This undated print refers to President Andrew Jackson’s decision to remove the deposits from the Second National Bank of the United States in October of 1836. In this print, Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton is characterized as a large bug. He is attached to a huge ball labeled “Expunging Resolution,” rolling it uphill towards the Capitol Building. Benton states, “Solitary and alone and amidst the jeers and taunts of my opponents I put this ball in motion,” a quote from his 1834 speech about his “uphill” campaign to strike from the record censure of President Andrew Jackson regarding removing deposits from the Second National Bank of the United States. Benton initially received very little support, but eventually his resolution was passed in 1837. On the ball is a list of “Black Knights,” senators who supported Benton’s resolution regarding the deposits.
The publisher of this print is Henry R. Robinson (1827-1877). Robinson worked in New York, and had a store to sell his prints. In 1842, he was arrested for selling obscene pictures and books leading to the September 28, 1842 court case, People vs H. R. Robinson found in the District Attorney Indictment Papers, Municipal Archives. He was politically affiliated with the anti-Jackson Whig party which was made obvious by the wig silhouette used in 1838 as an advertising logo for his shop.