In this cartoon, the artist gives voice to the outrage many felt over federal intervention in Southern states during Reconstruction, usually in order to protect the rights of freedmen. This time, the resistance is most likely a response to the president's intervention the previous year in Arkansas, where two factions, backed by their own militia, each claimed to be the legitimate state government. Note the caricature of Grant: overweight, possibly drunk, displaying an excess of military finery (just the opposite of his actual dress during the Civil War).