Review Henretta, Chapter 15. Visit the website Toward Racial Equality: Harper’s Weekly Reports on Black America. Find a cartoon and, using your knowledge from Chapter 15 and your examination of the cartoon, comment in response to this blog post on what the cartoon illustrates about the nature of Reconstruction. What view does the cartoon take? What were the implications of the situation that’s depicted in the cartoon?
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#1 by Cassie Carnabuci on November 25, 2009 - 8:46 am
I looked at the cartoon “One Less Vote.” In the cartoon, a black man was shot in the head and is lying dead on the ground. The 15th amendment denied the right to vote for citizens based on race color or “previous condition of servitude,” enacted in February 1869. Violence and intimidation towards blacks was used by whites, so Republican Reconstruction governments were replaced with Democratic Redeemer governments. The view that the cartoon takes is probably a white man’s view. The cartoons were published in newspaper in some election years. It seems that the situation was that the white men were obviously still in control of everything, and the blacks weren’t allowed all of their freedoms.
#2 by Tom Jaracz on November 28, 2009 - 2:03 pm
The cartoon i viewed, http://blackhistory.harpweek.com/7Illustrations/!ListOfIllusLevelOne.htm, shows that in the south slavery was still an issue. The cartoon takes the view that slavery is acceptable and that there was money to be made by buying and selling slaves. Some slave owners felt insulted at times during auctions when their slaves wouldnt command as much money as expected and sometimes slaves would not sell. After looking at the cartoon one can see these auctions were quite popular and that slaves were almost treated as livestock since they were chained together and hearded around the stage as everyone looked on. People in the South felt as though they brought radical reconstruction upon themselves. One man is quoted as saying “We had, in 1865, a white man’s government in in Alabama” , “but we lost it”. Every state but Tennessee rejected the fourteenth amendment and this shows how the south was still against giving equal rights to african americans.
#3 by Lindsey Gloekler on November 30, 2009 - 9:53 am
The first cartoon i chose was the Africans of the Slave Bark, Wildfire. To me this cartoon shows that the Americans treated the slaves with no respect. It shows the slaves shoved on a boat with no clothes or shelter just all pushed together. To me this cartoon is taking the side of the Americans for slavery. But it could also be taking the side of the people against slavery. trying to show other people how slaves were being treated during this time.
The second picture i looked at was The Riots at New York. This picture seems to be protraying what happened during the riots. The way i am looking at this picture is telling about the actions the police took that night to try to keep everyone safe. The citizens must have gotten out of hand and the police had to take action to try and keep the peace.
#4 by Matt Kulik on November 30, 2009 - 12:27 pm
The first cartoon I looked at was The Freedman’s Bureau. This cartoon takes the side of the Freedman’s Bureau because in the cartoon it shows a mob of angry whites and a mob of angry free blacks about to face off, but the authority figure takes the side of the free blacks by halting the angry whites. In my opinion this cartoon is illustrating the looming conflict of the Freedman’s Bureau, and what it must overcome to be completely realized. It always show that even though the war is over tension is still at its all time high, but this cartoon displays what side it thinks the law will take.
The second cartoon I looked at was called Pardon. This cartoon shows Columbia sitting on a throne in front of Southerners who are what seems to be begging for forgiveness. This cartoon takes the view of the Republican government because Columbian seems very bored with the Southern pleas of forgiveness and is clearly debating on whether or not it can trust them. Since the pardoning of these Southerners is imminent it is hard for the government to decide whether or not to trust them again. Even though Robert E. Lee is seen in the cartoon giving up his sword it is implied in the cartoon that the road to re-admitting the South into the Union won’t be that easy.
#5 by Erin Thomas on November 30, 2009 - 6:09 pm
The cartoon, “Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction” is portrayed in a light that is against him, showing his leinency in his reconstruction plan. There is a lot going on in this cartoon. In the center focal point the artist drew Johnson in Shakespearean clothes and drew an injured African Union man and calls him Othello, who was an African. I thought this particular corellation was interesting, because if you know the Shakespearean story, you get a sense of Johnson as an evil plotter, who is denying someone of something that they truly deserve (the union man who is denied his place in American commonwealth) At the bottom picture, Johnson is drawn as a snake charmer with his top cabinet around him. Also illustrating a picture of someone who is trying to convince people to join his side.
#6 by Erin Thomas on November 30, 2009 - 6:16 pm
“One Vote Less” is a pretty obvious message. This is talking about the undoing of the reconstruction where ex-Confederates wanted to start a big counter revolution designed to reedem the South and restore political power under the Democratic power, and they needed to do this by restoring voter rolls campaigning against black rule. People such as the Klu Klux Klan did this by murdering people, burning black buildings and churches down.
#7 by Andrea Phillips on November 30, 2009 - 7:22 pm
I chose to look at the cartoon named “Time Works Wonders”. This cartoon relates to modern politics very much because Barack Obama became the first black president and Hiram Revels being one of the first African American senators. This cartoon illustrates the affects of Reconstruction. It represents that because it shows a African American holding a political position. This cartoon also shows the curiosity of the people since there were so many people watching the senator. The cartoon takes a positive view towards Senator Revels, but a negative view to the man lurking behind the wall. The illustrator depicts the man by the wall as being conspicuous and deceiving. The situation that is depicted by the cartoon is that the man by the wall is plotting something against Senator Revels and his colleagues.
The next cartoon i decided to look at was “Lincoln the Emancipator”. Reconstruction is related to this cartoon because Lincoln emancipated the slaves. Emancipation of the slaves played a huge role in the cause for the reconstruction. The cartoon takes a very optimistic view partly because it shows Lincoln being praised. It depicted Lincoln as being something like a savior. The cartoon implied that Lincoln saved the slaves, and that slaves looked up to Lincoln and were grateful for what he did.
#8 by Michelle Taylor on November 30, 2009 - 11:10 pm
The Freedman’s Bureau is a cartoon that depicts a Bureau agent standing in between a group of Southern white men on one side and a group of freed slaves on the other. The Freedman’s Bureau was set up to help establish homes and schools, and distribute food for freed slaves of this time. This cartoon suggests that the Southern whites opposed this idea and were looking to rebel against the freed slaves. The Bureau, which was put in place as a part of the United States Department of War, stands in between preventing any potential conflict between the two groups of people. This was published in 1868, during which time the South was in disagreement with the idea of reconstruction.
In Time Works Wonders, Thomas Nast illustrates Jeff Davis, Mississippi, standing away from his former senate seat, which has now been occupied by Hiram Revels, the first black senator. The caption reads: “For that I do suspect the lusty moor hath leap’d into my seat, the thought where of doth like a poisonous mineral gnaw my inwards”. The level of disgust suggested in the caption is palpable. The cartoon obviously suggests that the idea of a black man taking a seat of power is unacceptable. But in contrast, Revels is welcomed by four other congressmen from Missouri, Massachusetts, and Indiana. Perhaps it suggests that those senators from the Northern states are more welcoming to the idea of incorporating the black population into government positions more so than the South.
#9 by John Winzig on December 1, 2009 - 10:32 am
For my first cartoon, i chose ‘This Is A White Man’s Government’. This cartoon holds many clues to the struggle of between Republicans and Democrats during Reconstruction. The three opponents to the Republican platform of equality are present in the picture: Racist northerners, ie Irishmen, Former Confederate soldiers, and corrupt East Coast Politicians. These three figures our standing on top of a black Union veteran who is clutching an American flag and is reaching for a voting box. The cartoon takes the view that their is a collective movement to suppress the civil rights of the newly freed slaves. By labeling the weapons of each of the three figures with the words ‘a vote’ ‘the lost cause’ and ‘capital votes’, Nast is illustrating the three methods white men use to limit freedman’s rights. As a caption, Nast choose a quote from the Democratic platform that highlights it’s opposition to reconstruction efforts.
“We regard the Reconstruction Acts (so called) of Congress as usurpation’s, and unconstitutional, revolutionary, and void.”
For my 2nd cartoon, i decided to analyze ‘Visit of the Ku-Klux’. This straightforward illustration shows the brutal and unpredictable killings of non-meddling free-slaves in the reconstruction period. A black family is depicted peacefully gathering at the end of the day in their one room cabin while three clan members appear in the doorway. One of the members is pointing a rifle either at a young child or an old man sitting near the fire place. This cartoon is trying to convey the message that KKK killings were not in response to unrest in the black community but rather as unprovoked hate crimes intended to scare free blacks back into the bonds of slavery. If Southerns couldn’t get their way in Congress, (which they eventually did), they were hell bent on terrorizing the freed slave population with the intention of limiting their rights back to the pre-civil war era.
#10 by Nick Anthony on December 1, 2009 - 6:32 pm
The first picture I viewed is the one of the lady sitting down looking annoyed while Confederate figures are surrounding her looking repentative, with the statement “Should I trust them?” underneath it (http://blackhistory.harpweek.com/4Reconstruction/ReconLevelOne.htm). This view seems to take the side of Reconstruction, by saying that America should not be so trusting to the states that had just abandoned them and engaged in a bloody conflict against them. The situation seems to say that America is tired of trusting the Confederates and it may be time to trust and give liberties to the black man.
The second picture is a picture of a black man lying dead, appearing to be shot in the head (http://blackhistory.harpweek.com/4Reconstruction/ReconLevelOne.htm) with the words “One less vote” underneath. The implications are more brutual towards southern white violence against blacks by seeming to say one dead black man is one less vote. It almost calls out the southern whites for their racist violence, as groups such as the Ku Klux Klan had become relevant in this time period. This appears to me to be against Reconstruction as the statement “One Less Vote” was said to be made by a Richmond whig, who were noted as against the Reconstruction.
#11 by Joe Lauria on December 1, 2009 - 6:34 pm
The first cartoon I am analyzing is called “Slave Auction In The South” this cartoon shows how the white man treats slaves as property. They wanted to change the way African Americans were treated. Most people were still very racist and did now want to see a change. This cartoon depicts the people who were against reconstruction and still thought African Americans should be treated as slaves. To me this shows that the slave market is still strong because they are selling some African Americans. Someone wants to buy those people so the slave market is still strong.
The second cartoon i analyzed was: “The Africans of the Slave Bark, Wildfire” This cartoon shows a whole boat full of slaves coming over from Africa. Again suggesting that slavery is still alive and strong. This painting defiantly shows that the south is against the reconstruction plans. The implications it has are that slaves are not safe. They are saying that no matter what the North does that the south will still treat blacks as slaves.
#12 by Nate Hottinger on December 1, 2009 - 6:58 pm
The first cartoon I chose to do was the one entitled “This is a white man’s government.” This cartoon is obviuosly an anti-democratic view of how they are treating blacks during reconstruction. On the left is a brutish, ape-looking figure representing the lower class working man. In the center is a man wearing a confederate uniform, representing the former rebels in the post war democratic party. On the right is a very well-to-do man representing the upper class of the democratic party. They are all trampling on the black man who holds an American flag in his hand. I think this cartoon shows that the democratic party is not only trampling the black man, but also trampling on America and her ideals, as symbolized by the American flag.
The second cartoon I chose was “Time works wonders.” In the cartoon it depicts a black man in Jefferson Davis’s former chair, surrounded by other white republicans, while Jefferson Davis stands around a corner. This is obviously done from a republican view, since Davis looks very evil and sinister. This cartoon shows how the black man has come up in the world, he is welcomed by his fellow republicans, and is even the center of the discussion.
#13 by Britny Snodgrass on December 1, 2009 - 8:38 pm
http://blackhistory.harpweek.com/7Illustrations/!ListOfIllusLevelOne.htm(that is the link to the cartoon I viewed)
This cartoon illustrates that slavery was still a major issue. Many slave owners were also angered when their slaves did not sell or when they did they were not worth as much as expected. However, the slave owners needed to continue selling slaves to make money. The slave auctions brought large crowds. Also the slaves were treated like animals and chained together. Also it is important to note that the south refused to give equal rights to African Americans. This is shown when Tennessee was the only southern state who did not reject the 14th amendment!
#14 by Bob Mastronicola on December 1, 2009 - 9:06 pm
I chose the “Visit of the Ku-Klux” The view of the cartoon show a peaceful Negro cabin with the KKK bursting in with guns ready to shoot. It tells me the family is going about life and the KKK is holding a trial finding them guilty of the “Crime of Color”. Its basically telling people the Klan is around, beware. Its telling the viewer that you may be free blacks, but your not free from the KKK. They will get blacks wherever they are.
#15 by Michael Santora on December 2, 2009 - 5:01 am
Worse Than Slavery
This cartoon seems pretty easy to read as far as reconstruction goes. At the top the cartoon has the heading “the union as it was.” Below this it depicts two black people huddle below a kkk member and a white leage member and just above this scene it says “a lost cause.” This seems the being saying that the whites had all the power in the united states, but not only did they have the power, but they used that power to oppress the blacks. The heading at the top “the union as it was” does suggest that things may have changed. The use of was instead of is may mean that things were not as bad at the time when this cartoon was illustrated.