Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1853-02-21
The Unity of the Human Race.

Society, upon the alleged natural inferi-
ority of the African race. His reason
ing is eloquent, and his facts unanswera-
bic -
am aware that doubts are entertained
of the practicability of the work (the CIV
ilization of Africa, founded in part on
the supposed incapacity of the civilized
men of color in this country to carry on
an undertaking of this kind, and partly
on the supposed hopeless barbarism OF
the native races, which is thought by some
persons to be so gross as to defy the ap-
proach of Improvement. [ believe both
opinions to be erroneous. 1t would, /
think, be unjust to urge as proof of the
intellectual inferiority of the civilized men
of color in this country that they have
not made intellectual progress. 1t ap-
pears to me that they have done quite as
much as could be expected under the
circumstances in which they have been
placed. What branch of the European
family, if held in that same condition for
three centuries, would not be subject to
the same reproach?
Mr. Jefferson, in his Notes on Virginia,
urges the intellectual inferiority of the Af-
rican race, asexistingi in the United States.
lie might have been led to doubt the just
ice of his conclusions by rejecting that
in the very same work he thinks it ne
cessary to vindicate the race to which we
ourselves belong from charge of degen-
eracy made by an ingenious French wri-
ter.
Why, sir, it is but short time since
we Anglo Americans were habitually spo-
ken of by our own brethren in England,
.as degenerate and inferior race. With
in thirty years it has been contemptously
asked in the liberal journals of Europe,
in reference to the natives of the country
of Franklin, and Washington, and Adams
and Marshall, and Madison, of Irving,
Prescott, Brancroft, Ticknor, Bryant, and
Longfellow-Who reads an American
) Book, In the face of facts like these, it
becomes US to be somewhat cautious in
setting down the color race in America
az one Of hopeless inferiority.
; Again, sir, it is doubted whether there
: is in the native races of Africa basis of
iwprovability, if [ may use that word, in
/, which hope of their future civilization
! can be grounded. It is said that they a.
lone, of all the tribes of the earth, have
shown themselves incapable of improving
their condition. Well, sir, who knows
the early history Of our race! We know
very little oft in any part of the globe. A
dark cloud hangs over it. The whole
north and west Of Europe tell that when
; Roman civilization shone in upon it, it
was as benighted as Africa is now. 1t is
quite certain that at a very early period
of the history of the world, some of the
native races of Africa had attained high
degree Of culture. Such was the case of
: the ancient Egyptians, dark colored
race, though not Of what we call the ne
gro type. They are considered the pa
rents Of much of the civilization of the
Greeks, and indeed of the whole world
As late as the fifth century before the
Christian era, Plato passed thirteen years
in studying these sacred records. The
massive monuments of their cherries cul-
ture have withstood the storms of time
better than the more graceful creations
: OF Greeian art. Races that emerged
from barbarism later than those of Afri-
ca have, with fearful yicissitude on the
part of individual States, acquired and
5 maintained supremacy over Africa; but
: 1 am not prepared to say that it rests on
0 natural causes of final and abiding char.
acter. We are led into error by contem.
plating things too much in the gross
There are tribes in Africa which have
made no contemplate progress in various
branches of human improvement. On
: the other hand, if we look closely at the
I condition of the mass of population il
5 Europe, from Lisbon to Archangel, from
2 the Hebrides to the Black Sea; if we turr
from the few who possess wealth or com
petence, education, culture and that lord
, ship over nature aud all her forces which