The Early Republic
Chapter 3
I. Era of Protests & the Origins of
Black Intellectual Inferiority
How did slavery give way to ideas of race?
""An Escaped Slave" image from Harper's Weekly, 2 July 1864, widely believed to be Grabriel Prosser. Henrico County, Virginia
The legacy of the American Revolution (1775-1783) had a far-reaching legacy inspiring other countries to revolt against established monarchies. The success of the American colonies demonstrated that a people could overthrow a powerful monarchy and establish a republic based on democratic principles. Like the Americans, the French Revolution (1789-1799) relied on the influence of enlightenment political thought of figures such as John Locke (1632-1704), François-Marie Arouet (also known as Voltaire, 1694-1778), and Montesquieu (1689-1755). However, French radicals surpassed their American counterparts in their revolutionary zeal by employing violence not only to depose King Louis XVI but also to target loyalists.
The French Revolution also had wide-reaching impacts around the globe, including French colonies. Enslaved Africans in the Caribbean colony of Saint-Domigue (present-day Haiti) grew inspired by the French Revolution’s “Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.” The document championed ideas of liberty, equality, and fraternity among commoners. Just as the French viewed the success of the American patriots, so did the enslaved in Saint-Domingue view the French Revolution. Enslaved Africans in the colony saw a unique opportunity to demand their rights and freedom. By 1804, the Haitian Revolution had established the independent Republic of Haiti, making it the first successful slave revolution in the Americas. [1]
News of the Haitian Revolution reached the U.S., prompting slave rebellions. In late August 1800, approximately one thousand enslaved men, led by Gabriel Prosser, devised a plan to end slavery in Virginia. The strategy involved setting diversionary fires in Richmond's warehouse district while some conspirators attacked the city's white residents, aiming to seize weapons and capture Virginia Governor James Monroe. Just before the planned rebellion, the scheme was uncovered when two enslaved men disclosed the plot to their owner, who subsequently notified the authorities. Ultimately, Governor Monroe ordered the conspirators to be apprehended. Gabriel was subsequently tried and hanged along with twenty-five others [2].
Gabriel’s rebellion had far-reaching consequences for U.S. race relations. First, it suggested that enslaved Black Virginians could carry out a planned and sophisticated revolution after drawing inspiration from other slave revolts. Second, it suggested that one of the ways the enslaved learned of other revolts was through reading newspaper accounts. Lastly, the idea that black abolitionists such as David Walker praised Haiti as the “glory of the blacks and terror of the tyrants” only made matters worse in slave societies [3]. The fear of mounting slave revolts prompted white stakeholders to consider ways to prevent further uprisings.
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As the U.S. entered the years of the early republic, white leaders increasingly viewed black activism as a threat to the institution of slavery. White elites, therefore, erected policies to limit the social and political lives of people of color. A primary tactic used to constrain the freedom of Black Americans was to undermine the intellectual capacity of black Africans, thus rationalizing white dominance. Essentially, one effective strategy to restrict the complete engagement of black Africans in public affairs was to assert their intellectual inferiority to whites. In a nation that championed freedom and equality, the contradiction of slavery became increasingly apparent.
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II. The Emergence of Racial Classification
How did the Idea of Race first Emerge?
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Alexander Roslin: Portrait of Carl Linnaeus, 1707-1778, Wikimedia Commons.
The news of slave rebellions around the world posed a threat to white stakeholders for several reasons. First, they challenged the economic interests of slave owners and those who benefited from the labor of enslaved people. Slave rebellions could disrupt the profitability of plantations and other enterprises reliant on forced labor, potentially leading to financial losses.
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Secondly, slave rebellions threatened social and political stability. They often incited fear among slave-owning societies and raised concerns about the security of the ruling class. The prospect of widespread rebellion could destabilize entire regions and undermine the authority of colonial or slaveholding governments.
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Lastly, slave rebellions raised moral and ethical questions about the institution of slavery itself. They forced stakeholders to confront the inherent injustices and violence of enslaving fellow human beings, challenging the legitimacy of the system and its defenders.
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European developments in the rise of science happened to address this issue. As enlightenment thinkers sought to systematize and categorize the natural world, they established connections between people groups and geographical location by classifying the world's first racial "types" based on criteria like skin color, cranial measurements, and hair characteristics. In the first edition of his most famous work Systema Naturae (1735), Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) divided the living world into three distinct kingdoms of animals, plants, and minerals. In this work, Linneaus was the first to classify humans within the animal kingdom, whereas previously they believed to be a distinct form. In the classification of the human species, the Swedish biologist and physician divided the humans with respect to their continental locations: Europaeus albus (European white), Americanus rubescens (American reddish), Asiaticus fuscus (Asian tawny), and Africanus niger (African black).
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By the 10th edition (1758), Linneaus had added characteristics to these groupings by adding attributes such as 1) Skin colour, medical temperament (corresponding to the four medieval humors), and body posture; 2) Physical traits relating to hair colour and form, eye colour, and distinctive facial traits; 3) Behaviour; 4) Manner of clothing; and 5) Form of government.
The publication prompted a debate over the origins of the human race. Monogenicists believed that humans had a single origin and pushed back against the idea of polygenicists, who advocated for many origins. Unlike polygenists, monogenecists grappled with the reasons for the physical differences across the human race given that humanity had a single origin. According to their theories, prolonged exposure to the hot sun and tropical climate of Africa led to darkened skin and altered skulls in the African race. In contrast, the cold northern latitudes of Europe were believed to shape and sustain Europeans.
These environments were thought to endow each race with distinct characteristics, explaining variations in humankind while maintaining a common ancestry. The concept of a universal human nature, therefore, did not emphasize fundamental differences but rather highlighted a scale of social progress with the "civilized" and the deterioration of the “primitive.” Thus, now that scientific classification provided a hierarchical ranking of people groups, the grounds for race theory were established. [4]
Quadrupeds in Systema Naturae 10th edition (1758), adapted from The Linnean Society of London, "Linnaeus and Race."
Quadrupeds in Systema Naturae (1740), The Linnean Society of London.
III. The Market Revolution
How did the Market Revolution Increase Sectional Division?
William James Bennett, View of South Street, from Maiden Lane, New York City, c. 1827, via Metropolitan Museum of New York
Wood engraving, American, 19th century. Wikimedia Commons.
The birth of the U.S. coincides with the onset of the first Industrial Revolution spanning from the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth century. This transformative period signaled a transition from agrarian economies dominated by farmers and plantation owners to industrial economies led by factory owners.
The proliferation of factories in prominent cities rapidly increased the rate of urbanization. Urban centers experienced rapid expansion as rural inhabitants migrated in search of employment opportunities in factories. The reason lay in the inability of small merchant farmers to compete with the Industrial Revolution. Observing the transformation underway, President James Madison highlighted the recent industrious developments in “bringing and binding more closely together the various parts of our extended confederacy” even as states individually “avail themselves of their local advantages by new roads, navigable canals, and by improving the streams susceptible of navigation…” [5]
This is not to say that the U.S. landscape changed simultaneously. Due to the affluent agrarian economy in the South relying heavily on slave labor, plantation owners largely resisted the adoption of factories. The thriving plantation economy of the South resisted industrialization, while the North embraced it eagerly, witnessing the rapid growth of factories, manufacturing, and urban centers.
However, the industrialization of the North fueled slavery in the South. With the invention of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin in 1793, the demand for cotton only increased. Further, Northern ports grew increasingly wealthy from textile manufacturing and thus increased the demand for cotton, exacerbating the demand for slave labor. Thus, even though northern and southern states responded differently to the Industrial Revolution, both regions experienced growth.
The Industrial Revolution laid the foundation for the economic and technological growth that would define the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries. While it brought about unprecedented opportunities and advancements, it also raised social and economic challenges that sparked debates over labor rights, working conditions, and the role of government in regulating industry.
IV. Westward Expansion
How did the Market Revolution impact Westward Expansion?
The Rocky Mountains: Emigrants Crossing the Plains, lithograph by Currier & Ives, 1866. Wikimedia Commons.
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John Gast, American Progress, 1872. Autry Museum of the American West
As industrialization surged in America under the guidance of corporate giants establishing large-scale businesses and factories, the everyday lives of average Americans underwent substantial changes. The shift from traditional livelihoods, such as farming and trade to factory work marked a pivotal transformation. Factory employment departed from the traditional model where wages were contingent on the sale of finished products. Instead, workers were guaranteed wages merely for their presence at the factory and readiness to work. This provided a welcomed opportunity for upward mobility to those grappling with maintaining a comfortable life as farmers or tradespeople.
However, this transition also brought about negative consequences. Unlike the daylight-driven work hours of farmers and tradespeople, factory work was dictated by the clock. Additionally, as factories became the central hubs of society, the pace of work altered the rhythm of towns. The level of personal fulfillment suffered as individuals lost control over their role in the production process, with decisions now influenced by the wider global market rather than local preferences.
Despite being viewed as an avenue for upward mobility, factory work did not garner universal acceptance. Some sought alternatives to the monotonous routine of factory life by contemplating the idea of heading west. By this time, the western frontier emerged as a land of opportunities, providing an escape from the challenges posed by industrialization.
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During this era, a new notion gained traction, advocating for westward expansion as a reaction to the disillusionment caused by the Industrial Revolution. John Gast's painting "American Progress" captured the essence of Manifest Destiny, portraying a sense of responsibility for white Americans to settle the western frontier and bring industrial advancements with them. This notion was seen as a mandate from God, articulated by John O'Sullivan, advocating for westward expansion as part of divine providence and the destiny of America to occupy the entire continent. [6]
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Notes
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John O’Sullivan, “Annexation,” The United States Magazine and Democratic Review, Volume 17 (New York: 1845), 5-6.
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