Uncle Tom's Cabin Newsletter
Jesse Tan and Derek Ji
Thesis
Response - Jesse Tan
The images depicting black and white individuals portrayed that whites during this time period seemed to regard themselves as almost an entirely different species than African men and women. The images showed that the idea of cultural superiority and the notion that blacks were less than human (they were reduced to being viewed as mere property in the South) was deeply ingrained within the minds of a majority of Southerners, especially from an early age. Southern advertisements and similar media usually displayed Africans in negative light, ridiculing them with exaggerated features and seemingly rude descriptions. In contrast, white children seemed to be purposefully placed next to them as a comparison, often looking angelic and innocent. As a result, it can be inferred that the visual arts were used to subtly indicate that slaves should not be viewed as human beings on the same scale as whites.
I was most surprised by the degree to which some of the depictions of African Americans were purposefully distorted in order to make them objects of ridicule and laughter. For example, in many advertisements, black were contorted in strange contortions along with absurdly large facial features. It is likely that this was used to dehumanize Africans and lessen support for the abolition movement.
Response - Derek Ji
A few subtle ideas that were shown in the collection of images include things like how African Americans were viewed as almost creatures rather than humans in the South. They also showed that there was a large difference between how advertisements and media depicted African Americans between the North and South. For example, black slaves in Southern media were often the target of deformed features and exaggerated poses, while white children were shown in a much more favorable light. This showed that there was a slave-master relationship between these two races, as the blacks were subjects of ridicule and insults, while this was quite the opposite with white men and women. Many depictions of Africans in a more favorable light, most likely from the North, often showed blacks as weathered individuals who possessed inner strength and endurance.