This cover illustration from an 1882 Harper’s Weekly portrays how the lives of slaves in 1861 and freed African-Americans in 1882 were entwined with the textile industry throughout the 19th century.  On the left, in 1861 the whip-wielding man labeled “King Cotton” stomps on the back of the slave while, on the right, in 1882 Columbia operates textile machinery and a black man struggles under the weight of a bale of cotton in the background. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.