I don't understand the usage of "what" in this context.
This is an excerpt from Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s address to the 1869 Woman Suffrage Convention in Washington, DC.
I urge a sixteenth amendment, because “manhood suffrage,” or a man’s government, is civil, religious, and social disorganization. The male element is a destructive force... See what a record of blood and cruelty the pages of history reveal! Through 【what】 slavery, slaughter, and sacrifice, through 【what】 inquisitions and imprisonments, pains and persecutions, black codes and gloomy creeds, the soul of humanity has struggled for the centuries, while mercy has veiled her face and all hearts have been dead alike to love and hope!
The two whats that I mark in this paragraph do not introduce object clauses because they are followed by a series of nouns /noun phrases instead of a sentence. I think these two whats can be deleted and the sentence still makes sense. Why can "what" be used in this way?
Thank you very much for your help!!! :)