Judge — January 25, 1890 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This 1890 *Judge* magazine cartoon satirizes efforts to resolve racial conflict in the post-Reconstruction South. The title "THE WRONG WAY TO SETTLE THE RACE QUESTION IN THE SOUTH" condemns violent solutions. The central figure appears to be a cowboy or Southern character standing over what looks like a demon or devil creature emerging from flames. A large bottle labeled "RECONCILIATION" and "JUSTICE" sits nearby, with a sign reading "H.W. GRADY" visible—likely Henry W. Grady, a prominent Georgia journalist advocating for the "New South." The cartoon criticizes that Grady's reconciliation rhetoric and calls for "justice" ring hollow when accompanied by violence (the burning building in background suggests racial violence or lynching). The demon figure represents the brutality underlying these claimed peaceful solutions to racial tensions.