Mathew Brady's Photography of the Civil War Essay

Life during the Civil War was not a pleasant time. There was basically utter chaos

The name Civil War is misleading because the war was not a class struggle, but a sectional combat, having its roots in political, economic, social, and psychological elements. It has been characterized, in the words of William H. Seward, as the “irrepressible conflict.” In another judgment the Civil War was viewed as criminally stupid, an unnecessary bloodletting brought on by arrogant extremists and blundering politicians. Both views accept the fact that in 1861 there existed a situation that, rightly or wrongly, had come to be regarded as insoluble by peaceful means.

War has always been an unfortunate part of our society and civilization. War will sadly and undoubtedly be with us as long as we exist. However, the portrayal of war for many centuries gave a sense of patriotism and romanticism. Then the invention of the camera changed how humanity perceived war in the late to mid 19th century. And all of a sudden, images of war became of shear violence and destruction. The violence in these images would play a significant part in the social and political standpoints of war in our nation.

War Photographer by Carol Ann Duffy War Photographer by Carol Ann Duffy is based on a war photographer who has experienced and witnessed the reality of war. The war photographer has returned to his quite home in England from his latest job. He develops the spools of film, he took in the frontline. As he organizes the pictures, he remembers the terrifying situation he is in, "A stranger's features faintly start to twist before his eyes a half-formed ghost." Then, he sends those pictures to the Sunday newspaper, where his editor will choose the ones to be printed.

For this essay the works of Robert Draper, author of “Why Photos Matter,” and Fred Ritchen, author of “Photography Changes the Way News is Reported,” will be analyzed. Though both deal with the topic of photography, their take on the matter is very different. While Ritchen is a photographer who writes on “what professional photographers will be doing in the future,” Draper is a writer for the National Geographic writing on how the photographers of the magazine share “a hunger for the unknown.” Both writers, however, write on the topic of photographers having a deeper understanding of their subjects, Ritchen due to research and practice, and Draper because the photographers “sit [with] their subjects, just listening to them.” In both essays the need for a deeper understanding of the

While emotions were extremely high in the sense of angst for a better life, photography provided a new sense of reality to Americans and for others around the World. Photography all around the World is unlike anything else of its kind. People are able to tell stories and elicit emotions that bring the audience to that desired response. Throughout the 1930’s, photography from governmental institutions or advancements alone brought a new beginning to the end of a terrible time that Americans all around the nation

Recording history is very important. History tells us about how our ancestors lived, and knowing it will give you a solid foundation for discerning between right and wrong. Looking back at our history can prevent us from making the same mistakes that were made before. God even commanded us to remember the past. Mankind recorded history through books, songs, and stories that were passed on through generations, but those records can be confusing. Just reading and hearing about something doesn’t give you a clear understanding or view on what happened before. To actually see history through photos gives you a better understanding. A man who contributed to making history clearer during the Civil War is Mathew Brady.

In PHOT 501, I learned about the beginning of war photography and about famous war photographers, among all war photographers, there are Mathew Brady and Alexander Gardener. Two days after the war had started, Alexander Gardener who used to be working for Mathew Brady at the time,

If someone were to ask you to name one of your congressman, would you be able to? Many American citizens struggle to name a single one of their congressman or congresswoman. History is a very important thing to study because without knowing our history we are more likely to repeat our past. However, knowing our past requires us to know our present. The fate of their country addresses many topics of why the civil war occurred and why it mattered, however, Holt makes it very clear in the preface that his theme and vital point of this book is “what politicians do in elective office matters.” Holt address that when we are uninformed about our government we become wrongfully upset.

Before the invention of the camera, news traveled through word of mouth, writing, telegrams, and other forms of communication. Often times important moments were depicted through paintings, and drawings. Unfortunately, because of opinion and misinterpretation, many of those moments, had been depicted incorrectly. Take, for example the Boston Massacre which took place in the late 1700’s before the invention of the camera. In order to inform people of what is now known as the shot heard around the world, Paul Revere, a famous American revolutionist made an engraving of the scene.

Before starting this project, I knew very little about photography, photographers, or exactly how much impact photographical images have had on our society. I have never taken a photography class, or researched too in depth about specific pictures or photographers. This project has allowed me to delve deeper into the world of photography in order to understand just how much influence pictures can have over society’s beliefs, emotions, and understandings’. I have have chosen two highly influential photographers, Diane Arbus and Dorothea Lange, who I have found to both resonate with me and perfectly capture human emotions in way that moves others.

Firstly, it captures the beauty of arts, people, and nature. In fact, it captures the soul of every living creature that escapes the people’s naked eye, permeating the core of their hearts. It enlivens prosaic sceneries and environs. That being said, photography makes people see the beauty and magnificence of God’s creation. This world is such a beautiful dwelling, and it just takes lenses to show it to the people who have the deepest appreciation of arts and beauty of nature, and even to those who have not grasped yet how stunning

In the second stanza , the writer is said to quote: "He has a job to

1. Research background: The waves of refugee from Syria to Europe begun after the outbreak Civil War in Syria. On March of 2011, protests appeared in the southern city of Deraa after police arrested and tortured some teenagers who illegally painted revolutionary slogans on a school wall. But the peaceful protests rapidly grew into rebel fighting against the government after the government 's violent crackdown. In July, 2011, a group of defected Syrian officers founded the Free Syrian Army to gather Syrian civilians as opposition. Tension between extremist groups, and ethnic groups made the domestic conflict even more complicated. The rampage rose up and descended the country situation into civil war as rebel groups were created to fight against the regime forces for taking over some areas.(Mercy Corps, 2015) Until February 2015, according to United Nations report, the total death toll has exceed 210,000, and about half of them are innocent people. (Suleiman, 2015) Moreover, the Syrian civil war had led to the displacement of more than 7.6 million Syrian people. In October, Russia started launching the airstrikes as an actions of erasing ISIS in Syria. However, the airstrike also made the refuge even worse and the distribution of aid more difficult. (Mercy Corps, 2015)

Throughout the Great Depression, and through the creation of the New Deal, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was created to give men jobs and improve the economy. This paper will be analyzing three photographs with reference to Susan Sontag’s theories about photography. According to her theories, photographs were taken to document and represent the occurrences of the past, represent the objective views, memorialize the achievements, show the events that occurred, view the mortality of the individuals photographed, and show that photographs become art over time. These photographs picture members of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the first being a picture of a posed portrait of a crew, a second of them at work, and the third of them eating lunch at the worksite.