Thomas Nast Slavery Pictures

Thomas Nast was a staunch Abraham Lincoln supporter, defender of the Union Cause in the Civil War, and strong opponent to Slavery.  Nast used his art to show the Nation a picture of how things could be.  He created the artwork below on the topic of Slavery, in the days that Slavery was still a thriving institution in our land.  Thomas Nast's dramatic illustrations helped our Nation understand the moral outrage of slavery. The images capture the important events related to Slavery in the 1860's. The collection below contains all Slavery Artwork created by Thomas Nast during the Civil War years. Each leaf is original, and over 135 years old. This artwork was critical in helping to lead our Nation out of the Corrupt and Bankrupt Institution of Slavery, and onto a path of freedom and equality for all men.

Southern Plantation

You are viewing an original 1863 Thomas Nast Illustration of a Southern Plantation. This is an incredible picture, full of important historical detail.  The illustration is from an original 1863 Harper's Weekly newspaper.  The image is captioned, "Arrival of a Federal Column at a Planter's House in Dixie". The illustration shows a group of Union soldiers arriving at a Southern Plantation.  The union officers can be seen greeting 

Thomas Nast "Southern Plantation"  (Click on Image for Enlarged View)

the women of the plantation with a respectful tip of their hats.  The men of the house are no doubt off to war. The women look both worried and confused.  At the same time there is an absolute celebration amongst the Plantation Slaves, learning for the first time that they are free.  In the foreground, one slave can be seen bowing low, in thanks, to one of the Union soldiers.  An older black man can be seen bowing, with hat in hand, to the same soldier.  The children are standing around, looking more confused than anything else.  They probably do not yet understand the implication of freedom and emancipation. A large black woman can be seen with her hands in the air, as if praising God for the good news that has just arrived. 

One plantation slave is so happy that he is celebrating by literally walking on his hands. A child is seen in the fork of the tree, waiving his hat in celebration.

Some other soldiers are seen exchanging pleasantries with the slaves on the Southern Plantation. 

This is a fascinating image, capturing the moment of joy and celebration as the slaves realize that they are free.  The emancipation of the slaves forever changed life in the South, and the business of Southern Plantations.

We created this Thomas Nast Gallery to digitally preserve Nast's Slavery work for posterity.  We are now making the original, 140 year old leafs available for a  $250 contribution to this site.  The proceeds from the sale of the material will enable us to continue to expand the free educational material featured on our site.  Please contact paul@sonofthesouth.net if you are interested in acquiring one of these original leafs.