For this weeks entry, I will deviate from the normal blog entry of comparing the past events to the present, and instead, look at how ethical dilemmas play a role in peoples lives, as well as my own. On that note, I will be writing about various writing processes I have encountered this quarter, and how ethics shape them.
Killing and agency demonstrated in the Iliad (Tiepolo, Venice)
Both early this year, and throughout the quarter, a heavy emphasis has been placed on agency, being the capacity for people to make autonomous decisions based on their own free will. Early on, we learned about how Homer's The Iliad demonstrated the capacity to act with agency, and absolute force, with the possibility of loosing all agency in the action of murder. The connection between agency and ethics is apparent, as autonomous decision must have a basis of action. One cannot act in an impactful manor without a prior understanding of what they are about to do, and that prior understanding is an internal, or externally instilled ethical code.
Theater Poster of Full Metal Jacket
In addition toThe Iliad, another work that focused on agency, and ethical implication, was Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. The film centers around the basic training experience of Marines, and throughout there are examples of people becoming objects of force, as well as being so, and the ethics associated with that. In basic training, the men are subjected to intense physical activity, verbal, and mental abuse. The ethics of this are constantly debated by the men, but continue with training. The process itself, which entails standardized uniform, haircut, diet, sleep and wake time, is designed to start every man from a clean slate, and train them into becoming an effective soldier. The violation of these men's being is what really impacted me during this film, both in training and in battle. After these men are deployed, it is apparent that basic training has skewed their ethical compass, so to speak, as some commit acts of murder. Animal Mother, a member of the platoon deployed to Vietnam, shoots indiscriminately at what he believes to be Viet Cong, but are actually innocent rice farmers, in the field.
Though thee are just two works that have impacted me this quarter, on the subject of ethics and action, a lot can be said about the course material we have covered. From the back and forth action of Coetzee'sWaiting for the Barbarians, to information I have learned about Machiavelli, and his recommendations in The Prince, there has always been a place for me to expand my scope of ethics in the world.
Bringing this entry back to a more traditional
style, I would like to get back the original purpose of this blog, being the
relation of past events to the present. For this week’s entry, it will be about
the relation of wartime gum cards, to actual war based came cards. Take a look
at the example photo, if you do not already know that I am talking about.
UCI
Special Collections & Gail Hart 2 (Back)
Being the Humanities Core student
that I am, I was quite surprised when professor Gail Heart brought up gum
cards. Though I initially thought that the whole idea of giving kids a bunch of
cards with lofty writing, for a kid’s reading level, was a poor idea, I
realized that the audience stretched so far beyond that. From that, I though
about how kids would even think about war, at such a young age, with the way
that the scenes are depicted. It was then that I realized that a whole
generation of children have been doing exactly that, with Pokémon and Yu Gi Oh cards.
These extremely popular forms of
childhood entertainment centered around the use of fictional characters,
weather it be Pokémon or Yu Gi Oh, battling until the other ran out of health.
In Pokémon, when two or more Pokémon face each other, the scene is even called
a battle. Take a look at clip, I have linked to, of a very tame Pokémon battle. Though I understand that it does not correspond directly to actions
or images of war, it does draw a very interesting parallel.
Yu Gi Oh
As time has progressed, these card
games have turned into a series long running animated shows, movies, and video games. Though
there is also a great deal of adventure that centers around both Pokémon and Yu
Gi Oh, the main focus remains the battle of one character, versus another,
till the very end. Though there is still much done to make the combat more suitable, especially in game play and the animated series, it is still clear that these wildly popular franchises have their roots in war.
Now that we transition into a different part of the academic
year, we shift the study of war onto ourselves. Humanities core forces us to
challenge our intellectual ability, and with the research project we are taking
on, I fully plan to do so. For this project, I will be writing about the
India’s struggle for independence.
With family
that has been affected, during India’s struggle with Brittan, this is a topic
that is very close to me, and one that I intend to pursue in detail. This posting will continually be added on to, as my research progresses, with new findings and information that I have gathered, or have found particularly interesting. With that being said, I am excited to begin my research process, and learn more about my home country, while sharing it with my readers.
As I expand my knowledge on the practices of Gandhi, with all that he has done for India and frankly the world, I have learned about some rather questionable things that he has said. Though he is a prolific writer and an incredibly respected person in history, he has been quoted as saying if "...a single Jew standing up and refusing to bow to Hitler’s decrees," it might have been enough to "melt Hitler’s heart." In addition to this, he has stated that “India’s salvation consists in unlearning what she has learnt during the
past fifty years. The railways, telegraphs, hospitals, lawyers,
doctors, and such like have all to go, and the so-called upper classes
have to learn to live conscientiously and religiously and deliberately
the simple peasant life.” To see a very well done pro and con debate, referencing numerous pro and anti Gandhi Indians, Europeans, and South Africans, check out this source. While I can see where he came from with this statement, it is grossly impractical statement to make, assuming that all will change based on his recommendation. Though I am sure he would like this to happen, so everyone can have the experience, there is no possible way that he thought this was a practical solution.
All in all, my readings of various Gandhi works, such as Satyagraha, Hind Swaraj, along with very well done adaptations, and the argument of his opposition, have allowed me to better understand the meaning behind the strategic choices he made, allowing the country to gain its independence. Knowing this, I feel like I have an increased respect for everyone that participated in Gandhi's non-violent resistance, and the country, for having to overcome the oppression of the British. This assignment has both furthered my knowledge, and brought me closer to home.
As has been the theme lately, I
would like to take a moment to digress from my normal blogs, talking about past
events and relating them to the present, and talk about a project that I am
doing that does just that. With the theme of war running throughout our class
and literature, I have been tasked with documenting a war story, and its
impact. For this, I decided to delve deep into my family’s own past to see what
I can uncover.
After talking to my parents, I
found that that we have had members of the family receive military awards such
as the Mir Var Chackra (from the Indian Armed Forces), along with
other branches of service. To learn more, I decided to interview my uncle
Ramesh, who was a pilot for the Indian Air Force (IAF). Throughout the
interview, I not only asked questions about his own service, but about the
families perception on other family members that have served.
While a lot of the stories that I was told
contain sensitive information about my family, I can share some thoughts of my
uncle, on our family’s involvement militarily, or lack there of. With the way
that our family is structured, we have never traditionally in positions of
service. As a result, I have never heard, or learned much about military
involvement, until I began this project. As I asked more and more family members about the subject, it was becoming clear that there was a deeper reason, for the story not being shared. I decided to do my own investigation of the history of my family, as well as his family line. On the subject of family line, my family does have a tradition of military training. Many of Ramesh's cousins have entered the military, along with his father. This does establish the tradition of military service, but it does not explain why they will not talk about it. Even though members of my family does respect and honor those who have served their country, it is apparent that some issues on the matter are better left at rest. Just as we must respect those who have served, we must do the same with those who have fallen.
With my return to blogging this
quarter, I wanted to deviate from my topic of talking about wars effects on history
and the modern day, and instead talk about my families history, through the
generation, and the president it has set going forward, while touching on my
father’s start in America. Though I was bourn in the United States, Wilmington
Delaware specifically, I am of Indian decent, and almost all of my family is
from the subcontinent. When moving from one country to another, there is often
a story of the previous generation mobilizing the next to do so. With that in
mind, I wanted to look at my grandfather’s transition out of extreme poverty,
and how that impacted my father.
First, I would like to talk about
my grandfather’s story, and how that has shaped my father’s as well as my own
life. Though he passed away while I was young, he left a remarkable legacy for
my whole family that I hold very dear. My grandfather came from a very poor
family, and grew up on in the slums of India’s largest city, Mumbai. My
grandmother has even told me stories of him having to study under the lights of
the train station at night, because his house did not have electricity, and was
quite literally four walls and a roof. Despite the difficulty of his
upbringing, he scored very well in school, and earned a place in the Indian
Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay), one of the most competitive
schools to be admitted into in India. It was at the end of his schooling, that
he saw the opportunity to make the transition from his previous life, to a
better one. With a small circle of friends, he helped found the Bombay Gas
Company, supplying power to the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay). Though he did
very well for himself, after his schooling and success of the company, he
raised my father with a frugal mind and never let him forget the power of
humility. After talking to my grandmother about my father, and his 2 sister’s,
upbringing it is clear that my grandfather made every conceivable effort to
make every aspect of their lives better than his. As a result, my father
excelled academically and also attended IIT Bombay.
This idea of giving your children a
better life than your own is something that is commonly seen among first generation
children, and most parents in general. There is not only the societal pressure
for you to succeed, but there is the familial pressure, which is especially
true in the case of my father. My grandfather’s struggle, and ability to escape
poverty and build a business from the ground up, has made a lasting impression
on my family and within the city of Mumbai. With such a high bar set for my
father, I believe that the only place or way he could build his own legacy is
by coming to the United States. Though he came here for education, I cannot
help but thing that the reason he stayed in the America partially for this
reason. When looking at how these same standards are projected onto me, it is
hard not to be intimidated. I am constantly reminded of all the good that my
grandfather did, and I hope to create a legacy as powerful as his.
After addressing both the recent
and distant past in my last 2 posts, I’m bringing the focus back to the modern
day with tonight’s entry. Recent events have sparked this entry, as I look into
“Paid Patriotism” as an emerging truth in modern America. John Oliver looks
into this, as a part of his show, Last Week Tonight, where he talks
about various current events are going to affect the public, and you in
particular.
As seen in this
clip, there is a surprising amount of money spent, by the United States
government, to popularize and make the military more favorable to the public.
Though I do believe that who serve in the military make a tremendous sacrifice
for the greater good, I do not believe in over glorifying them in the fashion
that professional sports do. Regardless of my belief on the subject, this video
got me thinking about how other pertinent topics are addresses, or made
available, to the public through non-traditional means of the consumption.
On that note, I
would like to look at how news media and more conventional ways of obtaining
the news. Traditional news consumption increases a lot during election seasons.
One series of political events always seem to get a rise out of a lot of
people, being the political debates for both Democrat and Republican primary
candidates. I have talked about torture being popularized, through video games,
in recent times, but the talk of torture that was actually implemented, as a
means of enhanced interrogation, remains in the media. Let us take a look at
some Republican candidate express their opinions on “water boarding.”
Apart
from the tactic of dancing over and around the topic at hand, the candidates
did manage to state what they believed in. While some people answer questions
like Donald Trump, with poorly thought out sentences and understanding on the
topic, others answer like Rick Perry, as he briefly mentions his opinion and
shifts the focus to how he would be a fantastic and morally sound commander in
chief. On the subject of torture and safety, I would look back at that previous
posting, where I talked about the increased reference to torture in video
games, television, and film.
With
all these types of media delivering different opinions and sides on issues, I
want to compare how shows like John Oliver’sLast Week Tonight,compare
to what we are used to seeing. Over the past decade or so, an increasing number
of people turn to satirical news shows, like John Stewart’s The Daily Show,
and Steven Colbert’s The Colbert Report for learning about current
events. While all three of the shows, that I have mentioned here, are have an
openly “liberal” stance on issues, they have become very well recognized
programs that rival programs on well established news networks on the other
end, such as Fox News.
In the past, Steven Colbert has even appeared on the
conservative news shows The O’Riley Factor. In one particular interview,
Colbert mocks O’Riley’s while on his show back in 2007. Since then, Colbert has
grown far more popular, hostingThe Late Show on CBS. O’Riley has
actually come on Colbert’s show to both promote his own book, and “Butt Heads”
once again.
Colbert and O'Riley from 2007
O'Riley and Colbert in 2016
By
watching these excerpts, we can see just how much differences of opinion can
have on the presentation of important issues. Whether is be on moral or
political grounds, people are heavily influenced by people they watch,
particularly those who are meant to provide information. Weather it be through
the newspaper or YouTube, it is more important than ever to develop your own,
fully formed opinion.
Works Cited
"The
Daily Show." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2016.
"Last
Week Tonight with John Oliver." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 06 Mar.
2016.
"The
Late Show with Stephen Colbert." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 06 Mar.
2016.
"The
O'Reilly Factor." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2016.
For today’s blog entry, I will be
modifying my normal style, of relating historical events to the present, by talking
about a current event and responding to it in op-ed style. The discussion I
would like to have today centers around violence, torture in particular, that
has become common in society through its use in video games and in media.
GTAV Cover showing elements of the game ~ Getty Images
Rockstar Games, makers of the very
popular but controversial Grand Theft Auto series, have always received a lot
of criticism about the premise of their games. In game play ofGrand Theft Auto 5 (GTAV), the user must “…electrocute a man,
pull out his teeth and use other various torture implements,” for the purposes
of gathering information and progress in the game (Tsukayama).
To give you a bit more background, the entire Grand Theft Auto series of games
began in 1997, and has always centered on crime and violence. You can play as a
range of different criminals in order to complete the objective, giving the
user a great deal of control over gameplay.
In ReadWrite’s
article, they center their piece on the late Justice Scalia’sstatement about the use of torture, and how it justifies its
use in real life, as he uses the show 24,
as an example of how torture is acceptable in media. In the show, Jack Baueris tasked with disarming a
bomb that would blow up Los Angeles.Scalia
states that, “Jack Bauer saved Los Angeles…He saved hundreds of thousands of
lives… Is any jury going to convict Jack Bauer?” (Grahm).
I disagree with
Scalia’s statement, as it refers to, the often-used justification, of the
greater good. One persons suffering, and severe bodily harm, cannot be
justified by the outcome. The article tries to further this point, by
translating it to videogames. I take issue with this, as there is a distinct
difference between the users involvement in game play versus television. It is
not fair to correlate the actions of an actor, to user input in a game like
Grand Theft Auto with regards to moving a joystick back and forth, to simulate
pulling out a tooth. This is not the same as going out, kidnapping someone, and
doing that in real life. I think that this is where a strong distinction must
be made, because you cannot assume that everyone who plays the game is inclined
to act upon what they have done virtually.
The article also
argues that this kind of gameplay desensitizes people to violence, but the same
could be said about numerous television shows and films that do the same. It is
simply not fair to say that videogames promote the use of violence, to obtain
new information, as just that is done in critically acclaimed shows such as 24,
action films like the Bourne series,
and many others.This argument fixates
on the belief that video games are more influential, or make more of an
impression on those who play them, than other forms of media, which is simply
not the case. With the evident success of the Grand Theft Auto series, there is
clearly a demand for this type of gameplay, and simply removing torture from
the game will not solve the problem.
Despite
all the opinions surrounding the topic, I believe that there is a sensible way
to solve the problem of torture in digital media. Understand the show you are
about to watch, or game you are about to buy, and if it happens to include
torture, do not buy or watch it. If the market does not like the product, the
company will realize, and change it. If not, they risk loosing tremendous
amounts of money and relations, as their product fails in the face of the
consumers. Though this is a hypothetical, and very simple solution, this kind
of feedback is vital in the world we live in. Without the consumer’s response,
there would be little innovation or incentive to keep pushing forward.
Works
Cited
Grahm, Roy.
"Confronting Video Game Torture, After The CIA’S Report." ReadWrite.
N.p.,
7 Jan. 2015. Web. 9 Mar. 2016.
"Grand Theft
Auto: The Official Site." Grand Theft Auto: The Official Site.
Rockstar
Games,
n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2016.
Tsukayama, Hayley.
"Here’s What Makes Torture in Video Games Worse than on
TV."
Washington Post. The Washington Post, 20 Sept. 2013. Web. 26 Feb. 2016.
For this evenings
entry I’m going to modify my original plan, of relating historical conflict to
the modern-day, anddiscuss how past experiences have shaped
me as a person. I do not normally like to talk about myself, in excess, but I
believe that it is important for people to document important life events and
how it has helped them grow.This
can be seen, historically, with the Narrative of the Life of Fredrick
Douglass, an American Slave, stating that he ”… wish[es] [he] could commit to paper the feelings
with which [he] beheld” (Douglass 50). Douglass does just this, as he tells the
story of him as a slave, and all the external factors that make him into the
man we know him to be.
One major transition that I made,
early in life, was moving from Wilmington, Delaware to Chicago, Illinois. Wilmington
was a relatively quiet city that did not have the bustling atmosphere that
Chicago does. In addition, our old home in Wilmington was the place I was where
I spent my infancy, and first 7 years of my life. Looking back at the move, I
would not expect a 7 year old to be so deeply affected by it, but I distinctly
remember being very homesick for my first 2-3 years in Chicago. Despite all my
initial displeasure, I can safely say that living in Chicago benefited me
greatly. Admittedly, it was an awkward transition, but the community I moved
into shaped me both mentally and spiritually.
Hindu Mandir of Lake County
Something that I did not expect to happen
was an increase in my spirituality. I am a practicing Hindu, but I was never very
active with any temples or religious groups within the community. After moving
to Chicago, I found a small, but tight knit group of fellow American bourn
Indians who wanted to explore our cultural identity. We would go to the temple,
which was about 30 minutes away from home, and made it a communal activity for
Saturday mornings. This turned into something that we began looking forward to,
as we would spend the rest of the days with each other. Despite all everything
else that happened, early on, this has to be one of the most memorable
experiences I have ever had.
Moving is difficult for anyone, and it proved to be quite disorienting
for me. By having a close group of friends, it made the transition smoother,
laying a strong moral and spiritual foundation for my future. Though I am not
as active, in the Hindu community in Irvine, I will always hold my group of
temple friends close to heart. While I cannot compare the hardships of moving,
to what Fredrick Douglas had to go through, writing this entry has opened my
eyes to all that I can recall, and document through writing. Though this entry
has largely been me reminiscing over my youth, I am glad that I can write it
down, and understand how these experiences have made me who I am.
Works Cited
Douglass, Fredrick. Narrative
of the Life of Fredrick Douglass. New York: Penguin
For this blog entry I like to go
back to my original theme of relating old issues of war to the modern-day. In
the Humanities Core lecture that I that I’m attending, some interesting
points have been brought up about how the Civil War will be remembered. Professor
Alice Fahs, of University of California Irvine has gathered opinions on this subject, and states that “As
many historians have pointed out, although the North won the war, by the turn
of the century the South had in many ways won the battle for the memory of the
war. Thus, history and memory radically diverged” (Fahs).
ISIS fighters in Ramadi ~ Associated Press
After reflecting on this topic thought, I considered what wars or conflicts, that taken place over
my lifetime, have had a lasting impact, and will be remembered in the
future as such. The most notable war is likely the United States invasion of
Iraq, and subsequent invasion of other Middle Eastern states. Despite this
conflict happening at the beginning of my adolescence, I cannot think of a more
contemporary and pervasive military conflict happening than the Islamic State
that has been seizing land in Iraq, Syria, and other parts of the Middle East.
ISIS militants are fighting government forces in Syria~ Associated Press
Islamic State of Iraq and
the Levant, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has fiercely taken over towns, cities,
and portions of countries. I talked about the history behind the Islamic
State’s policies in my very first blog post, but their legacy is something that
I briefly touched on. The Real Clear World made a rather bold statement saying
that, “The Islamic State will die only when the
Middle East is reborn.” They do go on to say that this will not
happen in the near future, if it is to happen at all, but with the way that
relations in the area have come to be it could very well happen.
With ISIS strongholds being
contested by recent strategic attacks by local and western military, there is a
chance that the caliphate may fall in the near future. ISIS faces growing
challenges as they move on to Iraq’s capital, Baghdad and Iraq's Shia south or
against the Kurds. They are now threatening an oil exporter, and challenging Iran,
and threating to seize other states in the Gulf States. This may force rival
states to work together to fight against a common enemy. “Oil is simply too
important to let ISIS seize all of Iraq, although creating any kind of unified
front or rapid effective resistance to this level of ISIS gains does not seem
likely” (Cordsman). As ISIS moves forward, with their stagey with success, they
could be a permanent fixture in the future of the Middle East and beyond.
Works
Cited
Cordsman,
Anthony. "Viewpoint: ISIS Goals and Possible Future Gains - BBC
News."
BBC News. BBC
World News, 12 June 2014. Web. 30 Jan. 2016
Fahs,
Alice. "Picturing the Civil War 4: The Memory of the War – Picturing US
History." Picturing US History
All. American Social History Project, 16 June 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.
Miller,
Aaron David. "5 Reasons the U.S. Cannot Defeat ISIS." 5 Reasons the
U.S.
Cannot Defeat ISIS. Real Clear World, 6 June 2015. Web.
30 Jan. 2016.
Last week’s
entry took a deep look into the relation between imagery and peoples beliefs.
For today’s entry I hope to do the same, by bringing back my central goal of
relating the topic of discussion to modern beliefs. I will be talking about
Charlie Smith’s interview with the Library of Congress that took place during
March 17, 1975.
In this interview he talks about
the direct contact and relations that he had with other African people, being
brought on boats to serve as slaves and how they interacted with him.
Elmer
Sparks, opens up with the following question,
“…Mr.
Smith, what is your full name?”
To
this question Mr. Smith is a lengthy reply. He talks about s the circumstances
under which he got on the boat that I brought him to America, along with the
conditions and situations he faced on the boat that came over from Galina,
Africa.
The
circumstances under which Mr. Smith was brought to the United States were
rather odd. He details an account where he asked his mother if he could see the
white man landing on shore, and the next thing he knew he was asked to go down
the hatch hole of the boat. This makes it clear that he did not have the
permission of his mother to go on the boat and that he was largely taken
against his will. This appears to have been the case for a lot of Africans that
were brought to America as slaves and those were sold as slaves across the
continent.
On the topic of selling slaves, who
were brought onto the boats, Mr. Smith that has a rather startling account of
the process. He says that all the slaves were constantly harassed while they
were on the boat and were threatened with even worse. He was taunted with a
variety of punishments by the white ship crew, and was even threaten to be
thrown overboard. The actual sales were took place in South Africa. The people
who captured the slaves would placed them one by one, regardless of family or
grouping, and selling off to the highest bidder.
Selling of Slaves ~ Bristol Radical History Group
After being sold to a slave master
that was located in New Orleans, Louisiana, Mr. Smith talks about what would
happen to slaves that had run away. He talks about how individual or groups of
slave masters would put bounties on a slave or multiple slaves, had their
escaped together.
“…[the slave owners],
put out the five hundred dollar reward anybody would go get him. There was six
men right at the line of the states. You had to get your authorities from them
to go over there. Everybody go over there and get them five…hundred dollars,
them mens would kill them. Kill them. [unintelligible] They'd kill you.”
With the immense
amount of mental and physical abuse of slaves had to endure, it shape their
cultural identity in a very unique way. Old tales tell of slaves singing songs
together, well working in the fields, and even teaching each other how to read
and write. All of this symbiotic behavior appears to have stemmed from the fact
that they were stripped of their identities. Their names were changed to that
of their masters, their local language had changed, and working with each other
was all they had.
Works
Cited
Sparks, Elmer.
"Interview with Charlie Smith, Bartow, Florida, March 17,
1975."
The Library of Congress. Library of Congress, 17 Mar. 1975. Web. 24 Jan.
2016.
Deviating slightly from my normal theme of
relating wartime writing to the modern day, I will be exploring how imagery
from the Civil War shaped cultural values of the period. Though there are lots
of very stunning and historically relevant photos from the civil war, I will be
exploring the cartoons and illustrations from the period. The Civil War illustrations
are some of the most accurate representations of American’s feelings at the
time, while revealing undertones of thought and discrimination.
The source for a lot of the Civil
War cartoons is Harper’s Weekly. Harper’s Weekley began publication in
1857 as "a journal of civilization", and contained notable coverage
of the US Civil War” (Online Books Page).
A Man Knows A Man - April 22nd, 1865 Harper's Weekly
The first image I would like to look at is a Harpers Weekly illustration titled, A Man Knows A Man. Both the image and
the caption are quite powerful in conveying the message of equality and
sacrifice. The caption says, “’Give me your had, Comrade! We have lost a leg
fro the good cause: but, thank GOD, we have never lost HEART.’” Military
service was seen as a “rite of passage” that turned boys into men, particularly
during the time of the Civil War. Physical scarring or maiming served as the
visible symbol of manhood tested and earned through combat. The message of
white and black Union soldiers having made the same sacrifice not only proves
that they are equal in manhood, but equal as human beings. Despite
the largely positive nature of the illustration, it is not entirely accurate
with regards to African American involvement with the Union army. Although
black men volunteered to serve in the Union armed forces as soon as the Civil
War began, many of them were rejected due to a federal law from 1792, which
prohibited blacks from bearing arms in the United States military. Even though
the Union army was fighting for the emancipation of Blacks, they were still
quite prejudiced. Black servicemen were segregated from whites in special
"colored" units under the leadership of white officers. In addition,
black servicemen were also paid less than their white soldiers of equal rank. A
black soldier would make $7 per month versus $13 of his white counterpart (HarpWeek).
The next illustration comes from Frank Leslie’s
Illustrated Newspaper. Leslie’s paper often took a strongly patriotic
stance and frequently featured cover pictures of soldiers and heroic battle
stories.
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper October 26th, 1861
The image is
captioned, “Dark artillery; or how to make the contraband useful.” The origin
of the term “contraband” comes from the Fort Monroe Doctrine. Escaped slaves
who made their way to Union lines were declared as “contrabands of war,” and
not subject to return to their confederate owners. As contraband, runaway
Blacks were taken in by the Union Army to serve as field laborers, construction
workers, domestic workers, and in a variety of tasks that paralleled their prior
status as slaves.
As this cartoon
further illustrates, racism was most definitely not confined to the South. Just
as the previous image showed comfortable race relations between the white and
black soldier, it did not speak to all the underlying policies that Union
soldiers employed to further promote segregation and prejudice. Exposing these
kinds underlying ideas is the reason that I chose to write this entry about
illustrations from the Civil War. It promotes further investigation, while
providing the initial platform for research.
