I was aware of this quote which randomly came to mind ("greentext" / blockquoted):
> During a debate with Stephen Douglas in Charleston, Illinois, on September 18, 1858, Abraham Lincoln declared: "I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races... nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people."
So I was wondering if I could find other direct quotes to understand a bit of the worldview of people in the past, also then finding:
> Abraham Lincoln advocated for colonization (deportation) as late as 1862, arguing that coexistence was impossible. In an address to a delegation of Black men at the White House on August 14, 1862, he stated: "You and we are different races. We have between us a broader difference than exists between almost any other two races." He claimed this physical difference caused mutual suffering, concluding: "In a word we suffer on each side. If this is admitted, it affords a reason at least why we should be separated." He explicitly told them, "It is better for us both, therefore, to be separated."
> Lincoln asserted white superiority as a necessary condition for coexistence. In the same speech, he argued that a physical difference between the races would "forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality," concluding that "there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race." He further expressed support for laws forbidding interracial marriage and suggested in 1862 that Black people suffered greatly by living among whites, advocating for colonization schemes to separate the races.
> Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, in the infamous 1857 Dred Scott decision, codified the view that Black people had no rights whites were bound to respect. He wrote that Black people were "so far inferior that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect," and could be lawfully reduced to slavery for their own benefit.
> Henry David Thoreau, often celebrated for his wisdom, expressed a common view that Native Americans were "unworthy" of the land because they failed to "improve" it agriculturally. He wrote that the Indian "has proven unworthy of such blessings by an inability to make full use of them," arguing that because they used a clamshell instead of a plow, they had no legitimate claim to the soil.
Further:
> Biological Inferiority: Prominent figures like Thomas Jefferson argued Black people were "inferior to the whites in the endowments of body and mind." [in his 1785 book, Notes on the State of Virginia] By the mid-19th century, this evolved into "scientific racism," where pseudosciences like phrenology and craniometry (led by figures like Samuel George Morton) claimed Black people had smaller brains and were biologically distinct, sometimes even classifying them as a separate species (polygenism).
The "Savage" vs. "Slave": While the term "savage" was used, Black people were more frequently dehumanized as beasts of burden or "apelike" creatures suited only for servitude. Stereotypes depicted them as mentally childlike, physically strong but intellectually limited, and lacking moral agency. This view stripped them of human rights, framing slavery as a "civilizing" or necessary economic institution rather than a moral crime.
> Noble vs. Ignoble Savage: Indigenous people were often categorized into two stereotypes: the "Noble Savage" (admired for primitive virtues like bravery but doomed to extinction) and the "Ignoble Savage" (viewed as cruel, treacherous, and bloodthirsty). Both views shared the core belief that Native cultures were fundamentally incompatible with "civilization."
> Obstacles to Progress: Unlike Black people, who were seen as a labor force to be exploited, Native Americans were viewed as obstacles to land expansion. The ideology of "Manifest Destiny" framed their removal or extermination as inevitable and justified. The Declaration of Independence itself referred to them as "merciless Indian savages," cementing a national narrative that they were less than human and possessed no legitimate claim to their lands.
> Andrew Jackson justified the forced removal of Native Americans by framing them as doomed by their own nature. In his 1830 message to Congress, he stated that Native people were "surrounded by the whites with their arts of civilization, which by destroying the resources of the savage doom him to weakness and decay." He argued that removal was an act of humanity, claiming: "What good man would prefer a country covered with forests and ranged by a few thousand savages to our extensive Republic, studded with cities, towns, and prosperous farms... occupied by more than 12,000,000 happy people?"
> Theodore Roosevelt expressed some of the most virulent views in the late 19th century. In an 1886 speech, he declared: "I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indian is the dead Indian, but I believe nine out of every ten are, and I shouldn’t like to inquire too closely into the case of the tenth. The most vicious cowboy has more moral principle than the average Indian." In his book The Winning of the West, he wrote that "the most ultimately righteous of all wars is a war with savages," arguing it was necessary for the continent to "pass out of the hands of their red, black and yellow aboriginal owners, and become the heritage of the dominant world races."
Ben Franklin seems to have started thinking "in the modern way":
> While most prominent figures espoused views of inferiority, Benjamin Franklin offered a more nuanced perspective in his 1784 essay, Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America. He challenged the very definition of "savage," writing: "Savages we call them, because their manners differ from ours, which we think the perfection of civility; they think the same of theirs." Franklin observed that Native societies often exhibited greater politeness and consensus-based governance than European societies, noting that "all their government is by counsel of the sages; there is no force, there are no prisons, no officers to compel obedience, or inflict punishment."
Race realism - recognizing some biological differences between the races while recognizing individuals may be exceptions to the rule - seems like the mean between the extreme of genocidal racism (Roosevelt) or raceblind [classical] liberalism (Franklin). We obviously have a lot of races that follow stereotypes ("teen takeovers"), as well as exceptional individuals that defy them (Moses the Black, etc.). Today we have a lot of raceblind liberals that don't seem to even begin to explain where the racial views of these past peoples came from (they just push raceblind liberalism.
Discuss?
> During a debate with Stephen Douglas in Charleston, Illinois, on September 18, 1858, Abraham Lincoln declared: "I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races... nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people."
So I was wondering if I could find other direct quotes to understand a bit of the worldview of people in the past, also then finding:
> Abraham Lincoln advocated for colonization (deportation) as late as 1862, arguing that coexistence was impossible. In an address to a delegation of Black men at the White House on August 14, 1862, he stated: "You and we are different races. We have between us a broader difference than exists between almost any other two races." He claimed this physical difference caused mutual suffering, concluding: "In a word we suffer on each side. If this is admitted, it affords a reason at least why we should be separated." He explicitly told them, "It is better for us both, therefore, to be separated."
> Lincoln asserted white superiority as a necessary condition for coexistence. In the same speech, he argued that a physical difference between the races would "forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality," concluding that "there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race." He further expressed support for laws forbidding interracial marriage and suggested in 1862 that Black people suffered greatly by living among whites, advocating for colonization schemes to separate the races.
> Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, in the infamous 1857 Dred Scott decision, codified the view that Black people had no rights whites were bound to respect. He wrote that Black people were "so far inferior that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect," and could be lawfully reduced to slavery for their own benefit.
> Henry David Thoreau, often celebrated for his wisdom, expressed a common view that Native Americans were "unworthy" of the land because they failed to "improve" it agriculturally. He wrote that the Indian "has proven unworthy of such blessings by an inability to make full use of them," arguing that because they used a clamshell instead of a plow, they had no legitimate claim to the soil.
Further:
> Biological Inferiority: Prominent figures like Thomas Jefferson argued Black people were "inferior to the whites in the endowments of body and mind." [in his 1785 book, Notes on the State of Virginia] By the mid-19th century, this evolved into "scientific racism," where pseudosciences like phrenology and craniometry (led by figures like Samuel George Morton) claimed Black people had smaller brains and were biologically distinct, sometimes even classifying them as a separate species (polygenism).
The "Savage" vs. "Slave": While the term "savage" was used, Black people were more frequently dehumanized as beasts of burden or "apelike" creatures suited only for servitude. Stereotypes depicted them as mentally childlike, physically strong but intellectually limited, and lacking moral agency. This view stripped them of human rights, framing slavery as a "civilizing" or necessary economic institution rather than a moral crime.
> Noble vs. Ignoble Savage: Indigenous people were often categorized into two stereotypes: the "Noble Savage" (admired for primitive virtues like bravery but doomed to extinction) and the "Ignoble Savage" (viewed as cruel, treacherous, and bloodthirsty). Both views shared the core belief that Native cultures were fundamentally incompatible with "civilization."
> Obstacles to Progress: Unlike Black people, who were seen as a labor force to be exploited, Native Americans were viewed as obstacles to land expansion. The ideology of "Manifest Destiny" framed their removal or extermination as inevitable and justified. The Declaration of Independence itself referred to them as "merciless Indian savages," cementing a national narrative that they were less than human and possessed no legitimate claim to their lands.
> Andrew Jackson justified the forced removal of Native Americans by framing them as doomed by their own nature. In his 1830 message to Congress, he stated that Native people were "surrounded by the whites with their arts of civilization, which by destroying the resources of the savage doom him to weakness and decay." He argued that removal was an act of humanity, claiming: "What good man would prefer a country covered with forests and ranged by a few thousand savages to our extensive Republic, studded with cities, towns, and prosperous farms... occupied by more than 12,000,000 happy people?"
> Theodore Roosevelt expressed some of the most virulent views in the late 19th century. In an 1886 speech, he declared: "I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indian is the dead Indian, but I believe nine out of every ten are, and I shouldn’t like to inquire too closely into the case of the tenth. The most vicious cowboy has more moral principle than the average Indian." In his book The Winning of the West, he wrote that "the most ultimately righteous of all wars is a war with savages," arguing it was necessary for the continent to "pass out of the hands of their red, black and yellow aboriginal owners, and become the heritage of the dominant world races."
Ben Franklin seems to have started thinking "in the modern way":
> While most prominent figures espoused views of inferiority, Benjamin Franklin offered a more nuanced perspective in his 1784 essay, Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America. He challenged the very definition of "savage," writing: "Savages we call them, because their manners differ from ours, which we think the perfection of civility; they think the same of theirs." Franklin observed that Native societies often exhibited greater politeness and consensus-based governance than European societies, noting that "all their government is by counsel of the sages; there is no force, there are no prisons, no officers to compel obedience, or inflict punishment."
Race realism - recognizing some biological differences between the races while recognizing individuals may be exceptions to the rule - seems like the mean between the extreme of genocidal racism (Roosevelt) or raceblind [classical] liberalism (Franklin). We obviously have a lot of races that follow stereotypes ("teen takeovers"), as well as exceptional individuals that defy them (Moses the Black, etc.). Today we have a lot of raceblind liberals that don't seem to even begin to explain where the racial views of these past peoples came from (they just push raceblind liberalism.
Discuss?