The image above is a political cartoon drawn for the 1864 U.S. presidential election. I retrieved the image from http://www.1776mag.com/7-political-cartoons-of-abraham-lincoln/.
This was one of many political cartoons drawn about Abraham Lincoln and his views on slavery. It shows Abraham Lincoln on the left shaking hands with a middle to lower class laborer and having a union allied with liberty, while the left side shows one of his opponents shaking hands with a white rich landowner (most likely a plantation owner from the south) and having a union allied with Slavery.
I chose this picture because the left and right side of this picture not only depict the differences between the two candidates, but also they represent the divide of our nation between the North and South. When this picture was published, America was standing on the edge of a major change that completely reshaped our nation and freed an entire people from a lifetime of enslavement.
The fact that Lincoln is shaking a working man's hand with white and black children running out of the school in the background shows just how naive this publication was. Ironically, it ends up taking almost 100 years for blacks and whites to go to school together because of segregation laws. But it is definitely better than the choice on the right where men are being sold just for the sake of money, money, and more money. So many men have been corrupted by the power of greed and i cant believe that people were willing to treat other human beings in this manner just for a profit. I will never be able to understand how they could sit there and believe slavery was alright. It just boggles my mind. Im so grateful for how the 1860 election turned out. If there hadnt been major splits in party views and if 4 candidates had not run, Abraham Lincoln would not have won the election. Looking at this strange fact, its almost as if it was meant to be. I'm glad that the vision on the left came true and we can call ourselves a nation of Liberty. I honestly wouldnt want to be any part of America during the time of slavery.
I won't get into detail, but I think this picture reflects a lot of what today's politics are. It's all about the vote, and all about getting people to like you--no matter who you're cheating or backstabbing. It really is disgusting how hypocritical people can be. Especially when it comes to slavery, something so clearly unjust. I agree with how it "boggles your mind" that people could think it was alright, but the truth is, people are easily blinded by various factors, and that's what makes them think in such a way. These factors could be wealth, status, and even the society. By that I'm referring to how the children of these slave-owners grow up having slaves. It's what they know, and they come to think it's normal. Their classmates probably had slaves too. You'd think after a while they'd use their own rationality to see the obvious cruelty of slavery, but why would they when life is so good? And the same goes for President Lincoln. As far as I know, slavery didn't affect him personally, so why should he care?
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