The 1850's View Towards Blacks
By Amit Sahoo and Matthew Zhao, Periods 5/6 BHamstud
THESIS
Picture Explanation 1
Picture Explanation 2
Picture Explanation 3
Picture Explanation 4
Picture Explaination 5
Picture Explaination 6
Amit Sahoo Response
a. The more subtle ideas shown in the depiction show a hateful and satiric attack towards the whites as each show how the blacks are freely participating in events that whites prided themselves for being able to do, that defines them as superior. The fancier clothes and the closeness to Holy figures almost seem like the blacks are superior to the whites in character.
b. Most surprising was that it seemed that the black people had body structures very similar to white men depicted in other illustrations. Seemed as if you could replace the skin of the man and get a white man because their expressions and posture are so alike, the only noticeable difference being the skin color.
Matthew Zhao Response
A: Some of the more subtle ideas expressed in this time period were that blacks were capable of accepting religion (thus adding to the moral suasion argument of the abolitionists of the time period that it was morally wrong for Christians to enslave other Christians), that they were equally human with their own human emotions (fear, love, anger, kindness), and that white slave-owners were morally failures for treating slaves without human respect.
B: What was most surprising about the images I examined were that many of the images utilized a biblical theme in them (Slaves praying, white girl heroine ascending to become an angel). I personally believe that those biblical images were used in order to better support the moral suasion argument of the abolitionists.