United States History Student Edition

D

Life Before and After the Emancipation Proclamation Harper’s Weekly published this drawing by Thomas Nast on January 24, 1863. The drawing contains a series of images that contrast the lives of African Americans before and after slavery. On the left side of the drawing, Nast presents scenes that reveal the horrors of slavery. Images include slave ships, people trying to capture enslaved people who had escaped, the selling of enslaved people, and the violence carried out against those who were enslaved. Images of life after the Emancipation Proclamation are shown on the right side of the drawing. Freed African Americans receive pay for their labor and send their children to school. At the center of the drawing, images include Lady Liberty, President Lincoln, and the happy home of a freed African American family.

PRIMARY SOURCE: DRAWING

EXAMINE THE SOURCE 1. Drawing Conclusions Why do you think Nast placed the image of the family at the center of the drawing? 2. Analyzing What do these images suggest about Thomas Nast’s views about the Emancipation Proclamation?

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division [LC-DIG-pga-03898]

443 Division and Civil War