Bernhard Gillam in the context of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper

Frederick Victor Gillam (c. 1858 – January 29, 1920) was an American political cartoonist, known for his work in Judge magazine for twenty years, as well as the St. Louis Dispatch, Denver Times, New York World, and New York Globe. He was a member of the New York Press Club and Lotos Club. Born in Yorkshire, England, he emigrated to the United States at age six.

His notable work included support of William McKinley's 1896 presidential campaign. The younger brother of famed cartoonist Bernhard Gillam (1856–1896), he signed his work "Victor" or "F. Victor" until his brother's death. Victor died (aged 61-62) at Kings County Hospital and was buried in Evergreens Cemetery, Brooklyn.

The Mugwumps were Republican political activists in the United States who were intensely opposed to political corruption. They famously switched parties from the Republican Party by supporting the Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland in the 1884 United States presidential election. They switched because they rejected the long history of corruption associated with the Republican candidate James G. Blaine. Despite never formally organizing, the Mugwumps claimed that their influence was the reason that Grover Cleveland won a close election in New York, which in turn gave him enough electoral college votes to win the presidency. The jocular word "mugwump," noted as early as 1832 and applied to these activists derisively, is from Algonquian mugquomp, "important person, kingpin" (from mugumquomp, "war leader"), implying that Mugwumps were sanctimonious or "holier-than-thou" in refusing to be beholden to partisanship.

After the election, "mugwump" survived for more than a decade as an epithet for a party bolter in American politics. Many Mugwumps became Democrats or remained independents, and most continued to support reform well into the 20th century. During the Third Party System, party loyalty was in high regard, and independents were rare. Theodore Roosevelt stunned his upper-class New York City friends by supporting Blaine in 1884; by rejecting the Mugwumps, he kept alive his Republican Party leadership, clearing the way for his own political aspirations.