Source: (Nash et al. 474)
The selected source is a Thomas Nast creation dubbed The End of Slavery? Currently, the cartoon has no copyrights after its original publication in 1867 in the Harper's Weekly newspaper. The visual primary source depicts two scenes and in both, a woman wearing a tunic sits upon a pedestal surrounded by both black and white characters, she represents American liberty. For a thorough description of the picture, there is a need to focus on the two scenes separately. On the left, there is a slave auction going on as white men stand around the raised platform, and two more remain on it to conduct the sale. The lady turns away from the sight as though she has no care to know that blacks suffice for properties, or she cares and sees no need to interfere. In the second picture, the woman wears a blindfold and carries a weighing scale and a sword of justice in her right and left hand respectively. She represents the era after the American Civil War when equality and justice were for all persons regardless of their race. However, her blindfold makes it impossible for her to see a black man receiving lashes from a Caucasian. In the middle of the two scenes are the words “Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863” and “Slavery is abolished by the States and U.S Congress.” There is also a circle with the year “1866” and the words “State Rights” written outside and between its twin borders respectively has a skeleton occupying its middle. The circle is the last describable feature of the chosen source. Accordingly, Thomas Nast’s cartoon portrays the United States before and after the American Civil War that went on to abolish black slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation. Thus, the work targets not only the societies of Postbellum America but also the federal government as they both went through changes after the war.
Ideologies of white supremacy governed the communities of Antebellum America and in the Southern States, the same principles allowed the enslavement of black individuals. Southern plantation farmers utilized slave labor in the growth of cotton, and the region’s social hierarchy placed all blacks, slave or free, in an official status of inferiority. As a result, slaves were the human chattels of their white masters who had the right to handle them as they saw fit. For example, enslaved men and women were always at risk of separation because of slave sales; a perfect illustration is available in the picture where viewers see a black man comforting a black woman as the auction goes on. By that logic, the institution of slavery was central to the Southern life, and its relevance created the foundations on which the American Civil War took place. For the better part of the nineteenth century, anti-slavery sentiments in the North encouraged calls for slave abolition in all of the United States. However, the South was not ready to give up its economic backbone and as a result, upon the election of Abraham Lincoln on a Republican ticket, the South seceded the Union to form the Confederacy. Such drastic measures solely targeted the protection of the slavery system, but the Union’s victory in the Civil War set the grounds from which the abolition of slavery stemmed, and the concept of racial equality became constitutional.
On the first interesting fact, the cartoon depicts the federal government’s failure to aid the black community although the methods of disregard change after the American Civil War. The lady sitting on the pedestal represents American freedom as she represents lady liberty, the symbol of democracy in the United States. In the first scene, she refuses to look at the auction of black slaves or the face of a man standing at the front of the pedestal. Just as it was in the antebellum period, American freedom was not for persons of African descent and the federal government was aware of the same as it concentrated on the needs of the white societies. Thus, atrocities against slaves were not worth the attention of the government. After the Emancipation Proclamation, the Constitution put government officials to task as they were legally responsible for the protection of the rights of black people. However, the words “State rights” surround a skeleton in the picture because the liberation of blacks did not mean they were to get the same treatment as the whites. Hence, the second image shows the lady blindfolded as she refused to acknowledge what was going on around her although the sword of justice is in her hand. Evidently, the artist sought to portray the government as an entity that disguised itself with the sword of justice but feigned ignorance when whites whipped and lynched African Americans. Such was the case in the lives of African Americans who remained without legislative rights even when free.
The second topic of interest is the black individuals and their behavior as they bear the cruel nature of white supremacists. In the first scene, and as mentioned before, the man whose turn it was to face the auctioneer looks at the lady liberty persona as though he is imploring her to intervene. Since the lady is the federal government, then slaves had hoped that the same government that placed them in bondage would come to their aid. The fact that the North was an anti-slavery force makes it possible that the government looked at in the left picture is that of the Northern abolitionists. There was hope that the lady would eventually turn and notice the imploring looks of the slave, and that is exactly the Civil War happened. The Northern States finally turned their attention to the South and did not care for any of their antics; hence, they pushed for abolition. Now, there is a difference in the second scene as the black man who is receiving a beating holds his mouth to muffle his cries. Such a position greatly differs from that of the first man and the most likely reason is that the African Americans realized there was no more help coming from the North and the government.
In summation, Thomas Nast perfectly captures the situation before and after the American Civil War by concentrating on the relationship between African Americans and Caucasians the cartoon The End of Slavery? The painting is an ideal primary source for history scholars on the racial divisions that existed in the United States. Notably, the work also depicts the fact that war does not change cultures since although there was no more slavery the government allowed Caucasians liberties that were otherwise unavailable to African Americans. That is why the master-slave relation appeared in the right scene as the white man whipped the colored man. Additionally, the cartoon highlights the functioning of the federal government through the lady. Originally, government officials could not interfere with slave ownership because people of African descent did not have laws to protect their persons. However, the scenario changed with the Emancipation Proclamation that created the legislative grounds on which the administration could intervene for blacks. The next time, they just refused to notice what was happening despite having the tools to implement egalitarianism and justice. No wonder the title is a question. The institution of slavery survived the Civil War and the ensuing laws.
Works Cited
Nash, Gary B., Jeffrey Julie Roy, Howe John R., Frederick Peter J., Davis Allen F., Winkler Allan M., Mires Charlene, and Pestana Carla Gardina. The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society. 7th. Vol. Combined Volume. New Jersey: Pearson, 2010.
