of slavery in different areas. Kansas was an area largely debated over. At the time it was ready to be accepted as a new state, the balance between slave and free states was perfectly equal; there were 15 slave states and 15 free states. When the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed, it caused much debate and even violence, especially because of the fact that it directly violated the Missouri Compromise. The South also wanted to expand slavery into lands in South America and Cuba, which also caused much more controversy.
iv. “Forcing Slavery Down the Throat of a Freesoiler” is the title of this cartoon. The phrase means that the Democratic Party was attempting to impel the Free Soil Party to back down and allow proslavery actions to be committed everywhere. However, the Free Soil Party’s main goal was to stop slavery from spreading into the new territories. The cartoon shows the attempt of the Democratic government to domineer the Free Soil Party’s wishes and impose their will on them. But, the task is not an easy one, and the Democrats will have a difficult time trying to accomplish their goals. The Free Soilers will continue to fight against the inhumane practice of slavery, and hopefully will not give in to the Democratic Party’s attempts to strong-arm them.