This emblem depicting a slave in chains and the motto, "Am I not a man and a brother?" was used by various abolition societies. Abolitionism had emerged as a social movement on both sides of the Atlantic by the time of the American Revolution, but it was not until the 1820s and 1830s that it connected to another strong wave of reform sentiment and once again threatened the institution of slavery. As you examine this image, consider what effect the motto was intended to have on its white audience. Why would that question prove so provocative during this period?
This Currier and Ives lithograph shows the "progress" of a drunkard, from his "first glass with a friend" to his "death by suicide." Currier and Ives issued more than thirty prints advocating temperance. As you examine this scene, consider why Americans in the 1840s might have been particularly open to reform movements like temperance.
A. D. Fillmore issued this print in 1855. It expounded on the benefits of temperance and the evils of drink. In the center grows a gnarled tree whose roots are schnapps, whiskey, wine, beer, and other spirits. Around its trunk winds a giant serpent with an apple in its mouth and a mug of beer on its head. The trunk branches out into limbs marked "Diseases Corporeal," "Ignorance," "Vice," "Crime," and "Immorality." These divide into smaller branches representing a plethora of other social and moral evils, including wars, drunkenness, anarchy, counterfeiting, dueling, and "Breach of the Peace." Below on the left is a procession of prohibition men holding banners that read "Hurrah! for the Maine Law" and "All together." (The Maine Liquor Law of 1851 was a landmark in the history of prohibition and led to the widespread adoption of similar laws in other states.) One man chops at the roots of the tree with an ax. On the right are barren thorn bushes (in contrast to the healthy, foliated brush on the left) and several men in various states of inebriation and despondency.
This illustration depicts a woman "going to war" for temperance. Why did the artist pick a woman for this role? Was it merely to symbolize freedom, peace, or morality, or were women actually at the leading edge of this growing national reform movement?