01:920:108 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Emancipation Proclamation, Scientific Racism
10 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Race: The Power of an Illusion (Documentary)
•
Watched a documentary called Race: The Power of an Illusion in class today--> it discusses slavery
in U.S., American Indians and the Hispanic Population.
•
Race--> is an idea that is socially constructed to continue certain political factors.
i.
He also wrote the Notes on Virginia--> described the climate of the colonial era
(considered slaves as inferior to the body and mind--> concept of black inferiority)-->
exploitation of non-people.
ii.
Jefferson did not believe Blacks could be assimilated but he believed American Indians
could be once they became "civilized"
iii.
Contradiction--> Jefferson owned a lot of slaves, yet he wrote the Declaration of
Independence which said "we are all created equal"--> to justify his contradiction, he
said the slaves were different from us (wrote certain people out of the human family).
a.
Thomas Jefferson--> wrote the Declaration of Independence (which stated: "we are all
created equal")
i.
European indentured servants worked the farm on colonies earlier--> turned to slave
trade as a result of labor shortage.
ii.
Then skin color became used as status and social structure--> lower class whites
moved up in status as a result--> emergence of white race--> slavery and blackness
went together--> racial divide they saw as natural (race--> see distinct power relations
as natural and normal)
b.
Religion and wealth defined status before 1st colony w/ slaves was created (did not define
race at that time)
i.
Status as free people (distinction used of American Indians--> Thomas Jefferson said
the American Indians were not as different as the white people--> he said the Indians
were savages but can be civilized)--> said they were not exactly like whites based on
culture not skin color.
ii.
White population later wanted the American Indian's land--> fought to retain freedom
and land--> tribal wars threatened stability--> U.S. said cheapest way to avoid tribal
war and to get their land was to "civilize" the Indians (English education, commercial
agriculture, and convert to Christianity)--> to live like the colonists did.
c.
Plantation system--> depended on slave labor
d.
Jefferson called on science to see what made Blacks inferior to Whites--> geared to tell the
public that Blacks were difference (science and slavery combined--> nature of Black
people--> form of biological racism).
1.
Slavery in the U.S.
a.
Louisiana Purchase--> land bought by France--> expansion of the United States westward
(the American Indians owned the land west of the Mississippi)--> wealth firmly ground on
land.
b.
Pressure on American Indians--> some tribes allowed the "civilization" education to occur,
such as the Cherokees--> they ceded over 90% of their land to the U.S--> many became
farmers, learned English and Christianity, published a bilingual newsletter--> to become
white.
c.
Low class white wanted land to gain wealth (to spread west)--> federal government
promised to remove all American Indians from the land--> court gave land to the white
population (forced Cherokees out of their homes and land)
d.
1828-Jackson elected president ("Common Man"--> speaking against privilege--> Jackson
2.
American Indians
Lecture: Day 3
Friday, January 12, 2018
4:06 PM
Minority Groups in American Society Page 1
