A Hideous Monster of the Mind: American Race Theory in the Early Republic

Are racial differences the result of disparities in environment and social position or innate biological variations? This question loomed large in early America, and this fascinating work of intellectual history revisits the race debate in the years between the Revolution and Civil War. History professor Dain explores shifting conceptions of race in the writings of public intellectuals from Jefferson to Frederick Douglass, including those of neglected African-American writers like Phyllis Wheatley and James McCune Smith. The fundamental issue for all sides of the debate, Dain argues, was""whether slaves and ex-slaves were capable of citizenship in a republic."" Arguments ranged far afield in theology and historiography; racists invoked the Biblical Curse of Canaan to show God's ordination of slavery, while abolitionists pointed at ancient Egypt as an example of an advanced black civilization. Always there was the backdrop of scientific and pseudo-scientific theory as it developed from the 18th century""natural history"" tradition of classification to a 19th century""hard racism"" that saw races as something akin to distinct species. Dain traces the interplay of these positions and the responses of black and abolitionist writers: some believed that racial characteristics were a mutable continuum, some used the concept of distinct races to imply the natural""cruelty and hypocrisy"" of whites and some argued that race was an ideological and psychological construct, a""hideous monster of the mind"" rather than a physical fact. Dain's broad research, nuanced analyses and skillful writing make this an indispensable introduction to early attitudes about race.