Michael Cox-Thomas Nast's representation of the South

This image is a drawing by Thomas Nast, a political artist, satirist, and commenator. It can be found on this webpage.

In this piece of work he is representing a raid by Southern rebels on a western town. Nast was trying to create the idea that the Southerners were a cruel, barbarous people. The images of hanging a man from a flag pole, the outright and public murder of a black man on the right of the picture, and shooting the child's dog are good examples of how he was trying to present the Southern rebels as hideous barbarians.

While this picture could have been a possible representation of what would happen in a raid, it does not give a complete picture of the South. It shows only agression without any representation of the South as a whole. Nast's goal was of course to present the South in such a manner to enrage the North. He accomplished his goal but he did not give a true representation of the South.