"Which is the More Illegal"
By Amron Lee
“Which is the more illegal” was created by Thomas Nast for Harper’s Weekly and published on September 8, 1866. In addition to this cartoon, several other articles in this publication reference the New Orleans Riot, which occurred on July 30th, 1866. Considered a massacre by some, this event, paired with other racial violence in the South at this time, solidified northern opposition to Presidential Reconstruction. The spark of this violence was a meeting of the Louisiana Constitutional Convention to discuss the matter of black suffrage.[1] According to General Sheridan reporting on the event, “the immediate cause of this terrible affair was the assembling of this Convention. The remote cause was the bitter and antagonistic feeling which has been growing in this community.”[2] African Americans were gathering around the convention in support of obtaining their right to vote when white men, including policemen, attacked them and the conventionists, leaving 153 blacks and 20 members wounded or killed; only 10 policemen received minor wounds.[3] This event, and the Memphis Riot three months earlier, made it clear to northerners and to Congress that the newly formed governments under Presidential Reconstruction did not intend to protect the rights of African Americans or give them the vote. After the war ended and Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, Andrew Johnson, the newly appointed president, formulated his own reconstruction plan without consulting Congress. His form of reconstruction was characterized by leniency; he pardoned nearly all Confederates and gave states the rights to reform their governments without any real conditions or limitations on who could participate. This led to the return of power to the ex-Confederates who didn’t want to see African Americans participate in government. This ultimately led to Congressional Reconstruction, a more aggressive, less reconciliatory approach based on loyalty to the Union during the war. It sought to keep former Confederate leaders out of the new state governments and give African Americans a chance to exercise their basic rights.[4]
Thomas Nast was a radical Republican and loyal Unionist and his attitude towards Presidential Reconstruction was evident in this cartoon.[5] With “timely warning to union men” and the skeleton that appears to be floating overtop of dead African Americans, it is clear Nast wanted to convey the message that the South had not been reformed and had bloodthirsty Confederates who, through tactics of intimidation and violence, would do anything to keep Republicans out of their way. He also may be hinting at the irony that “union men”, meaning those loyal to the Union throughout the war, are being targeted by violence even though they supposedly won the war and should be calling the shots. There are threats written on the wall and the skeleton is pointing its finger as if it intends to send them all packing. The sky appears dark and stormy as Nast illustrated this as a formidable time in American history. The juxtaposition of the convention and the massacre helps the viewer understand what’s really going on behind the political veil. White Republicans are quietly (and reluctantly) lobbying for black suffrage while white supremacists are slaughtering African Americans in the street. Nast wanted to show how savage these men were by making sure the helpless African Americans were holding American and white surrender flags in a fruitless attempt to end the violence. “Which is the more illegal” at the bottom is a key part of this comparison. It is meant to make the South seem hypocritical in its violent attempts to oppress African Americans and ignore their rights. An article commenting on this cartoon in the same issue expressed opposition by the North to this behavior and claimed, “The people of the South…must take some other method than this of murdering citizens of the United States.”[6] It expressed how the sentiments that started the violence were present before the war and how all of that had to change in Reconstruction. It also expressed the importance of referring to citizens in a general sense to encompass the newly enfranchised population.[7] Public opinion became much less lenient towards the South after this event. Undoubtedly, this cartoon resonated with northerners and African Americans alike and revived them in their cause.
Endnotes:
[1] Eric Foner, “An American Crisis,” in Forever Free: The Story of Emancipation and Reconstruction (New York: Knopf, 2005), 108–11.
[2] “The New Orleans Massacre,” Harper’s Weekly 1866, no. 09/08: 0563bc – 0563bc, accessed April 12, 2015.
[3] Theodore Davis, “After the Riot,” Harper’s Weekly 1866, no. 09/01: 0556ab – 0556ab, accessed April 12, 2015.
[4] Foner, “An American Crisis.”
[5] “Thomas Nast Biography,” accessed April 13, 2015, http://cartoons.osu.edu/digital_albums/thomasnast/bio.htm.
[6] Harper’s Weekly 1866, no. 09/08: 0563cd – 0563cd, accessed April 12, 2015.
[7] Ibid.
Bibliography:
Davis, Theodore. “After the Riot.” Harper’s Weekly 1866, no. 09/01 (n.d.): 0556ab – 0556ab. Accessed April 12, 2015.
Foner, Eric. “An American Crisis.” In Forever Free: The Story of Emancipation and Reconstruction, 107–27. New York: Knopf, 2005.
Harper’s Weekly 1866, no. 09/08 (n.d.): 0563cd – 0563cd. Accessed April 12, 2015.
“The New Orleans Massacre.” Harper’s Weekly 1866, no. 09/08 (n.d.): 0563bc – 0563bc. Accessed April 12, 2015.
“Thomas Nast Biography.” Accessed April 13, 2015. http://cartoons.osu.edu/digital_albums/thomasnast/bio.htm.