Edward Williams Clay was an American Artist and Cartoonist. Born 1799 in Philadelphia, Clay started out life studying law. At the age of twenty-six the same year he was accepted into the bar, Clay went to Europe to study art. There he began to do caricatures, illustrations and portraits. When he returned back to the United States one of his work ‘Life in Philadelphia’ focused on the racism of African Americans in Philadelphia. In 1780 Pennsylvania passed the act of Gradual Abolition of Slavery. This meant that any child born from this date onwards would be free regardless of their parents statice and colour. It also enforced that slaves could not be bought in from other states. White people at the time were afraid of what society would look like with free African American people. Clay’s cartoons played on those fears and his work ‘Life in Philadelphia’ was part of a propaganda sold to put fear in the people’s minds. Clay’s series of cartoon depicted life of African American people aspiring to middle class life in Philadelphia. His images of African American people were a very stereotypical view. Although they were finely dressed and were trying to resemble …show more content…
He is not standing up right and his body is not proportionate. The fine clothes he is wearing does not sit right on him, emphasizing he is out of place in them. Where as the lady is very much exaggerated, with her tall hat and to much material. Both have black face, which at the time is how they showed African American people in illustration. On the bottom of the image the text, which is in calligraphy says ‘How you find yourself dis hot weader Mifs Chloe? Pretty well I tank you Mr Cesar only I aspire too much!’ Although the text looks elegant the grammar is not proper English. Also where Clay writes ‘I aspire too much’ this pushes the views of the public that freed slaves are trying to aspire to a world in which they do not be