1-150-359 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage-Images

'John Bull's Neutrality', 1863. Look Here, Boys, I Don't Care Twopence For Your Noise, But If You Throw Stones At My Windows, I Must Thrash You Both. Here, John Bull, representing Britain, tells the two little urchins, Jefferson Davis for the Southern States on the left, and Abraham Lincoln for the Northern States on the right, that if they continue in their antisocial behaviour, then he, John Bull, will thrash them both.The British government had tried to retain a neutrality throughout the American Civil War, giving favours to neither of the sides. However, this seemed to cause offence to both sides of the conflict, and there was much negative material printed about Britain in the American press. From Punch, or the London Charivari, October 3, 1863.