Others have seemed to believe that in the very first ages of the planet, and long before the creation of Adam, there existed a race of animals, having a resemblance to man, as has the ourang-outang, but of gigantic stature, as well as power, dwelling in communion with other beasts and monsters of that time. From this family of animals, it has been supposed that the negro race was derived, and brought forward by the continual mutations of nature, passing from one change to another in pursuit of maturity, with all things else, arriving at last to their highest point as exhibited in the presence of the black or negro nations.
It has also been believed that at a very early period of time, some community of men have been so situate, in relation to climate, food, and other circumstances, as to have been changed from their original stamp of complexion and character to that of perfect blacks, thus originating the negro family of man.
Some have imagined that the origin of the race was a disease of the skin, which, being of an incurable nature, formed at length a radical character, and thus produced this people.
Many have believed that there was at first as many fathers and mothers created as there are now different races of men, from whom have descended the red, the white, the black, the brown, and the yellow tribes of the human race, discarding the account given in the Scriptures of there having been but one pair of human beings created.
Others have imagined that the mark set upon Cain by the Divine Power, for the crime of homicide, was that of jet, which not only changed the color of his body, but extended to the blood and the whole of his physical being, thus originating the negro race, a remnant of which they suppose, by means of some craft, or rather outrode the flood, anchoring on some lofty mountain, subsisting on the floating carcases of the drowned animals till the earth was dried again.
Thus many have mused on the subject of the origin of the negro race. But we reject all these schemes as the baseless hallucinations of vissionaries, even the mooted and equally absurd problem that climate, or any other contingency, became the origin of that people, and affirm that a cause of an entire different description from all these gave birth to the race, an account of which we shall give in the work.
As to the mental character of the black nations, considered collectively, we have found them, in all ages, since their appearance on the earth, of but small account when compared with the other races of men, the red and white..
In publishing our opinions, as presented in this work, we have been moved thereto, by the operations of conflicting principles, as held by abolitionists and anti-abolitionists, throughout the entire United States,
believing that light was necessary, in order to learn the truth respecting the people in question, namely, the negro race.
We are also anxious to ascertain the cause of this class of mankind being enslaved, in the low and degraded sense of the word.
As to the history of the black portion of the human race it has occupied the pens of more writers than one; on which account we feel that we are not alone in this attempt, and, also, that we have advanced some new, and not uninteresting, opinions, with respect to the time and the occasion of the production of the first negro man.
Together with an account of the origin of this people, we have not for. gotten to inquire something respecting the native mental abilities of the race, and whether created equal in that and other particulars with other men. We have, also, had something to say about exalting them in this country to political and social equality with the other citizens of the United States, and whether were the whites and blacks to become amalgamated it would be a desirable object, with many others matters of interest
We have found the history of this race somewhat of a difficult character to describe, as it is far more hidden and obscure than the history of either the red or white race; yet we believe that some progress, in this respect, is made in the work.
Thus with but few prefatory remarks we submit our opinions, believing that which we have advanced to be indubitable, however repugnant to the conceptions of many, who fancy they see in the negro's mind the germs of a prodigious mental power, notwithstanding all the evidence to the contrary, which has witnessed against them for thousands of years, showing that a pall of darkness and obscurity, not occasioned by the acts or the influence of the other races, has rested on the whole being of this people, induced by a higher power than that of man.
As was the deep, when nature first was made,
And earth's foundations in the waters laid,
When darkness reign'd, the realm of ancient night,
When God sent forth his Word, and there was light;
So is the race of Ham, a darkling sea,
Which now invites the truth, that light may be,
O'er which, if we have sent a single ray,
Then have we gain'd our aim, and look for day
Complexion of the Parents of the Human Race-Kind of Earth Man was
made of Power of the Hebrew Language in giving Names-Adam and
Eve both called Adam by the Creator-Complexion of the Antediluvians—
Curious Chronology of the Holy Seed from Adam to Jacob, the immediate
Head of the Jewish Tribes-The Opinion of some that Adam was created
black, refuted-Personal Appearance of Adam and Eve, in Paradise, be-
forc the Fall-With many other Curious Matters,•
Origin of the Negro Race-To ascertain this-Causes of the great varieties
of human complexions-Doctrine of climates and local causes to produce
such varieties, refuted-Impossibility of human parents producing any
other complexion than their own without a miracle-Proofs that white,
black, and red men are found in the hotest regions of the globe-And
have been thus in the same latitude for thousands of years-No negroes
on the earth till many hundred years after Adam's creation-The precise
time of their origin, when and where-No climate forms or causes the
origin of human characters-Birth of the first white man, when and
where-No white man on the earth till many hundred years after Adam's
Creation-Argument to ascertain this-The Hebrew language, that of
Adam as well as of Noah and the patriarchs-Meaning of the word Ham
-Of Japheth and Shem-Reasons why God produced men of different con-
stitutions and colors than had the first man-With many other curious
matters,⚫
.....
Adaption of men and animals to the countries and circumstances of their
being-Early Settlements of the first Nations after the Flood-Three ra-
ces of men, black, red and white, in the family of Noah-Great difference
between the formation of the bodies of white men and negroes-Reasons
why the skulls of black men are thicker than those of the whites-These
differences noticed by ancient Historians-Negroes not as liable to infec-
tious diseases as white men-Interesting notice by Herodotus, respecting
the heads of Negro men-Curious formation of their feet-Reasons why-
Extraordinary fact, respecting the Negro's skin being filled with myriads
of little cups of water-The reasons why-With many other curious mat-
ters,
Proof of the existence of the Negro race too near the time of Noah, and in
his neighborhood, to allow of the doctrine of climate to have been the
cause of this-Remarks of David in the Book of Pslams on this subject
-Names of all the sons of Ham, the first Negro-The countries they set-
tled after the ruin of the Tower of Nimrod-Respecting the color of the
Egyptians; Herodotus' account of this matter, as well as the color of all
Africans in his age-Proofs that they were always black from the very
beginnning of their existence-Curious account of the wife of Moses-
Proofs of her being a Negress, and of the race of Ham-Statement of the
prophet Jeremiah that the Ethiopians were black-If the three sons of
Noah were all of the same complexion, then follow certain results, fatal
to the veracity of the Scriptures-Hercules-Was Nimrod, the grand-son
of Noah, and the origin of all the fabled Herculesses of all the early na-
tions-Some curious traditions of African authority, respecting their own
origin-With many other curious matters,
The three sons of Noah, all born more than a hundred years before the
flood-Aided in building the Ark-Reasons why the Divine Being produc-
ed two new races of men different from Adam-Change of the climates
of the globe affected by the flood-Beauty of the earth before the flood-
Wife of Ham, and the wives of the other sons of Noah-Who they were-
Respecting straight haired black men-The cause, Ham their father, hav-
ing been woolly headed-Egyptian mummies-One man only between No-
ah and Adam-Landing of the Ark on a mountain-Noah descends-Plants
a vineyard-Drinks new wine-Falls asleep-Ham's conduct on the occa-
sion-Noah's curse of the whole race of Ham-Description of Mount Ar-
arat-The first tents of Noah-Early settlements at the foot of the moun-
tain-Plate of the family of Noah, showing the different complexions of
his sons-Arguments and reasons against amalgamations of the races at
first-Arguments, that Noah's curse of Ham, was God's judicial decree
that slavery was thus entailed upon the negro race-Character of Ham
from his youth till the curse-Argument that the curse was not a mere
prophecy, but a decree judicial,
Proofs from the Scriptures, that the curse of Noah upon the race of Ham,
as a judicial act, is endorsed by the law of Moses-Comparative view of
all the orders of servants among the Jews, as the hired Hebrew servant,
bought the Hebrew servant, the voluntary Hebrew servant, and the Negro
or Canaanite Slave-Remarks on the subject of the strangers, of whom the
Jews might take usury—And of whom they might not take usury-Respect-
ing who the strangers were, who they should not enslave, or use as bond-
men—A seeming contradiction in the law on this subject reconciled-Per-
petual Slaves to be bought of the Negro heathen of old Canaan, as di-
rected by the law-Strictures on Abolitionist opinions, respecting the
meaning of the law relative to servants-Character of Noah and Lot res-
cued from abolitionist aspersions-Strictures on the opinions of aboli-
tionists, respecting the word BUY, as applied to the purchase of bondmen,
in the law of Moses, with other matters of their setting forth-Difference
between the condition of Hebrew servants and their Canaanite Slaves,
with respect to the jubilees and other matters-Proofs that the Hebrews
bought and sold Negro Slaves under the sanetion of the law-Even go-
ing to Africa for that purpose-Enslaving of the persons of the Amalekites
under the eye of Moses-Slaves of the Patriarchs bought with money-
A curious query of abolitionists answered, with many other matters.....
Arguments and positions of abolitionists favoring a belief that the Scrip-
tures recognize the negro man as being equal with the other races, in
point of blood and otherwise, refuted-Mark of Cain-What it was-
No black men or negroes before the flood except one-Difference between
the secreting power of the blood of white and negro men-Evidences that
the Supreme Being puts a higher estimate on white than on black, as
colors or complexions-Consent to this difference by the blacks them-
selves, though incidentally given, according to the accounts of travellers
in Africa-A curious argument of abolitionists in favor of negro equality,
replied to, with many other interesting matters,
|