The political cartoon “Irish Whiskey and Lager Bier” dates to the early 1850s. It is an early representation of the anti-immigrant sentiment associated with the Know-Nothing Party. Its featured characters are caricatures of two of the largest ethnic groups in the United States: the Irish and the Germans. Because the two main characters are running off with a ballot box, the cartoon is a commentary on the perceived state of politics in 1850s America.