English: Political cartoon from Vanity Fair, March 10, 1860. William H. Seward, senator and contender for the Republican nomination for president (won by Abraham Lincoln) repositions himself as a moderate on slavery by brewing "mild beer" after his Rochester speech in which he said slavery would lead to a "irrepressible conflict.
Caption: Customer -- I notice you draw your ale very mild now, William. Landlord Seward -- Yes, this is a new tap, some I brewed myself last Wednesday; my customers thought the Rochester ale was rather too strong.