Transcript
THE RECONSTRUCTION ERA AND THE FRAGILITY OF DEMOCRACY
B A C K L A S H A N D V I O L E N C E
J U LY 7 - 9 , 2 0 1 5 G E N E A U T RY M U S E U M
Essential Questions:
How do racial stereotypes in the media create and reinforce “in” groups and “out “ groups?
How do the choices of the media shape society and public opinion?
(Lesson 12)
Reflections of Race in Nineteenth-Century Media
“We all know we are unique individuals, but we tend to see others as representatives of groups. It’s a natural tendency, since we must see the world in patterns in order to make sense of it; we wouldn’t be able to deal with the daily onslaught of people and objects if we couldn’t predict a lot about them and feel that we know who or what they are.”
– Psychologist Deborah Tannen (p. 199)
TPS (Think- Pair – Share) Do you agree? What is the benefit of viewing others as representatives of groups When is it offensive or harmful to see others in this way?
Reflections of Race in Nineteenth-Century Media
Throughout the Civil War and the Reconstruction era, freedpeople were common subjects of drawings and cartoons by newspaper artists and their depictions varied widely.
“Douglass on Media Images of African Americans” (handout 12.1, p. 202)
Discussion: What is Douglass suggesting about the power of stereotypes? How can stereotypes affect
the way that we think about and treat others?
Reflections of Race in Nineteenth-Century Media: Frederick Douglass
The power of the media to shape public opinion grew enormously in the middle of the nineteenth century.
Newspapers had the largest audience and typically identified themselves with particular political parties and therefore a very partisan lens.
The conflict over the meaning of freedom and equality for African Americans was fought in myriad ways – including newspapers and other media.
The New York World, a daily paper, supported the Democratic party and had a readership of about 500,000.
Harper’s Weekly supported the Republican party and was read by 100,000 Americans each week.
Reflections of Race in Nineteenth-Century Media: Context
The ways in which Northerners viewed African Americans had a profound impact on public support for Reconstruction.
Perhaps no one popularized the art of newspaper drawings and editorial cartoons more than Harper’s Weekly’s Thomas Nast.
Reflections of Race in Nineteenth-Century Media: Thomas Nast
Prompts: Identify the part of the image that first caught your eye
Identify a part of the image that shows what this image is about
Identify a part of the image that either perpetuates or challenges a negative stereotype about African Americans
Identify a part of the image that you think would have influenced the audience’s opinion about whether or not freedpeople deserve protection for the freedoms and rights they gained during Reconstruction.
Reflections of Race in Nineteenth-Century Media: Thomas Nast
Crop-it activity (p.200)
Prompts: Identify the part of the image that first caught your eye
Identify a part of the image that shows what this image is about
Identify a part of the image that either perpetuates or challenges a negative stereotype about African Americans
Identify a part of the image that you think would have influenced the audience’s opinion about whether or not freedpeople deserve protection for the freedoms and rights they gained during Reconstruction.
Reflections of Race in Nineteenth-Century Media: Thomas Nast
“Colored Rule in a Reconstructed State” (205) (The members call each other thieves, liars, rascals, and cowards.) Columbia. "You are Aping the lowest Whites. If you disgrace your Race in this way you had better take Back Seats.“
- Published in Harper’s Weekly (1874)
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Film clip: “Thomas Nast and Northern Racism” under Special featuresReconstruction: The Second Civil War
Reflections of Race in Nineteenth-Century Media: Thomas Nast
Through the crop-it activity, what did you notice about Nast’s portrayal of African Americans?
What can we learn from Thomas Nast’s images?
Nast’s body of work provides a case study of the variety of often-contradictory ways that African-Americans were portrayed in Reconstruction-era media.
Nast’s visual commentary sheds light on the changing attitudes of many white northerners during the 1870s and provides examples of the power of the media to shape those opinions.
“Nast never adopted an entirely positive view of black Americans. Like everyone else of his generation, he grew to maturity in a world where race usually determined destiny. The same sensitivity to cultural norms that helped the cartoonist respond to public tastes and tickle a reader’s fancy made him vulnerable to stereotyping.” – Biographer Fiona Halloran
How might an exploration of historical media allow/empower students to look at contemporary media?
Reflections of Race in Nineteenth-Century Media: Thomas Nast
“Every revolution we have causes a counter-revolution” –Historian David Blight
What does Blight mean? Do you agree/disagree? Give evidence to support you claim from your own experiences, other histories, current events.
Backlash, Violence and Redemption: Part One
• How should a democratic society respond to violence and terror?
• What power do bystanders and upstanders have in response?
• What makes democracy fragile? What can be done to protect and strengthen democracy?
Essential Questions
Go back into the reading:
1) Underline a phrase (4-6 words) that stands out to you—perhaps it seems important to you or impacted you.
2) At the bottom of the page, write one word that summarizes your reaction to this reading
“Klansmen” Wraparound
When doing the wraparound, were there any common themes that came up in peoples’ phrases or words they read? What does this tell you?
Colby did not give in to the KKK demands (renouncing the Radical ticket, accepting the money).
“Klansmen” Debrief
Who are the people involved in attacking Colby? What does that say about the KKK violence?
• Perpetrators• Collaborators• Bystanders• Upstanders (rescuers, resistors)
• “A Nucleus of Ordinary Men,” pg. 178 • “Collaborators and Bystanders,” pg. 179
Range of Human Behavior
KKK Violence Post Civil War More secretive; disguised Restore white supremacy Localized terror; organized by
citizens Quelled after Enforcement Acts
Redemption Paramilitary Violence • Post 1873• Sponsored by political parties; restore
Democratic rule in South • Out in the open• Based upon disrupting voting & elections • Quelled after 1877
From KKK to “Redemption” Violence
1) You will be given a document to read that lays out the platform of a paramilitary group during Reconstruction: #1 pg. 223 “South Carolina Red Shirts Battle Plan”#2 pg. 219 “Louisiana White League Platform”
2) As you read, annotate: • What was the organization’s goal? How did they
justify their existence? • How were ideas of we/they, ‘othering’ and race
manifested in your document?
Platforms & Paramilitary Violence
3. When you are finished, find a partner who read what you did not:
• Share what you learned from reading your document
• Compare and contrast what you annotated.
• Discuss- How is “redemption” violence similar to and different from Klan violence?
Step In and Out: Document Gallery Walk
Step In: •What is going on in this specific moment? What dilemma or decision is being presented? •What choice is depicted in the document? What are the consequences of the choices? •What are the speaker’s thoughts/feelings, concerns, and observations?
Step Out: •How do we regard this moment today? (with the lens of the present) What do you see or know that the speaker might not have at the time? •Why is this event significant? •What questions do you have about this moment? For the speaker?
1) Posted around the room are a selection of documents from lesson 13: “Violence, Race & Redemption.” Walk around the room reading the documents and comment using the Step In/Step Out Strategy:
What do these events tell us about why Reconstruction ended?
Final thoughts: pg. 241 “President Hayes Removes the Remaining Troops”pg. 242 “Chamberlain Decries the End of Republican Rule”
What questions do you have about this history?
HMWK Blog: Bryan Stevenson Video (see email from Mary Hendra
What makes democracy fragile? What can be done to protect and strengthen democracy?
Wrap Up Questions
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