Worse than slavery
1874
Thomas Nast didn't hold back in this biting 1874 political cartoon, published in Harper's Weekly to expose the brutal reality of the post-Civil War South. On either side of a shield, a member of the White League and a hooded Ku Klux Klan member shake hands over a skull labeled 'The Lost Cause,' united under the banner 'This is a White Man's Government.' Inside the shield, a terrified Black family kneels in despair while a schoolhouse burns and a man hangs from a tree in the background, illustrating Nast's powerful message that the Reconstruction era had created conditions 'Worse than Slavery.' This iconic image remains a stark reminder of the violent backlash against civil rights during that turbulent period.
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