Module 3: History
Part 4: Justifications of Racism & Slavery
This part explores justifications of racism and slavery. In the early United States, these justifications often centered on religion and science.
&1: Justifications
In order to continue enslaving others based on race, there needed to be justifications. These justifications would ease any semblance of guilt that may have been felt by slaveholders and even mark slaveholders as heroic in their rescue of inferior races. The justifications used ranged from religion to science to economic need. The following resources look at various justifications for racism and slavery.
Read:
A History: The Construction of Race and Racism
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IHfUSeXnJO5ea-5jQ7QXfOnucGyhnDKk/view
Read:
A History: The Construction of Race and Racism
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IHfUSeXnJO5ea-5jQ7QXfOnucGyhnDKk/view

a-history_the-construction-of-race-and-racism_westernstatescenter.pdf | |
File Size: | 795 kb |
File Type: |
Attempts to Justify Slavery
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/slavery/ethics/justifications.shtml
Religion was used to justify slavery and to explain the inferiority of different races. While the articles below focus primarily on some southern churches, there were also churches in the north that preached segregation even if preaching against slavery.
Christian churches often espoused one of several views about race. In one view, all races were created equal. However, this view did not mean that all races were still equal due to environmental and social conditions. The view of races being created equal was often applied to the need to “civilize” those from other races. In this view, Black people could become “white” with the right guidance and lifestyle.
A second view stemmed from the story of Ham in Genesis. In this view, races were created equal, but God cursed Ham’s descendants and these cursed descendants were the Black, African “race.” This curse was viewed as a more permanent condition that was not as easily rectified through guidance and lifestyle changes.
Read:
From Noah’s Curse to Slavery’s Rationale
https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/01/arts/from-noah-s-curse-to-slavery-s-rationale.html
Read/Listen:
White Supremacist Ideas Have Historical Roots in U. S. Christianity
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/01/883115867/white-supremacist-ideas-have-historical-roots-in-u-s-christianity
Below is a list of reasons why Christians supported slavery.
Read:
Why Did So Many Christians Support Slavery?
https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-33/why-christians-supported-slavery.html
With the dawn of the Enlightenment came a push for science to explain the natural world. The desire to scientifically explain the superiority and inferiority of different races resulted in applying “pseudo-science” or misusing science to reach a desired conclusion. The idea of pseudo-science to explain racial differences was overviewed in A History: The Construction of Race and Racism presented earlier in this document. The following resources will take a closer look at the role of science in creating the pretext of a racial hierarchy.
Read:
The Ideology of Racism: Misusing Science to Justify Racial Discrimination
https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/ideology-racism-misusing-science-justify-racial-discrimination
How False Beliefs in Physical Difference Still Live in Medicine
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/racial-differences-doctors.html
Reflect:
The next part takes a closer look at slavery.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/slavery/ethics/justifications.shtml
Religion was used to justify slavery and to explain the inferiority of different races. While the articles below focus primarily on some southern churches, there were also churches in the north that preached segregation even if preaching against slavery.
Christian churches often espoused one of several views about race. In one view, all races were created equal. However, this view did not mean that all races were still equal due to environmental and social conditions. The view of races being created equal was often applied to the need to “civilize” those from other races. In this view, Black people could become “white” with the right guidance and lifestyle.
A second view stemmed from the story of Ham in Genesis. In this view, races were created equal, but God cursed Ham’s descendants and these cursed descendants were the Black, African “race.” This curse was viewed as a more permanent condition that was not as easily rectified through guidance and lifestyle changes.
Read:
From Noah’s Curse to Slavery’s Rationale
https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/01/arts/from-noah-s-curse-to-slavery-s-rationale.html
Read/Listen:
White Supremacist Ideas Have Historical Roots in U. S. Christianity
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/01/883115867/white-supremacist-ideas-have-historical-roots-in-u-s-christianity
Below is a list of reasons why Christians supported slavery.
Read:
Why Did So Many Christians Support Slavery?
https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-33/why-christians-supported-slavery.html
With the dawn of the Enlightenment came a push for science to explain the natural world. The desire to scientifically explain the superiority and inferiority of different races resulted in applying “pseudo-science” or misusing science to reach a desired conclusion. The idea of pseudo-science to explain racial differences was overviewed in A History: The Construction of Race and Racism presented earlier in this document. The following resources will take a closer look at the role of science in creating the pretext of a racial hierarchy.
Read:
The Ideology of Racism: Misusing Science to Justify Racial Discrimination
https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/ideology-racism-misusing-science-justify-racial-discrimination
How False Beliefs in Physical Difference Still Live in Medicine
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/racial-differences-doctors.html
Reflect:
- What did you learn from these resources?
- How does this learning impact your view of history and of our current society?
- How does this learning inspire you to take action? What are your next steps?
The next part takes a closer look at slavery.