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Fitzhugh's Diseases And Peculiarities Of The Negro Race

1833 Words8 Pages

“He the Negro is but a grown-up child, and must be governed as a child, not as a lunatic or criminal. The master occupies toward him the place of parent or guardian. We shall not dwell on this view, for no one will differ with us who thinks as we do of the negro's capacity, and we might argue till dooms-day in vain, with those who have a high opinion of the negro's moral and intellectual capacity (Fitzhugh).” Within this document, not only are the ideas of social theorist George Fitzhugh being stated, but the theories are also being justified throughout this document as well. Going into depth behind his theories and beliefs against the African American people. Fitzhugh describes the African American people, or a common Negro, as being improvident …show more content…

There was a population of people who felt that African Americans deserved the same rights as anybody else, like the abolitionists. In this document written by Dr. Cartwright titled Diseases and Peculiarities of the Negro Race the topic of the mental health of the African American community is mentioned and discussed. Within this document the connection between the mental health problems and religion is made, in order to fully understand why the average enslaved African American, decides to run away (Dr. Cartwright). A lot of the members of society at this time felt that the reason the slaves would run away, was because of a disease called Drapetomania. The disease that causes Negros to run away from their masters, is what Drapetomania was known as during these times. The document titled Diseases and Peculiarities of the Negro Race written by Dr. Cartwright …show more content…

Douglas refused to give his speech on July 4th of that year, stating that was not a free time for his people (Douglas). Speaking of the African American community, Douglas felt the heartfelt terms used when referring to America’s Independence Day, did not correctly describe the emotions and struggles faced by the black people of this period. Terms used that would relate directly to The Fourth of July, such as happiness, freedom, citizenship, and liberty were terms that held no value towards African Americans, at all. The African American people of this time were not free, they were not citizens, they did not portray and emotions of happiness, and did not reflect any nature of liberty towards their country. These were all tones and moods set in motion by the institution of slavery, Douglas being an abolitionist believed, that institution needed to be abolished so the country as a whole, could properly flourish (Douglas). Douglas shares a clear but clouded view of African Americans, he wanted a certain level of cooperation for his community, with a shared amount of anger and justice he also wanted to depict. Within his speech, where he addressed a population of mixed races, Douglas

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