Introduction and Ideology:
The 19th century was an era in American history notoriously known for being the time in which the Civil War broke out between the Confederate Army and the Union Army due to an attack that took place in Fort Sumter after the Confederate soldiers besieged the Union soldiers. At the time, America was essentially divided between the northern states, known as the Union states, and the southern states, known as the Confederate states. In this particular case, Winslow Homer was from Massachusetts, a state belonging to the Union. Essentially, tensions flourished between the two …show more content…
Christianity seemed to have swept the nation following the Second Great Awakening and the Protestant and the Methodist church soon became a sanctuary and helping hand to the soldiers and their families. (Carwardine 581-583) The Methodist church in particular became the main supporters of the Union army and often sought to console the soldiers who longed to put an end to the war and make away with slavery and the indifference’s between both halves of the United States. The Protestant church also offered prayer gatherings to the soldiers and their services to the families of the soldiers who were fighting on the frontline. (Cannon 61-80) Both branches interpreted the bible differently than the other did in regards to slavery. For starters, the Union thought of slavery as a sinful act and that there should be no enslavement amongst people. The Confederates, on the other hand, believed that slavery was not a sinful act and that they were doing not only God, but the U.S, well in keeping the slaves and “teaching” them how to properly obey their masters in what they thought of as an “institution of morality”. (Religion in the Civil War: The Northern Perspective, par. …show more content…
Before the Civil War, American art portrayed the beauty of being an American, that is, its landscapes, its people, and its landmarks. However, that all soon shifted once the Civil War began. Artist were then inspired to paint or draw out the images that would otherwise go unseen, the images that society feared would eventually scare off the public or other potential soldiers from enlisting. Many artist during that time painted images of African American slaves out on the battle field, the home fronts where the soldiers fought, the storms that would often pour over the soldiers, and just the whole feel of the nostalgic war itself. It is believed that some of the images drawn out or painted by some of the artist of the time were discarded considering their nature of subject matter in an attempt to eliminate any evidence of the gruesome reality the war brought upon Americans. (The Civil War and American Art, par. 16) Most of the paintings during the 19th century consisted of Romanticism, paintings that placed emphasis on the individuals portrayed in the paintings as opposed to society, and Impressionism, paintings that focused mostly on the actual scene of the painting. (19th Century Art, par.