This week in 1863, Thomas Nast drew Santa Claus for Harper’s Weekly. The German immigrant from Bavaria had arrived in New York as a child, one of 1.5 million Germans who came to the US between 1830 and 1860. Those immigrants and their sons made up a quarter of Union soldiers. Nast’s jolly Santa celebrated their victory and depicted America’s new prosperity.
Eleven years later, the same artist drew a different scene: a donkey wearing a lion’s skin marked “Caesarism” scaring an elephant labeled “Republican Vote.” President Ulysses S. Grant was eyeing a third term. Nast saw danger. His cartoon “Third Term Panic” helped shape the political symbols we still use today. The donkey. The elephant. The warning.
It took until 1951 for the 22nd Amendment to limit presidents to two terms. Nast’s cartoons commented on the threat 77 years early, an immigrant who influenced America’s political conscience.
As we embark into 2026, remembering contributions of immigrants in the past and the present seems particularly relevant. The same hand that shaped today’s images of Santa drew warnings about power abuse. Nast understood both celebration and civic vigilance. Immigrants often become democracy’s fiercest defenders, having lived without it, sometimes seeing more clearly what is being taken for granted.
This election year, their legacy continues in every voice that questions authority, every candidate standing up for the law, every artist who captures inconvenient truth, every citizen who refuses to look away. Happy New Year 2026!
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