The Five Negro Presidents: According to what White People Said They Were [Paperback]

J. A. Rogers (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 19 pages
• Publisher: Helga Rogers (May 1, 1965)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0960229485
• ISBN-13: 978-0960229482
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,240 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Who was the first black president?, September 2, 2008

By 

golgotha.gov (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Five Negro Presidents: According to what White People Said They Were (Paperback)

This pamphlet is only 18 pages long, but they are very provocative pages. Rogers has basically collected some of the accusations in U.S. history where certain figures were said to have "black ancestry". In some of these cases, the black relative is so far back in the family tree that it would only constitute a very small part of the President's genetic history. But those were also the days when the "one-drop rule" was the way that most people thought about race, so having a great great grandparent who was half black meant the same thing as having a black mother or father. Keep in mind that each of the tales here use very superficial means for determining whether or not somebody has black ancestry. You simply cannot determine this from examining a skin color or hair texture. This pamphlet is as much a collection of allegations as it is a documentation of the strange understanding of race in America.

Abraham Lincoln is an example of someone who was often accused of having black ancestry. He is supposed to have had darker skin than his black servant William Slade. Lincoln also described himself as having a "dark complexion with coarse black hair and brown eyes". Rogers has included here an old political cartoon showing Lincoln as a sort of Moorish caricature. The most persistent argument so far for the first black president has been for the man on the cover of this pamphlet, Warren G Harding. The primary source of this argument is a book published by William Estabrook Chancellor in which he interviewed Ohio resident who stated that Harding had a black relatives. His "grand uncle" was Oliver Harding, also shown on the cover. Critics argue that Chancellor was motivated by political and personal reasons against Harding, and that the theory is based on local rumors. The "evidence" for some of these black presidents is pretty slim. For example, Thomas Jefferson's mother wasn't a squaw (Native American), she was born in England's Greater London area. The last President is not named, perhaps to invite the reader to speculate, gossip or do his/her own research.

Two of the people with the greatest evidence of black ancestry weren't presidents, but they were significant historical figures. One was Hannibal Hamlin, the 15th Vice President (under Lincoln). Rogers here reproduces several quotes showing that Hamlin's skin color was quite an issue at the time. Some believed that Lincoln had deliberately selected a "free black" as his Vice President in order to anger the South. A Union General even stated that he intended to form a military regiment of mulattos "about the complexion of Vice President Hamlin". Another prominent American named in the pamphlet is Alexander Hamilton, who was born in the Virgin Islands. In fact the section on Hamilton is the longest of them all, and one of the most convincing. Rogers suggests that Hamilton's mother was mulatto, and that his brother (from the same parents) was harassed when he moved to the U.S. because people believed that he was black. Included in this section is an early portrait of the Treasurer which shows Hamilton with wooly hair.

Rogers was a very interesting historian, probably the first black revisionist. Recent years would have provided lots of material for his research, for example both George W Bush and Colin Powell are descended from England's King Edward I. With Barack Obama having won the Democratic primary, I'm sure he'd be the first to point out that this wasn't the first time in history a candidate's race was made into a campaign issue!

"How should I know? One of my ancestors might have jumped the fence."
~Warren Gamaliel Harding, 29th U.S. President

46 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars And you thought you knew U.S. Presidents!, August 29, 2000

By 

Joy Watson (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Five Negro Presidents: According to what White People Said They Were (Paperback)

This engaging, informative account of U.S. Presidents of reportedly African heritage is well written and worth the read. The information as presented is concise and proof for the most part is stated.

As Americans, those of us who are well read, know that we have not always been given the facts and/or the truth as it relates to our history. This writing does just that. It provides the reader with historical facts that leave one asking, "...why haven't I heard this before?..."

I recommend this book to students of history, teachers, presidential scholars and all Americans who have a love and thirst for historical info not usually discussed.

Respectfully submitted,

Joy Watson

28 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not a book..., April 9, 2007

By 

Dawn Chambray (Michigan, United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Five Negro Presidents: According to what White People Said They Were (Paperback)

This was only a pamphlet and didn't give true discovered information about the five black presidents. This type of information can not be taught in black history classes because it only hints around information that may or may not be factual. Maybe one day real evidence will be revealed.