The Civil War was the first major conflict to be documented by photography. At the time of the Civil War, it was vital to have public support on both the North and the South side of the dispute. It is also said that if war efforts do not have complete support of its’ citizens that it will not result to any benefits. Photography was one way that was almost guaranteeing support of citizens on the homefront. Photographers had power within their photographs, toying with the pathos of the civilians, and causing them to feel whatever the photographers wanted them to. This power was abused at time by manipulating people’s opinions towards the war. There were pictures coming back from the warfront one after the other which made it impossible for people to feel an emotional connection to the soldiers at war. These photographs allowed events happening miles away to feel like they were closer to home causing people to support the war efforts more heavily. Instead of people having their own opinions during the war, photographers used manipulative …show more content…
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce took the first photograph in 1827 but the process took almost 8 hours and the picture still came out fuzzy. “Photographers had to carry all of their heavy equipment, including their darkroom, by wagon. They also had to be prepared to process cumbersome light-sensitive images in cramped wagons.”As a result of this long process it was way too much of a hassle to use photography at the time. As technology advanced photographers in the Civil War were the first to figure out how powerful the use of photography would be. The view of wars from that point on were changed forever because of the photos that were taken at the Civil War. It is said that, “...the Civil War became a true watershed moment in the history of
Images can manipulate many scenarios but it’s tactic used to show the realities of our world. Despite what we see, picture taken of the war and events occurring in the war doesn’t mean they aren’t real. We all live in a messy world and history is constantly repeating itself. Pictures are taken to spread awareness and empathy. It is a reason DeGhett argued that the Iraq brunt solider photograph taken by Kenneth Jarecke should have been posted in order for the public to get a sense that the war occurring at the moment is nothing like in the movies. Images are powerful and we must learn to always look closely and
"A picture is worth a thousand words," we say. From the eyes and mind of the archivist studying the pictures of Robert Ross' experience with war, they are worth a lot more. The photographs in the epilogue of Timothy Findley's "The Wars" play an important role in Findley establishing both a trust with the reader, and a sense of realism to his war story. This satisfies the need for realism in his tale. The result of this image that is brought forth through the medium of the photograph, is that we are forced to see the "before" and "after" of Roberts "experience" and figure out our way through what is deposited in between: the cause and effect.
There are many different ways in which the war was represented to the public, including drawings, newspaper articles, and detailed stereographs. Stereographs such as John Reekie’s “The Burial Party” invoked mixed feelings from all of those who viewed it. It confronts the deaths caused by the Civil War as well as touches upon the controversial issue over what would happen to the slaves once they had been emancipated. This picture represents the Civil War as a trade-off of lives- fallen soldiers gave their lives so that enslaved black men and women could be given back their own, even if that life wasn’t that different from slavery. In his carefully constructed stereograph “The Burial Party,” John Reekie confronts the uncertainty behind the newly
Brought into this world on October 17, 1821, Alexander Gardner’s work as a Civil War photographer has often been accredited to his mentor, the better-known Mathew Brady. Only recently has the true extent of Alexander Gardner’s work been acknowledged, receiving the credit that has been long overdue. Born in Paisley, Scotland, Gardner and his family were quite the movers. Relocating to Glasgow, Scotland, shortly after his birth, and later in 1850, to the United States with his brother James in attempt to establish a community in Iowa (CWO). In need of more money to fund the establishment, Gardner returned back to Glasgow and purchased what would soon become one of largest newspapers in the city, and one of the most known newspapers in the entire country, the Glasgow Sentinel. The newspaper made a considerable amount of profit for Gardner and he returned to the United States a year later in 1851, but this time paying another state a visit, New York.
Endres, Kathleen L. "The Women's Press in the Civil War: A Portrait of Patriotism, Propaganda, and Prodding." Civil War History 30.1 (1984): 31-53. Project
During winter months, basic huts were constructed from wood when it was available. During the civil war, most of the soldiers fought only 75 percent of the time. When they were not fighting, their day usually started at 5:00 in the morning during the summer and spring, and 6:00 in the morning during the fall and winter. Soldiers would be awakened by fifes and drums, then the first sergeant would take a roll call, and all the men sat down to eat breakfast. During the day, soldiers would be engaged in sometimes as many as five 2-hour long drill sessions on weaponry or maneuvers.
The Civil War: A Visual History, Jenkins, Mark Collins; D.K. Publishing, March 21, 2011 Print
Instead of telling readers what to think through words, readers can form their own point of view from a photo. A photograph that showed different interpretations was taken during WWII after the destruction of Iwo Jima in Japan of Americans soldiers raising an American flag in the ruins. Some viewers may perceive this act as patriotic, and others may have thought it was an act of terrorism and revenge. Either opinion could be argued and the photograph is the evidence. Since photographs can be unbiased, they can also hold truthful detail. For example, one photograph from the Vietnam war depicted a Vietnamese police officer shooting a Viet Cong in the streets. There are a lot of emotion in that photograph that words cannot describe all; which included the fear and hostility that was upheld during the time. Newspapers need to print more of these kinds of photographs to educate people the ugliness of war and death. Ephron pointed out, “throughout the Vietnam War, editors were reluctant to print atrocity pictures. . . That 's what that war was about.” War and its deaths are a part of history too, and history needs to be kept true and unbiased. As long as the photos are not altered nor used for propaganda, they can be
In August 2013, Rolling Stone magazine’s cover had Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s selfie plastered across it. Other media outlets favored using a mugshot of him or a photo of the incident as opposed to a standard photo of the perpetrator. His long curly hair, goatee, expressionless face, and white t-shirt were on newsstands across the nation. This was met with huge backlash especially from the Boston community. Massachusetts State Police sergeant Sean Murphy said that the image was “glamorizing the face of terror” (Boston Magazine, July 18th, 2013). Retailers pulled the issue from their shelves and some (such as BJ’s Wholesale Club) ended their ties with Rolling Stone entirely. Many believed that Tsarnaev’s long curly hair and goatee
The mass media carries with it unparalleled opportunities to impart information, but also opportunities to deceive the public, by misrepresenting an event. While usually thought of as falsifying or stretching facts and figures, manipulation can just as easily be done in the use of photography and images. These manipulations may be even more serious – and subtle – than written manipulations, since they may not be discovered for years, if ever, and can have an indelible and lasting impact on the viewer, as it is often said, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. One of the most significant images of Twentieth Century America was the photograph of a migrant mother holding her child. The photograph was taken during the Great Depression by photographer Dorothea Lange, and has remained an enduring symbol of the hardship and struggle faced by many families during the Depression Era. This image was also an example of the manipulation of photography, however, for it used two major forms of manipulation that remain a problem in journalistic photography.
The American Civil War, also known as the War Between the States, or simply the Civil War in the United States, was a civil war fought from 1861 to 1865, after seven Southern slave states declared their secession and formed the Confederate States of America . The states that remained in the Union were known as the "Union" or the "North". The war had its origin in the fractious issue of slavery, especially the extension of slavery into the western territories. Foreign powers did not intervene. After four years of bloody combat that left over 600,000 soldiers dead and destroyed much of the South's infrastructure, the Confederacy collapsed, slavery was abolished, and the difficult Reconstruction process of restoring national unity and guaranteeing rights to the freed slaves began.
The Civil War was a game changer for propaganda. The Civil War is said to be the bloodiest battle in American History. Both the Unions and Confederates had many casualties in their endeavors. The Civil War was from 1838 to 1845. Cartoons and journalism became available to the public for the first time. This meant the public was exposed to a completely different aspect of the war, that some may not have known existed. For the first time, the images were able to be depicted as seen in the Civil War. Both the Union and the Confederates used propaganda in their war defenses. The Union used propaganda to try to recruit more volunteers. The posters were made for trying to get the volunteers to feel empowered in their war endeavors. They were made to make the volunteers think they would have major self accomplishments from this. During the Civil War, propaganda was mostly used to get people to sign up for battle. They didn’t have enough people so this was their biggest way of advertising. Most posters were racist, however during this time that was acceptable. “In both respects, political caricature has the ...
The American Civil War is a conflict that started in the years of 1861 through 1865, during the times Northern & Southern states seceded from the Union. In the South dealing with the war throughout the states was also labelled as War of the Rebellion, the war of secession also the war for southern independence. During the time of Civil War, although it had much criticized as inexact they most widely accepted. Not only that the economy of the American civil war was also not a class struggle as many thought. Also throughout the civil war soldiers were dropping like fly and other needed some type of help due to their injury. There was an totally amount of 644,000 soldiers in different types of conflict.
“Slavery is such an atrocious debasement of human nature, that its very extirpation, if not performed with solicitous care, may sometimes open a source of serious evils. The unhappy man who has been treated as a brute animal, too frequently sinks beneath the common standard of the human species. The galling chains, that bind his body, do also fetter his intellectual faculties, and impair the social affections of his heart… To instruct, to advise, to qualify those, who have been restored to freedom, for the exercise and enjoyment of civil liberty… and to procure for their children an education calculated for their future situation in life; these are the great outlines of the annexed plan, which we have adopted.” - Benjamin Franklin. When Benjamin Franklin said this, he was speaking in 1789 promoting the abolition of slavery so long before the civil war. He was one of the many abolitionists that had been fighting for freedom years before the main events of the abolition movement during the abolition movement. Dred Scott was served wrongly by slave owning judges. The Abolition Movement and The Dred Scott decision are about people standing up for others being treated wrongly.
Two major renowned and notable Magazines/Newspapers shared the same chief editor: Henry R. Luce, who was an ardent advocate of civil rights for every American, his magazines tended to sympathize with the Civil Rights Movement, and came-out strongly against segregationists and the Ku Klux Klan in particular. On top of this, Life Magazine traditionally placed much emphasis on photo-journalism, and its articles on the Civil Rights Movement were no different, as each contained several pictures of the events, the question that arises is: What was the role of Black American photographers in defending their cause?