Propaganda and Satire Illustrations in the American Civil War

Pima

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Dec 3, 2018
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Italy, Piedmont
During WW1 and WW2 propaganda and political satire was very common. I'm quite interested in the topic and I was wondering if during the Civil War it was a common practice to use illustrations to inform people or just influence public opinion.

For now I found only this from Mayra Ruiz-Mc Pherson
 
One for the North and one for the South ! :wink:

From:

http://ushaplahs2013.blogspot.com/2013/10/propaganda-during-civil-war.html?m=1

"Looking through The Civil War, I noticed that a small percentage of the pictures were propaganda used by the North/South and I thought it would be interesting to look into examples of cartoons that were used during the time of the Civil War.

The purpose of propaganda during the war was to persuade people to support either the Union or the Confederacy. The most popular and optimal methods of propaganda were cartoons because they required little concentration in order to understand the overall message. Below are two examples of Northern and Southern cartoons.


compromise100.jpg


One famous cartoonist was Thomas Nast of the North. Above is one of his famous cartoons entitled, Compromise With the South. In the picture, the crippled man on the left (the North) is reluctantly and disappointingly shaking hands with the triumphant man of the South. His foot is on the grave of a man who died in a "useless war," and in the background we see that the battlefield is ravaged with the ruins of war. Behind the two men, a family of African Americans appear to be in distress. Also, the Confederate flag is proudly waving while the Union's is upside down and tattered. In essence, the point of this cartoon was to illustrate that compromise with the Union would result in vain sacrifices, and slavery would continue to plague the United States.

ng_the_Emancipation_Proclamation_political_cartoon.jpg



A popular cartoonist of the South was Adalbert J Volck, who, naturally, supported the Confederacy. This cartoon is called Writing the Emancipation Proclamation. Here we can see Abraham Lincoln who looks tired and frustrated, writing the Emancipation Proclamation surrounded by symbols of satanism, in an effort to depict him as a demonic being. The painting behind Abraham Lincoln is a representation of a slave riot which Volck believes will be a result of the document. This particular work was popular among the South and inspired many proslaveryites to viciously oppose Lincoln."
 
Below is my favorite Union propaganda piece.
rebel captain forcing negroes to load cannon under the fire of berdan's sharp-shooters. Seen t...png
 
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