The American Civil War, first war photographed
Seeing a picture makes one feel as if he or she knows what is happening. When a person sees a familiar face suffering, it shocks them. Someone may feel as if they are experiencing, or at least comprehending better, what the image in the picture is going through. If the photograph is of people laughing, for a brief second, the person looking at it, thinks that they are a part of the inside joke going on. When the images in the pictures are hurting, the person looking will feel the pain slicing through their flash as well. When the civil war broke, photography had existed in the United States for almost 20 years. The new technology was quickly catching on, and many photographers at the time took it as a challenge to bring the truth about war out to the public. Pictures of lost battles started showing up in newspapers. Images of hurting soldiers fighting for their lives startled the country. The public was able to see the awful reality of war for the first time. Most people did not like it. The old myth of an honorable war was somewhat broken, and the battles were no longer a question of imagination. People saw their kids dying, families saw pictures of other's loved ones hurting, and thought of their own suffering in the same way. T
Just like photographs of slavery helped turn a high level moral concept into a concrete one that people could relate to, photographs of bloodshed in the battlefields helped raising people's conscious to the dreadful consequences of war. It stimulated both sides' want to end the war in a peaceful manner. One of the most famous photographers of the time was Matthew Brady (1823-1896). When the Civil War broke, Brady took on himself the challenge of showing the war to the public as accurately as possible, and he sent numerous photographers around the country. In 1861, Brady was permitted to work on a photographic record of the war, and he opened a huge scale war photography operation (http://www.digitalcentury.com). The public was eager to this kind of information, and it made a huge change in public in people's perspective about the war. On October 20, 18, the New York Times reported: "Mr. Brady has done something to bring home to us the terrible reality and earnestness of war. If he has not brought bodies and laid them on our dooryards and along the streets, he has done something very like it. . . . It seems somewhat singular that the same sun that looked down on the faces of the slain blistering them, blotting out from the bodies all semblance to humanity, and hastening corruption, should have thus caught their features upon canvas, and given them perpetuity for ever. But it is so."(Encyclopedia Britannica Online) A war usually breaks over disagreements on specific ideologies parties may have. The American Civil War broke mainly over the concept of slavery. The north, comprised of free states, wanted to end slavery in the South as well. The South, however, regarded slavery as a significant economical means. Most of the southern states did not find slavery immoral and objected the northern states' right to interfere with the way they manage their affairs. Photographers helped people in the South realize the misery that is associated with slavery by publishing photos of young blacks that were doomed for slavery. These photos were placed in exhibitions that were used as an aid for gaining public support against slavery and for fundraising money to help slaves. Since civilians in the South became more aware of the wrongful act of slavery, they were willing to act upon it. Civilians' support is always crucial in motivating soldiers. Once people started doubting their right to enslave other people, it weakened their support of the Southern army, and helped the northern army win the war. In History of Photography: An International Quarterly, Dr
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1725
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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