Extremely Rare 1863 Civil War CDV of Black Conscription For Sale

Extremely Rare 1863 Civil War CDV of Black Conscription

Up for auction is anextremely rare 1863 CDV entitled “The Black Conscription,” by John Tenniel, September 26, 1863. This cartoon,pictured above, depicts African American soldiers in the American Civil War.Drawn in the Southerner perspective, the cartoon plays on humor and theridiculousness of African American soldiers fighting in the war. Ultimately thecartoon argued that African American soldiers make as good of soldiers aswhites. The cartoon exaggerates various characteristics of the two AfricanAmericans depicted, hinting that they were not fit to be soldiers. These menwere probably slaves due to the way they carry themselves, their speech, andtheir physical attributes. The artist drew them with big lips with buck teethstanding improperly. Notably, the two men slurred and misspoke their words asif they were illiterate. This cartoon was targeted towards the southerners asmany did not want African Americans to be conscripted in the military. The CDV, a small, mass-produced photograph type, was usedto circulate this propaganda among the populace to cement white Southernsolidarity.CDV measures approx. 2 ½” x3 ¾”.

See photos for condition.

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