#John C. Calhoun

[dustzvacuumcleaner]

Too many old stuffs lol dk which to post everyday

tagging these names makes me sick

[deadpresidents]

Just want to thank you for your post about the best muppet to be president, i'm still crying laughing that you worried dr. bunson would be criticized for not having political vision because he doesn't have eyeballs and that kermit is a sociopath. Literally the most random comments ever!

Thank you. That was a surprisingly popular post that inspired quite a bit of debate. Sometimes I do question whether I should be disappointed by the fact that I've been writing about Presidential history on Tumblr for over 15 years now and some of the more popular posts are similar to the one where I debated which Muppet would make the best President. Something tells me that I wouldn't get the same response to a deep-dive on the Ostend Manifesto.

I stand by the fact that Rizzo the Rat would be the best choice. The more I thought about it, it wasn't so much the fact that Dr. Bunsen Honeydew doesn't have eyeballs that suggests he might not be the best President, but the fact that he probably lost his eyes in a laboratory accident, meaning he might not have even be a good scientist.

And I vehemently disagree with all the Miss Piggy truthers. She would be a disaster. If you haven't recognized the fact that she's a toxic presence and seems to be genuinely abusive on every possible level, then I don't know why we're even having this conversation. This is obviously serious business, not a game or a popularity contest.

(Oh, and for those who were supporting Sam the Eagle, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves. He is obviously John C. Calhoun, and I shouldn't even need to explain why he's unacceptable.)

[beggars-opera]

Didn’t even sell my soul and start a civil war, but living through all this has the same physical effect

[apush-relevancy]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN JOHN C CALHOUN MY BELOVED

I hate all of his actions but

look up photos of him when he was younger

you'll see bestie

[xtruss]

General Grant At City Point! This photograph is a montage or composite of several images and does Not Actually Show General Ulysses S. Grant at City Point, Virginia. Three photos provided different parts of the portrait. Library of Congress

These Manipulated Photos Are The Original Political Deepfakes

Long Before Artificial Intelligence, Photographers Altered Images to Burnish the Reputations of Politicians—From Lincoln to Stalin.

— ByParissa DJangi | July 24, 2024

The rise of artificial intelligence or AI has made photo manipulation easier and more accessible than ever. And under the right circumstances, these images could wreak political havoc.

Generative AI-powered tools can create new images or videos, including so-called deepfakes. “Originally, deepfakes referred to videos in which the face of one person had been swapped with the face of another using AI,” says Matthew Stamm, an engineer at Drexel University in Philadelphia. “As generative AI has progressed, the word deepfake has been also used to describe many other forms of fake or manipulated [images] made using AI.”

When deepfakes feature political leaders, they risk spreading misinformation or discrediting administrations.

The AI tools that produce fake images may be novel, but there’s nothing new about the act of editing photographs for political spin. Long before deepfake entered the lexicon, manipulated photographs in the 19th and 20th centuries attempted to shape the image of world leaders.

Early Photo Editing Techniques

As long as there have been photographs, people have been editing them. Photography pioneers believed pictures were more than objective records of reality. Photographer Henry Peach Robinson wrote in 1869, “I am far from saying that a photograph must be an actual, literal, and absolute fact; […] but it must represent truth.”

The head of the above photo of Grant at City Point likely comes from this June 1864 portrait of Grant standing next to a tree in Cold Harbor, Virginia. Photograph Courtesy of the Library of Congress

What kind of truth, though? Photographs could enliven a lifeless corpse to comfort a bereaved family or showcase the patriotism of a soldier heading to war.

Shaping these truths sometimes meant altering the photograph. “In the darkroom, [photographers] had lots of control over framing and the relative exposure of an image,” explains Tanya Sheehan, an art historian at Colby College in Maine. “Negatives could be double-exposed. Multiple photographic negatives could even be cut and recombined to produce composite images.”

Making L eaders Look Good

Studios also touched up photographs to enhance sitters’ appearance. “People who frequented photographic studios expected their portraits to show their ‘best selves,’ and retouching was seen as crucial to that goal,” Sheehan points out. Political leaders and their supporters were no exception.

In this portrait of President Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln's head was superimposed onto the body of John C. Calhoun in an earlier portrait. Composite Print By William Pate (Left) And Print By Alexander Hay Ritchie (Right)

Around 1865, a new image showed Abraham Lincoln in a regal pose. It’s possible the depiction was created after the wartime president’s assassination had transformed him into a “martyr,” and it may have circulated after his death. The photo later turned out to be a fake: Lincoln’s face had been cropped onto the body of John C. Calhoun, a pro-slavery politician.

Decades later, the Soviet Union deployed similar techniques to make strongmen look even stronger, especially during the regime of Josef Stalin from 1924 and 1953.

“At the state level, most photo doctoring was carried out by the art departments of various official publications, journals, and newspapers, which used a range of different means to manipulate images,” says Jessica Werneke, a historian at the University of Iowa.

“Airbrushing […] was common to remove physical imperfections, specifically in images of Stalin, who had scars from smallpox and injuries to the left side of his body from a childhood injury.”

Excising Political Liabilities

Photo manipulation also served a more nefarious purpose during Stalin’s regime. “[It] was a means of rewriting history according to Stalinist policies and principles,” says Werneke. “Stalin and his supporters took this process to a whole new level in physically erasing individuals from images.”

Nikolai Yezhov (right) lead the Soviet secret police from 1936 to 1938 under Joseph Stalin (center). Yezhov was was arrested in 1938 and executed in 1940. After his execution, Yezhov was painstakingly removed from this image, earning him the posthumous nickname "the Vanishing Commissar". Photograph Via Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Arguably the most infamous case of political erasure involves a pair of photographs depicting a scene from 1937. The first image, printed that year, features Stalin and three colleagues, including secret police official Nikolai Yezhov. Three years later, the image appeared in print again––without Yezhov.

What happened? After the image had first been captured, Yezhov fell out of favor. By 1941, he had been executed and was literally and figuratively cut out of the picture, as if he had never been near Stalin to begin with.

Identifying Fakes

Mikhail Gorbachev, then Russian Politburo member and second in line at the Kremlin, in Edinburgh, Scotland, 1984. Photograph of Bryn Colton, Getty Images (Left). An official portrait of Gorbachev with his famous birthmark edited out. Photograph From The Collection of The Wende Museum (Right)

Today, organizations like the Content Authenticity Initiative can help vet digital images and detect AI’s influence. But what about pre-digital photographs have been heavily manipulated?

According to Micah Messenheimer, the Library of Congress’s curator of photography, provenance is key: “Knowing the photograph’s history […] helps establish its authenticity.”

Provenance is only part of the puzzle, however. “Expert conservators can examine the physical properties of a photograph to understand when something is out of the ordinary in the chemical composition, paper age, or applied coloring,” explains Messenheimer.

Sometimes, all it takes is a feeling that the photo doesn’t look right. Helena Zinkham, chief of the library’s Prints and Photographs Division, recalls how Kathryn Blackwell, then a reading room assistant, first raised suspicions in 2007 about a photograph featuring Ulysses S. Grant in what appears to be a military camp during the Civil War.

This image of Major General McCook photographed between 1862-1865 was likely used as the horse and man's body in the composite photograph of Grant at City Point. Photograph Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Blackwell “was refiling the photo one day and thought, ‘Something’s off here.’” Detective work revealed the image was a composite of different sources. Grant’s head had been cropped onto another officer’s body, and the whole scene was cast against a background from an entirely different photograph. Researchers dated the image to sometime around 1902, well after Grant’s death in 1885.

The image portrayed Grant as a war hero, nobly posing on a horse. The means of manipulating photographs have changed over time, but the goal remains the same: to shape the image of political leaders, one edit at a time.

[politicsnc]

Originalism and the Independent State Legislature Doctrine

Originalism and the Independent State Legislature Doctrine

The Supreme Court is going to take up another North Carolina redistricting case next week. This time, the North Carolina legislature is arguing that the General Assembly has the sole responsibility for overseeing federal elections, including drawing Congressional districts.  Specifically, North Carolina Republican leaders say that the state supreme court is overreaching when redrawing…

[lil-als]

Inspired by @anteabbie’s telling presidents on characterai that she’s pregnant…. Veeps!

[anteabbie]

Hey Tumblr so I had an idea for a historical fiction comedy thingy surrounding The Petticoat Affair

Ok so it takes place from MVB’s POV, but MVB is a time traveler who had knowledge of the internet, and he makes Moist Critical videos documenting tho whole ordeal.

After a bit, the main people surrounding the Petticoat Affair find out abt MVB’s little secret, and well, shit hits the fan

Would y’all read something like that if I published it on AO3?

[antebellumite]

tumblr fake posts but it's exclusively the US congress 1830s-50s. this will probably not make sense to anyone. it barely makes sense to me: [this is a long post. press j to skip]:

12 notes

forthurricane

guys help three senators from my party are outside my door and its a sunday and im scared i think they want something.

forthurricane

they want me to blackmail the president.

2 notes

henrywisingitup Follow

ohhhh goddddd ok so the coworker that called me a slur at work a few days ago IN PUBLIC just got a duel challenge from a friend of mine aslkdf. istg i hate him so much he's so annoying and he needs to resign or kill himself immediately. i hope he accepts the challenge fucking dies or gets shot up. good RIDDENCE fucking turd pile of trash empty bladder dung beetle puppy bastard LIAR. welliamgravely Follow

what'd he call you?

henrywisingitup Follow

an aboliti*nist.

congressionalglobe

Congblr Heritage Post. #congblr heritage post #senblr heritage post #houseblr heritage post #lmao remember when abolitionist was a slur guys #thank u pierceuinfiftytwo #i hate this post #and i think u do too #mod greeley

346,356 notes

Anonymous asked hi i'm sorry if i'm bothering you with this ask but i'm kinda new to this whole politics thing ( was just recently elected by my constituents so this is my first term ) and i would like to know how to get started on congblr? i've been recently appt to the house and i'd love to engage more with the community. do u have any blogs you'd suggest to me? bunnybrownfrench

hi anon!!!! i'm so glad you're here and in the house too ! ( it's where i am- frankly the Better House of Congress too while we're at it ). sadly i don't know what politics or party u have and i mostly scurry round the democrat side of the aisle more than anything, so i might not be able to help u that much, but i can try to give you some good ones!

@/gowestyoungman is a good source for news, and i'm personally a fan of @/mattbradydaggeurotype but @/geopeteralexhealy has some great portraits! obviously anyone has to follow @/oldhickory if they're a dem ( or even a whig ) they have great posts, lots of drama and thought provoking articles. a vv funny scroll. @/greatcompromiser is on the opposite side as a whig, but always sophisticated in their arguments, with nice shitposts in between to lighten the mood if you're uneasy about the american system.

@/jquincy and @/oldbullion are mostly serious blogs and if you're a westward expansion fellow, they're top blogs for u to follow. a bit hard at times, but personally i think they have great humor to make up for it ( unlike @/castironman though if you're here for what he posts all the more strength to u i suppose). @/redfoxkinderhook is also a good blog but they rarely post ( and never anything personal). @/godlikedan is my personal favorite blog. they have everything on there- drama, shitposts, detailed analysis, longposts, important info, aesthetics, etc.

for the rest tho anon, i'll leave it up to you! go out and explore! find the blogs u like; i wish u the best of luck!

15 notes

greatcompromiser hey guys, look at this BEAUTIFUL new commission i just got from @/mattbradydaggeurotype! it was wonderful to work with you, matt! <333

oldbullion

every day i wake up.

#body horror

555 notes

gallerywatcher Follow

why he kinda......

robrhett Follow

this bitch thirsting over baldy mcuseless LMAO

gallerywatcher Follow

hearing strong words from a guy whos blog is devoted to john c calhoun

244 notes

jrandolphofroanoke

i have herpes. greatcompromiser

yeah? and????? we know.

jrandolphofroanoke

IN MY EYES. IN MY EYES.

135 notes

bunnybrownfrench asked: orgies in hell over secession!! dailyaskstotheussenate

i forgot i asked for poem recommendations for a moment.

0 notes

#ask #bunnybrownfrench

castironman follow It is with great misfortune that I continue the discourse of the past week, but due to recent actions by certain other accounts, I have to re-engage with this conflict. Again, I would like to say that I stand firm in by belief that the 2BUS should not be re-instated, and that I resent the idea that I have somehow 'flip-flopped' or 'betrayed' my past ideals or other people in regards to what I believe to only be my own rational decisions, all logical as I will prove. read more

greatcompromiser

oh you've got to be kidding me.

read more

#fucking fuck offfff JOHN #dumbass ungrateful bitch #subtreasury discource #castironman #i shouldve let oldhickory hang you

54,233 notes

theliberator

Hello, all. The Liberator is proud to announce a new mod today to assist in spreading the antislavery message. Presenting: @/frederickdouglass! We're very glad to have a new member to the abolitionist movement, and even more so to have a new mod with us today! We're sure they'll do great work, and we hope you share our excitement as well!

-Mod Garrison and The Liberator Team

theliberator

Hello, all. Disregard this post, since we cannot delete it. Frederick Douglass has been removed from the mod team.

#info #state of the blog #mod update #mod garrison

44 notes

dailyaskstotheussenate

to the anon who asked us when the gag rule is going to be repealed.

the day that john quincy adams finally snaps and decides to murder the rest of his colleagues on the floor.

or never.

#misc

234 notes

thenorthstar

Hello all, Frederick Douglass here. As you might be aware by now, The Liberator and I have since parted. The reason for this is due to several irreconcilable differences, some political, some personal. The drama has since cooled down, but due to the blowout from our conflict, William Lloyd Garrison and I have agreed to since part ways. I am currently running @/thenorthstar on multiple platforms available in my bio.

Garrison and I are still part of the abolitionist movement together, so if you're worried about the harm this might cause to our end goal of emancipation for enslaved people in the United States and the complete destruction of the slave system as it stands today, do not worry. I will be reposting a catalogue of my speeches and writings here that were originally in The Liberator- which you may feel free to mute as you wish. My advocacy for human rights will proceed as normal.

Please do not contact me to ask about just what occurred between The Liberator and I, however, as that is something that I both do not want to discuss, and feel it is unnecessary considering this blog's true content matter.

#info #blog #the liberator #please direct any and all comments about wlg to mr smith from now on

245,234 notes

higherlawseward Follow

Let's settle this once and for all.

littlegiantofillinois

/lmao.

#bro's getting ratioed so hard i almost cant watch. #SEWARD #delete this sewage boy

brecknridge Follow

fellas is it gay to bring a flower to your senate colleague as your first act in congress to express your admiration for him (also from your state)( literally the most famous senator of your era)(you plucked this flower straight from your home state and tenderly carried it all the way to washington dc to hand to him)(kinda cute too)(this is the first time you've met him)(whig party, you're a democrat)(70 yrs old)???

brecknridge Follow

fellas is it gay to bring a flower to your senate colleague who's dying in a washington dc hotel room and sit by him for hours on end talking about politics and personal life before he finally expires his last breath and you tenderly are the last person to gently readjust his pillow as he falls asleep in your arms...

oldbuck Follow

No.

brecknridge Follow

oh ok

43 notes

godlikedan

A gift from a friend. ;) ;) ;)

godlikedan

Wait.

godlikedan

Everyone stop reblogging this. This was supposed to go to my other blog.

godlikedan

PLEASE.

#lmao get wrecked. #always knew you had a porn blog danny

12,000 notes

oldbullion

real talk everyone in this senate needs to stop having drama.

#@/castironman @/greatcompromiser... looking at you both #stop it

133 notes

roberthayne

menstruation sounds so cool....but why doesnt it ever happen to men???

godlikedan

remind me how you got elected again.

76 notes

oldbullion

going to @/oldhickory's inaugeral party. I expect a solemn affair.

oldbullion

F U CK they broug ht t cheeessseeee....

12 notes

jgiddyings

back to work in the senate :D~~~!

dawson Follow

tf i thought we censured you??

jgiddyings

i got reelected :) :) :)!~

#take that mofos #no blocking or muting can remove me NOW #suck my dick

65 notes

memberofthehouse

OH MY GOD I HATE this house chamber so much the acoustics are horrible and its so crowded istg I am blaming Thomas Jefferson for all of this. the room was clearly already too crowded in the 1790s and then the louisiana purchase just comes by and Fucks! Shit! UP???? by doubling the amount of people who have to be stuffed in here??? and everyone keeps on smoking and spitting tobacco everywhere and its too hot??? i think the lead is killing me. i think the air is killing me. i think my colleagues are going to kill me. I DEFINATLY THINK HENRY WISE AND HIS COMPANY IS TRYING TO KILL ME???

Kill me.

henrywisingitup

get used to it buddy.

rogertaney

we're making court decisions in the goddarn congress basement if that helps.

346 notes

littlegiantofillinois

so horny for her

77 notes

chucksumner

just saw william seward and jefferson davis taking a carriage together. i don't get it. am i the only one who thinks that as antislavery advocates we in the senate Shouldn't be playing nice with slaveholders??

28 notes

forthurricane Follow

breakfast is very fufilling i say as a person who's morning meal consists entirely of a carton of milk and one (1) expired bread loaf garrison Follow

everyone please stop reblogging op is literally jefferson davis.

#dni

52,346 notes

goldtippedguttapercha-deactiv

Not to be mean but this coworker of mine needs to get caned. 23,233 notes

senatorero hangman foote threatened to kill me again today. can someone please tell me if this means im part of the antislavery club.

vivelasboston Follow

are you a republican? because otherwise i think it's appropriation.

senatorero

oh for christs sake

#personal 4 notes

littlegiantofillinois

such a cruel world... so many good laps to sit on and no one to let me do so.

#SO MANY SOFT LONG CONGRESSIONAL LEGGGGS #THEY ALL LOOK SO COMFFYYYYY #ah well #no comfort or joy in life i suppose #time to bully president pierce into expanding popular sovreignty into kansas nebraska!!! :)))))) #this won't cause any issues

33 notes

[corruptballin]

her: you better not be a john c calhoun piñata when i get there

me:

[dustzvacuumcleaner]

Webster’s stand-up comedy (x)

[deadpresidents]

I currently live in Springfield, IL (moved here for work a year ago) and it's been really interesting to learn about Lincoln (he dominates so much here, it's nuts) that I didn't know (which surprising was a lot).

If a town is going to be super proud of its hometown product, one could do a lot worse than Abraham Lincoln.

The craziest fact about Springfield, Illinois is that it was almost named after John C. Calhoun, so it could have been a much more complicated legacy.

[unanchored-ship]

help

[anachronous-cetacea]

Chaotic antebellum Furry official design（really？）

Oh and Calhoun is just wearing dresses.

🪿James Polk

🐮Thomas Benton

🐻Daniel Webster

🦝Henry Clay

🐍John Tyler

🦊Martin Van Buren

🫏Andrew Jackson

💃🏻John Calhoun

[fauvester]

There are times when I still wonder about you You are someone I have loved, but never known

[angelkeitai]

okay fine ill make a post about flouride toothpaste