State Historical Society of Iowa

Illustration from "The Exodus," 1919

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In the book “The Exodus” written by Clyde Randall and Ed Winn in 1919, a cartoon of a black man and his family being held at gunpoint by a white man who is attempting to collect a debt.
Courtesy of Library of Congress, Randall, P.J. Clyde, The Exodus, pp. 12, 1919

Description

This is an illustration in the book The Exodus, which was written by Clyde Randall and Ed Winn in 1919. The illustration depicts an African-American man who is in debt to a white southern man who is holding him at gunpoint. The image speaks to the ongoing threat of violence imposed on African Americans by the descendants of white enslavers in the United States. 

Transcript of The Exodus Illustration

Source-Dependent Questions

  • Without reading the caption, what do you believe was taking place in this illustration? Why do you think the authors included this in their book?
  • After reading the caption, why do you feel this cartoon was a part of a book about African Americans being pushed out of the South and pulled toward the northern states?

Citation Information 

Randall, P.J. Clyde, The Exodus, pp. 12, 1919. Courtesy of Library of Congress