In the next two sections, you will examine a source that shows the negative side of Reconstruction. You will first look at one of the most famous cartoons from the period called “Worse than Slavery” from Harper’s Weekly drawn by the most famous political cartoonist in U.S. history, Thomas Nast. Then in the next section you will look at the text that accompanied the cartoon when it was published on Oct. 24, 1874.
These documents will also help you do the final analysis for this module.
Examine the cartoon and then answer the questions that follow in your notes. Click on the sections of the cartoon to enlarge it.
The figure on the left of the cartoon with the rifle is a member of the White League, a militant group that openly used violence to prevent African Americans from voting and holding political office. Who is the White League shaking hands with and what is the significance of the handshake?
Interactive popup. Assistance may be requiredThe figure on the right is a member of the Ku Klux Klan, a terrorist group that also sought to intimidate African Americans through violence like the White League. The two shaking hands shows them working together to drive home the cartoon’s message.
What do the words at the top of the cartoon mean, and why put them over an eagle?
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The words say, “The Union as it Was” and “This is a White Man’s Government.” It’s showing the basic mottos of the two figures shaking hands below, who want to return to a time when blacks were slaves and the white man was in charge. The eagle is a well-recognized symbol of the U.S. government. It is representing how the U.S. is turning back to a place where there is severe inequality between the two races.
What is the meaning of the three figures huddled in the center of the cartoon and the tree in the center-left?
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The people in the middle are an African American family huddled over a small child. By their dress, they are poor and are both guarding their baby and ducking underneath the shaking hands of the white terrorists. To remind the audience of the danger they face, there is a figure hanging from a tree, a victim of lynching. A lynching was when groups like the KKK found African Americans and killed them, often by hanging.
In one sentence, state the overall meaning of the cartoon.
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Groups like the White League and the KKK have used violence against African Americans to restore the Union “as it was,” creating a life for African Americans that was “worse than slavery.”