The American Difficulty

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'The American Difficulty', 1861. Illustrating the worsening troubles between the North and the South in America. President Abraham Lincoln stokes the fire at the White House, just as he had stoked the fires of the Civil War with his imposition of a blockade on Southern ports. On 19th April 1861 Lincoln issued a Proclamation of Blockade against Southern ports, which meant for the duration of the war the South was limited in its ability to stay well supplied against the industrialized North. The verbal twist of black and white in the caption is illustrated by the little black figures issuing out of the smoking fireplace, What a nice White House this would be, if it were not for the Blacks! From Punch, or the London Charivari, May 11, 1861. Show more