I am always amazed at how few photographs there are of actual slaves. Most all pictures are of escaped slaves, or pictures of slaves after they were emancipated. I am not aware of hardly any photographs of people at the time they were slaves. I think that there must have been some degree of shame among slave owners of the day. Maybe deep down they knew what they were doing was wrong.This photograph shows a runaway slave that had been severely beaten. I did some research and found that the man was a runaway slave named Gordon, and the photograph was taken in 1863. There is a really interesting story about this man, and his escape from slavery. His story is interesting. The article also details some of the unimaginable cruelty suffered by some slaves. The story is encouraging in that he became a Union Soldier. He escaped slavery as a runaway, but then was able to help others do the same as a soldier.
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That photo has been the most shocking from all the pictures I have seen on your blog.
That is not to say it shouldn't have been shown. Far from it.
A picture speaks a thousand words. It is testament to the cruelties of the world that some may wish didn't exist. Thank you for taking me out of my comfort zone.
Thanks for the note.
I sometimes worry that collectively we are forgetting the lessons of the past. Some things that are not easy to remember are quick to be forgotten.
Abraham Lincoln believed that the bloodshed in the Civil War was God's punishment on a Nation (North and South) that had tolerated slavery.
Paul
I think this hsould not be shown, and why at the top does i say "ENjOY!"?? This picture is nothing to enjoy, and I'm very offended by this.
May God Bless Them All and May We Never Forget....
God keeps you on a string. Like a yo-yo. If you veer too far away, he gives you a little tug and snatches you back to reality. That is what this photo did for me. Thnx. We all need to remember.
The reason why there are so photographs of actual slaves has nothing to do with shame. Yes I think what the slavers did was wrong, but to them it was right, the reason is plain and simple that at that time a photo was expensive to take and few would waste good money as they saw it to take a picture of a slave.
This photograph is very interesting. I dont know if youre informed about this, but there is another photograph of "gordon" where he is portrayed in very clear profile. this blurry image , apparently from the same sitting, is unknown to me. could you please tell me where you got it from?
That is very sad to see, but needed to be shown. The man in the photo must have a strong character, to have taken such a whipping. Thanks for sharing.
I'm participating in a seminar about American photography. And in today's session we talked about slave daguerreotypes- and we've seen a lot. So there are many images of slaves, probably not of their everyday life, but ususally with their "masters", their masters' children, some portraits where they wear their sunday's best. I just do not understand, why those photos have been taken. It absolutely does not seem as if the slaveholders were ashamed at all. To the contrary. It seemed to me as if they were proud of having slaves, as some sort of a status symbol or so. And it also seems as if they try to show the rest of the (northern)states, that their slaves were treated well. Has anyone an other idea why those photos have been made?
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