Question

Thomas Nast, a northern Republican, was a long-time supporter of Congressional Reconstruction and equal rights for African Americans. What does his cartoon, "Colored Rule in a Reconstructed(?) State" suggest about how Nast and other northern Republicans viewed Reconstruction in 1874?

Answer 1

Answer:

Nast and other northern Republicans viewed a troubled and complicated government once black people didn't know how to argue without a physical or verbal attack. This is what can be seen, and understood through the analysis of his cartoon.

Explanation:

Thomas Nast was a supporter of equal rights for African Americans, but even with this political engagement, he was a Northern man, and his political, social and ideological points of view were strongly based on his surroundings. North was prospering, and different from the South, the northern states didn't suffer from the Civil War. With the abolition in 1865, African Americans now could be engaged in society, but no matter if on the North or in the South, the feeling of fear and distrust related to the African American people was strong. In this cartoon, Nast expresses these feelings. The fear that African Americans were not ready to guide a State, after years of slavery.