Newspapers such as the New York Times can show later generations of what is important to a society of that time period. By reading the various articles and headlines, there is a good sense of what the world of that time was paying attention to and what was weighing on everyone’s minds. The New York Times on July 20, 1865 examined all issues that could be considered social, political, economic or of high-interest to its readers of the time.
The headline for the New York Times on July 20, 1865 examined the trial of Miss. Harris and her murder trial. The entire final session of court was quoted and outline for the public to read on the front page. Based on the length of the article, and …show more content…
In 1865, the Civil War between the northern and southern states had just come to a close. The confederate states had only decided to surrender about two months before this newspaper was written. The article on page two is devoted to depicting what is now going on in the southern part of the country. The focus on the reconstruction era of the south is a huge part of United States history, and it makes sense that the people in the northern states would want to know what was going on in the south since they had been defeated in the war. The New York Times gives an overwhelming look into these states such as Texas, South Caroline and Mississippi as it gives a detailed examination on what local governments were doing, how they were rebuilding and how African Americans were being introduced into society as free. One title reads “Arrival of the Mississippi: Governor Wells refuses to extend the right of suffrage to the Negro and another is titled “Freedom a curse to the Negro” (New York Times, 1865, pg. 2). These articles are good indicators as to what was really occurring in the south following the conclusion of the civil war. Although African Americans had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, racist sentiments still were in engrained into the minds of many southerners. According to the honorable B.F. Perry, “the illness and the vagrancy of the negro in a free state may be a nuisance to society” (New York Times, 1865, page 2).These articles showed how the southern citizens did not choose to welcome the African Americans into society graciously, but they’d rather fight and speak out against