Final answer:
The 1874 political cartoon "The Union as It Was" features representatives of the White League and the Ku Klux Klan, shaking hands over a shield, to criticize their role in opposing civil rights and enforcing racial violence during Reconstruction.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the 1874 political cartoon "The Union as It Was" by Thomas Nast, two figures are prominently depicted. The individuals shaking hands over a shield are representatives of the White League and the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), two white supremacist organizations active during the Reconstruction era following the Civil War.
The cartoon portrays these groups in a critical light, signifying their nefarious role in opposing civil rights and fostering racial violence. The shield they are shaking hands over displays a scene of a couple weeping over a baby, symbolizing the terror and destruction wrought against African American families.
In the background, a schoolhouse is on fire and a lynched African American man hangs from a tree, illustrating the extensive violence and oppression perpetrated by these groups. The phrase "Worse than Slavery" is used to underscore the brutality and inhumanity of their actions during this tumultuous period in American history.