Mexico from 1840-1876
...ime. Most contemporary sources emphasize the weakness of Mexico and lack to mention their strengths. In a letter from General Taylor’s Army that was published in The Daily Picayune, October 1, 1847 the author spoke about how he felt Mexico was “behind the age”. He states that their level of poverty is vast, that they would be much more advanced since they are hard workers if they did not have such poor equipment and utensils for laboring. He compares their hygiene with those of monkeys he has seen in the menagerie after observing them pick bugs from each others scalps. The paintings are also an easy way to assess what situations where like during these times. It depicts what types of clothes were worn along with different tasks among the men and women. In one portrait you can differentiate between the poor and the upper class simply by the garments they are wearing. The poor are sparsely dressed where as the upper class are totally covered and look almost elegant. One point that is made clear is that of child labor. In almost all the portraits you can see one dimension or another of child labor whether it be picking fruit or selling items. The portraits also illustrate how dangerous it was to live during this time period with a graphic image of a stage coach attack. In others works such as campaign sketches of the Mexican American War, it shares immense detail about how battles were fought and won along with descriptions of the lands where some of these battles occurred. He speaks of beautiful prairies, winding rivers, and the picturesque views along their march. Captai...