The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-05-13
Professor Agassiz and the Negro


For wears a paragraph purportng to DC
from tie pen Of Professor AaAssiz nas wv"
going the rounus Of the pres In WINCH f"'"
,.,,,,b rho distinguished naturalist IN repre-
.o,,.oa ,o have declared that the negro was
,o,,,,, ,,r,;lc the white man III his bones. us
,k;, his blood, and in every other respec'.
po;,c confident that Professor AGAsrz had
,,,cr written or made any such statements,
NO have never published the paragraph in
question. Recently, whilst there was pend
ing in the Massachusetts Legislature bill
contemplating sum OF money to the Pro-
G>sor'S new school, he was charged with the
authorship of the paragraph in question.
lie replies TO the charge as follows:
"CANBRtndE, May 6. 1S73-1 O'Clock :. VI.
Dear Sir.--l am truly grateful to you lor
vaIliu: upon me and giving me an oppor'u'
nifty OF rehukiIg anew SANDER WHICH ha>
already been several times brought up against
mc, notwithstanding my POSITIVE denE.' 81
tho cb;rlr,. The very same story
! now brought up OF my having said that
the blood of the negro Is chemically very
different tIud from that which flows in the
Veins or white men, and other nonsense.
Every educated man in the country knows
shat am not 4 chemist, and that for me to
make such an assertion would smply make
INC the Eaughing->tOvk of the learned world.
Whcr parts of the report, about bones, ",
arr guile rs absurd.
"The>c in>inlli,ionS. however, had an Oh
zee, with those who made them. and call
no. better meet TIC whole than by Siuting
that have been wishing I'LL my life for the
better education Of all my fellow-cre3lureS,
tnen and women. without regard to color or
20 position in society. believe that there
are few men who have educated gratuitously
~ many Of their fellow-mcn rs / have. and
can afford to deSrSc the wild and malicious
remarks which in this respect are circulated
against ne.
" livery respectfully yours, :.
as. AGAss ~
After reading the above, the observing man
will conclude that Professor AGAssiz holds
substantially the opinions which were attrl-
butei to him. He fails to deny that he ranks
the negro below the white man, or To affirm
III, ideas ON the subject in any manner, He
simply says in the frs! paragraph If biz lrf'
Ter that hc is not a chemist, and i'':lt " "lh"r
PARTS" "about bones " are absurd. and in
the second that he is very good fIhnd to
the negro and to all men of all races but
the main fact remains-and We repeat it to
the great mans crcdit-thnt Il long residence
amongst negrophili>tS. and his anxiety to
establish new school upon his own model,
were not sufficient to induce him to indulge
even III The weakest puff of SAaEo, although
his letter was intended for effect upon Il
Massachusetts, Legislature.
Ii may dc FOR northern and foreign writers
who know nothing Of negroes to assume
,ha: The black and the white races Of men are
but one race. and that the various shades In
their competitions have been produced by
III. sun, the pure white, living in the tenn
r2r,tc Zone, OF even nearer TO the poles, and
the pure blacks in the tropics, whilst between
the two are tn" other shades, gradually
,r>>ing from black into white. and from
whit into black. But those OF us who live
here know that the fact Is that there are
heroes as black as. jet, and CaucasilnS a>
white as tirc,S>ian beauty, whose ancestors
have lived in this State for hundreds OF years.
The negro has not grown white, and the
Caucasian has not grown black. Nor have
ihc2 become a>>imilatcd in any manner by
climate, food, or raimcnf.