Harper’s Weekly – August 5, 1876
Indiana Governor Thomas Hendricks, the runner-up to Samuel Tilden, reluctantly accepted the Vice Presidential slot on the ticket. The two men had a major policy difference — hard vs. soft money. Tilden had always been a specie (gold and silver coinage) supporter, but Hendricks, with a large agricultural base, favored greenbacks so Western farmers could pay back their debts with cheaper paper currency.
Simultaneously and serially, Nast used the money question (as it was called) to portray the Democratic duo as a two-headed tiger. The Tammany tiger had evolved into the Democratic Party tiger.
Tilden’s “Contraction” collar contrasted with “Inflation” on his running mate’s.