The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-10-18
THE EFFECTS
 OF SLAVERY Upon The Negro Race in The A>1Arf South.
By ,. T. searey, N. D., Tuscaloosa, Ala.

It Is interesting to apply general socio- logic principles to the study of the hered- itary effects of the institution of slavery upon the negro race in the South; which we can now do, after the removal of A whole generation, with less prejudice and motives less affected by preconceived mo- tions. -
 Probably not before in the worlds history has there ever been a commingling of two such extremely different races of men; in such numbers; on such entirely new soil; and where the effects of their association were as unaffected by outside influences and interests. r-f
 As slavery prevailed in the South. the negroes were generally and intimately scattered through the country In the homes of the whites or in every day close contact with them. Races have mixed be- Tore: but, generally. where 1t has been on large scale. one has been conquered and overrun by the other, and more or less enmity and opposition has existed.
 As I say. this instance was exceptional: in the magnitude of its numbers: in the extreme difference in the kinds of people;
 in the great intimacy of the intermixture; and in the absence of any serious aver sion or opposition on the part of either.
 It has appeared strange to many outsid-
 CTS. not understanding the innate charac- ter of the negroes. that they should.
 throughout the whole time. have exhib- ited such a placid and passive submis- sion. These very traits rendered the in- termixture easy to accomplish and the dissemination intimate and broadcast. The institution spread itself rapidly through all the richer portions of the South. particularly in those sections where cotton culture prevailed as the leading industry.
 Tn this instance, by an active develop ment that had extended through thou sands of years there had resulted in Flu rope high-type white race. or races. so nearly alike. they may be classed the same. whose civilization. as is usually the case. corresponded with their inherent mental abilities. Certain of these had emfgrated to America, and in time im- ported as slaves from Africa, large num- bers of an entirely different kind of peo- pie. black in color. and holding the other extreme of inherent incompetent mental ity. with a corresponding low grade of civilization. There could not have been selected two races more unlike and hold ing positions further apart in the grades of nations. nor in any other way could they have been more uniformly or inti- mately intermixed the one with the other.
 The then recent changes in cotton man. ufacturing, after greatly improved meth ods. gave a sudden and rapid impulse to the cultivation of that staple. The pro- duction of cotton in the South became suddenly highly profitable. and the whole section dropped other things and went in- to it. particularly was this done when 1t was found that African slaves could be used with such great advantage. The raising of tobacco. rice and sugar cane oIa nrnHt a h1A with the HrGA of negro slaves. All this contributed to the rapid extension of slavery.
 The very large majority of the import ed Africans came from the western coasts of Africa and were quite uniformly alike in mental abilities and habits. They were without aggressiveness pasSively. docile, and inherently low-typed. As far back as history goes, they had been sought for as slaves by other nations, but never be- fore on as large a scale. They were long known as the most suitable persons. to be found anywhere in the world. for this purpose The spanirds had made most egregious failure trying to enslave the natives of the West Indies and of the continent, and. after they had about ex- terminated those they enslaved. they readily turned from them to the Africans, The negroes could be easily enslaved and served we'll under the pressure of forced labor. more docilely than any known kind of people. Their peculiar itahleness for enforced servitude made tfem very avail able in subduing the new country In the South, and their enforcey labor was ex- oeedinRly profitable and successful. The success was so great that 1t led In great measure to the withdrawal of the labor ing whites from the slave sections. and to the cessation of other business enter prises. The comparatively large portion of tne manufacturing of the country that had ha1un in the older Southern States. was abandoned and the capital was in- vested in negroes and cotton. HIS stead ilv growing profitableness led to the mum erous importation of the negroes as Wen as to their wide dissemination over large sections. A..,o,,ca end an intimately intermixed with the whites. were readily and rapidly mace to assume the habits, dress, language, anu of their masters unoer no other circumstances could they nave as rapidly been made to adopt these changes. European civilization envelop- ed the negroes on all sides and they were forced to adjust to 1t, whether they tuliy and appreciated 1t or not They were incapable of inventins sucn a civilization for themselves. and only the QXt6FnalS horne fife and their daily work and habits. as they contributed to their masters in- terasts were regulated after methods very much more salutary and sanitary than they had ever practised before AS A rule the imported slaves were young adults, selected specimens Of their tribes. During their servitude. their general con ditions of health. with a higher intelii- gence than their own. were maintained and improved In fact. as a whole, the slaves were in time brought to high average level of physical manhood. At the time of their freedom they were a more prolific, sober, healthy and satisfied six millions of laboring people. than ex- Isted anywhere else in the world.
 Tn the strenuous life of the civilized society into which they were brought the negroes were defended from the risks and dangers that usually lead to the rapid elimination of the less capable. They did not subsist or obtain their living by their own mental efforts. The competi- tive thinking. in the lines of work in which they were engaged, was done for them by their employers. They were not subjected to the usual eliminating tests, for their living continuance.
 At the same time that the negroes were saved from the usual eliminating results, that naturally and generally follow in- in their surroundings and en- forced habits, they were subjected to regular muscular exercises. in outdoor life, with better hygienic methods than they had ever before observed; in the second place, they were regularly forced to practice different kinds and higher grades of thinking. Their inherently