Word: slaving
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Dates: during 1930-1939
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...Boas argues that if common race prejudice had "instinctive" antipathy for its source, it would show itself in the most intimate of all contacts, the sexual relation. But throughout history slave-owners have bedded with female slaves of different race, whites have mated with Indians and Negroes. Southern children show no aversion whatever to black nurses, must be taught by their elders not to accept blacks as equals. The strongest antipathies are those between social castes like those of India and ancient Egypt - between people of the same race...
...persona but through the words and actions of characters; in fact he has every gift to commend him to the reader's respect except greatness. The lack of that quality in Mr. Bontemps is serious, for he has chosen for the motif of his novel the events of a slave insurrection in Virginia in 1800, and such a theme requires greatness. It is beside the point that greatness is still to seek nowadays, since the long-awaited and long-heralded "great American novel" is in abeyance, and there is scarcely a critic who has not called "Wolf!" too many times...
...Bontemps can sketch convincing characters, to use an overworked expression. His negroes are authentic, and so are his "planter" aristocrats. Ben, the loyal old slave, who betrays the insurgents; Melody, the mulatto mistress of the white rascals; Juba, the slave girl who is in love with the hero; Mr. Moseley Sheppard, Ben's master; Pharaoh, the other traitor--all these characters remain fixed in the memory some time after one has finished reading the book. Gabriel, the hero, who had pondered on the exploits of Toussainat L'Ouverture, the Haitian patriot, is not so forceful as a better novelist would...
...strife of Civil War was foreshadowed by the abortive slave insurrection fomented by John Brown of Ossawattomie at Harpers Ferry, Va. Wounded, captured, the mad old man was brought in his bed to court at Charlestown, Va. (now Charles Town, W. Va.), to hear sentence passed. A New York Tribune reporter was nearby. "Brown sat up in bed, while the verdict was rendered." he telegraphed his paper. "The jury found him guilty of treason, advising and conspiring with slaves and others to rebel, and for murder in the first degree. Brown lay down quickly and said nothing. There...
First U.S. prizefighter to compete for the world's heavyweight championship was a Negro named Tom Molineaux. A Virginia slave whose master freed him for knocking out the bully of a neighboring plantation, Molineaux went to England in 1810, fought famed Tom Cribb, gave him a severe thrashing for 30 rounds. In the 31st round, Molineaux fractured his skull against a ring post, lost the fight. Cribb beat him again before a crowd of 40,000 in 1811. The black fisticuffer was found dead in an Irish army barracks...