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Clasp Hands Across the Bloody Chasm |
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| “H. G. ‘Let Us Clasp Hands over the Bloody Chasm’” |
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Source: Harper’s Weekly |
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Date:
October 19, 1872, p. 804
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Click to see
a large version of this cartoon |
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Complete HarpWeek Explanation:
Nearly a month after the Greeley-Andersonville Prison cartoon, Nast
represented the Democratic victory in the Georgia state elections as an ominous
turning point in the lives of Southern blacks. Over the bodies of two murdered
black men, Greeley clasps hands with a former Confederate soldier, who hides a
gun behind his back and stands with one foot on the American flag and the other
foot on the back of one of the black men. Behind Greeley, some Southern white
men cast their ballots, while in the left-background others open fire on a group
of black men. The question on the polling place—“What are you going to do about
it?”—was “Boss” Tweed’s alleged response to inquiries into the corrupt practices
of Tammany Hall. The message of this cartoon is clear: Greeley’s trimming of
his principles for the sake of political office will result in disaster for, and
perhaps the extermination of, Southern blacks.
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Background: 1859 - 1871
