THF11675

Harper's Weekly Cover, "Another Step Towards Civilization," May 31, 1879

Summary

African Americans, able to move more freely after the Civil War, searched for new opportunities. White landowners sought to control this movement of labor that disrupted the plantation economy. In 1879, white leaders gathered in Vicksburg, Mississippi, to discuss ways to improve the situation. This Harper's Weekly illustration lampooned the convention as a spider trap to blacks who succumbed to empty pledges of white landowners.

Artifact

Print (Visual work)

Date Made

31 May 1879

Subject Date

31 May 1879

Creators

Nast, Thomas, 1840-1902

Harper & Brothers

Place of Creation

United States, New York, New York

Creator Notes

Illustration by Thomas Nast, published in Harper's Weekly, May 31, 1879.

Object ID

2005.16.4

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Hand coloring

Color

Multicolored

Dimensions

Height: 16 in

Width: 11.25 in

Inscriptions

Signs at top of image read: SOUTHERN / TEMPLE / OF / LIBERTY. / EQUAL RIGHTS / TO ALL, / WHITE OR BLACK. / [and] THE (PARLOR) / VICKSBURG CONVENTION. Text below image reads: ANOTHER STEP TOWARD CIVILIZATION. / MR. SOLID BRUTUS. "Why, Mr. Exode Caesar, you are a MAN and a BROTHER after all. So step into my parlor." Text in lower right corner of image: Th. Nast. Periodical masthead at top of page: HARPER'S WEEKLY. A JOURNAL OF CIVILIZATION / VOL. XXIII--NO. 1170.) NEW YORK, SATURDAY, MAY 31, 1879...