The struggle for emancipation in the Civil War produced some memorable cartoons. One such example appeared in Harper’s Weekly in its issue of August 16, 1862.
The caption for the cartoon reads, “DROWNING GENTLEMAN. ‘Take that Rope away, you darned Nigger! What decent White Man, do you suppose, is going to allow himself to be saved by a confounded Nig — ‘ (Goes down, consistent to the last.)”
Of course, the point of the cartoon was to criticize people in the North that opposed letting African Americans get more directly involved in the war, especially as soldiers. By late summer 1862, it was increasingly clear that the Union could not win the war if it did make war on slavery and enlist the slaves themselves in the fight. While this idea still faced considerable opposition, its opponents increasingly looked as ridiculous as the drowning man in this cartoon.