Good afternoon! Today’s Friday Funny is an 1862 piece from the London weekly magazine, Punch.
Entitled, “”Not up to Time;” Or, Intereference would be very Welcome,” the cartoon highlights the question of whether or not France (the militant eagle) and Great Britain (the apprehensive Lion) should intervene in the American Civil War. Politically and economically concerned, the two European powers hoped that the war might end soon, thereby stopping the rising death toll and resuming the shipments of American cotton and wheat. By September 1862—when this cartoon first appeared—both countries thought the American conflict was nearly played out. However, neither country was eager to choose sides so both England and France awaited a significant Confederate victory. Little did they know that a few days later, the North and South would face each other in the bloodiest battle of the war: Antietam.
Image Credit: Punch, September 3, 1862.
