In July 1790 Congress decided to move the seat of the federal government from its original site in New York to Washington, with Philadelphia as an interim capital. The unidentified satirist gives a cynical view of the profit opportunity which this presented for Philadelphians. A three-masted ship with a smaller boat in tow sails toward a fork in a river. It is being lured by a devil toward the lower fork (eventually leading to Philadelphia), which falls precipitously in a rocky cataract, and away from the fork which leads to the 'Potowmack' river

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Size: 5815px × 3607px
Location:
Photo credit: © Photo12/Ann Ronan Picture Library / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: american, cartoon, philadelphia, political, potomac, print, river, ship