Woodhull as Satan

Because of Victoria Woodhull's notoriety and because of her defense of "free love," she was often demonized in the press. In this lithograph by Thomas Nast, who was famous for exposing the Tweed Ring in New York, Woodhull is delineated as Mrs. Satan. She is preceded up the mountain by a poor woman who is carrying a drunken husband and two small children. Despite her burden, she asserts: "I'd rather travel the hardest path of matrimony than follow your footsteps." Nast is sometimes credited with being the first artist to draw an image of the modern Santa Claus along with representations of the Democratic donkey and the Republican elephant.