The Southern View of Emancipation by Handley Greeley
The political cartoon, The Southern View of Emancipation, was made in 1863 by an anonymous artist. Although the artist is unknown, it is obvious that a confederate southerner made the piece. As one can see in the political cartoon, the Southerners were not in favor of the Emancipation Proclamation, or Abraham Lincoln. The southern states disliked Lincoln and his ideas so much that they seceded from the Union. The main reason they did not like Abraham was because he was anti-slavery, and the southern states were pro-slavery. In this cartoon, Lincoln is being portrayed as a demon and a drunk.
This anonymous artist did an excellent job of portraying Lincoln as a slob and an evil person. In the window there are crows which symbolize death. He has one foot on a bible to symbolize that he is against God and is unholy. He is writing the Emancipation Proclamation with ink from a demon jar and writing in a chair with a skull on it. There is also a demonic statue on the column and the table that he is sitting at also has horn skulls on the side. All of these demonic images are portraying Lincoln as a demon because he is going against what the Southerners believe in. The Southerners believe that God is on their side and wants them to keep slavery, and since Abraham is against that, he is against God. On the table on the right-hand side there is a bottle of alcohol and Lincoln looks very messy. Some will infer that he is drunk writing this because of how poorly he looks and the alcohol being in the picture. Above the alcohol is picture of slaves shooting white people, which is foreshadowing to the American Civil War.
This political cartoon depicts Abraham Lincoln as a bad president and a bad person, but in my opinion, he was one of the best presidents ever. With the Emancipation Proclamation, that the Southerners hated, he helped end slavery which was a huge accomplishment and monumental event for our world today. Although the artist depicted Lincoln as someone evil, he was a great man who helped our country in many ways.
The Emancipation Proclamation by Kennedy Moseley
In 1861 the civil war began. America split up into two sides, the north, and the south, leading to some of the bloodiest battles in history. One year into the war, in 1862, Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation declaring that the war was officially about slavery, and all slaves who were living in states that were “in rebellion with the union” were free. This was an important document because it gave the soldiers in the union army the reason they were fighting. In addition to knowing what they were fighting for, it also strengthened the union army. The Emancipation Proclamation was able to greatly strengthen the union army both militarily and politically.
The Emancipation Proclamation positively affected the North politically and militarily. In the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln begins by issuing a war proclamation. This is an important part because usually, only congress can issue a proclamation, but because the war was officially declared, he was able to issue this proclamation. Later on, he states that all persons held as slaves in a state “in rebellion against the united states” shall be free. This officially made the war about slavery. This was important because before this was issued neither side had declared what the war was about. Declaring that the war was about slavery, gave the union army a reason for the war. Not only did this affect the union army politically, but also militarily. Because the union had a reason for the fight, more people began to join the army. When the union soldiers had a reason to fight against it made them more passionate and more willing to fight. Another reason the Emancipation Proclamation affected the union army was that it allowed African Americans to fight for the Union army. Lincoln states that “all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States” were free. This meant that if one was a slave in a state that was part of the confederates, then you were free. However, the slave owners were not going to give up their slaves that easily, so the union soldiers had to come to free them. Once freed, the African Americans could fight for the army. Lincoln urged the African Americans to “abstain from all violence unless in necessary self-defense.” This was his official call for African Americans to join the army. They could fight against their former slave owners, to make sure that the Union won the war, and that they were never placed back into slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation was able to benefit the Union army both politically and militarily.
