VISUAL ACTIVITY

Reconstruction Cartoon This 1865 cartoon pokes fun at two Richmond ladies as they pass by a Union officer on their way to receive free government rations. One says sourly to the other, “Don’t you think that Yankee must feel like shrinking into his boots before such high-toned Southern ladies as we?”

READING THE IMAGE: Just a step behind is a smiling black woman. What does her expression say about her impression of the scene taking place in front of her?

CONNECTIONS: What do these white women suggest about the white South’s attitude toward defeat and reconstruction?

The New York Public Library/Art Resource, NY.