Most of us know something of America’s long history of racial prejudice, but it’s easy to forget the extent to which explicit racism has been, until only recently, an acceptable part of public discourse, in many cases espoused by some of the country’s most influential and public figures and bolstered by references to well-respected scientific, religious, and philosophical theories. In Documents of American Prejudice, S. T. Joshi provides an anthology of primary documents tracing the evolution of racial prejudice since early colonial times.In the more than 100 selections spanning more than 300 years of injustice, we hear the voices of both well-loved and reviled figures, from Thomas Jefferson to David Duke. They write about the supposed shortcomings of specific ethnic and racial groups and in defense of racist theories like Social Darwinism and eugenics. Included also are arguments against racism, which highlight a tradition of anti-racist writing in American history. Sobering, lively, infuriating, and provocative, this thoughtfully edited anthology shows us America’s long and tangled history of racial prejudice and helps us understand contemporary American racism through the prism of the country’s history.
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About the Author
Formerly senior editor of the Literary Criticism Division at Chelsea House Publishers, S. T. Joshi is a well-known critic, editor, and author. He lives in New York City.
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S. T. Joshi (Seattle, WA) is a freelance writer, scholar, and editor whose previous books include Documents of American Prejudice; In Her Place: A Documentary History of Prejudice against Women; God's Defenders: What They Believe and Why They Are Wrong; Atheism: A Reader; H. L. Mencken on Religion; The Agnostic Reader; and What Is Man? And Other Irreverent Essays by Mark Twain.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good book - stupid reviews,
This review is from: Documents Of American Prejudice: An Anthology Of Writings On Race From Thomas Jefferson To David Duke (Paperback)
This book is an excellent, useful and highly unusual collection of "primary documents" - it shows the ubiquity of racist thinking through much of American history, an oppressive mindset from which we are, hopefully, starting to emerge. The other reviews on this page are stupid and disturbing. The kind of praise that they make of these texts would be like reading a collection of medieval writing and commenting on how they are an "inspirational breath of fresh air" because they legitimate the idea that the world is flat.
25 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent, idea-provoking primary source material,
By A Customer
This review is from: Documents Of American Prejudice: An Anthology Of Writings On Race From Thomas Jefferson To David Duke (Paperback)
In this age of political correctness, when the media and universities take great pains to sanitize the American past, this anthology of primary source documents is a breath of fresh air. The reader is able to see a line of political and social thought that is today repressed in America; yet, as one reviews the long line of thinkers, politicians, scientists, and inventors who thought race mattered, one gets the sneaking suspicion that maybe there is more intellectual weight to the subject than the media today would like to let on. Very intelligent, far-sighted men believed America had a European core worth preserving and defending. Of course, the author did not assemble the materials with this view in mind. His purpose was to show how an entire society could be deluded by prejudice. But it would not be unreasonable to assert that the documents, many from the early 1900s, show a society much healthier, much more sane, than our own...one that knew what was at stake in maintaining a high Western culture--like America was, and by studying these documents, like America can be again.
13 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good survey of American racial thought.,
By
This review is from: Documents Of American Prejudice: An Anthology Of Writings On Race From Thomas Jefferson To David Duke (Paperback)
The editor feels that by associating these 100+ excerpts with the word "racist" he can instantly refute them. On the contrary there is much here for reasoned minds to agree with--especially in the selections by Murray/Herrnstein, Shockley, Jensen. George and D'Souza. Certainly some of the older racial tracts are just silly but much of the modern writings hold true. Even some of the predictions made many years ago, like in Ross' "The Old World and the New" (1914) about the future of America have proven quite accurate. Joshi also peppers the book with some egalitarian essays meant to counter the rest, but despite the pleasant platitudes, these sections do little for the book and basically attempt to refute the "racists" with not much more than a few doses of "shame on you" scorn and a few shots of saccharine sweet sentimentality. No positive proof for equality is presented, but then again, egalitarianism has never required proof for their beliefs.
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