University of Virginia Library

109. CIX.
ON THE DIVERSITY OF THE RACES.

Whenever yoo ask the people to adopt any
given line uv ackshen, yoo hev got to give em
a tolable good reason therefor. Troo, this never
hez bin so nessary in the Dimekratik party, whose
members hev alluz follered their leeders, without
askin the why or wherefore, with a fidelity beautiful
to behold. But people, ginrally, are inquisitive,
and wun reason why we hev never succeeded
with the slavery question, is becoz we never hev
yet given a good reason why the nigger shood be
held in slavery.

Wunst it wuz sought to be defended on the
ground that the nigger wuz inferior to the white
man, but it woodent do. Why? Becoz the full-blown
Dimekrat thot to hisself to wunst, “Ef the
stronger shel own the weaker—ef the intellectooally
sooperior shel hold in slavery the intellectooally
inferior, Lord help me! Why, I might ez
well go into a Ablishn township and select my
master to wunst.”

The same argument won't do ez to nigger
equality. Why shood we say that the nigger
shan't vote, on the skore uv his not bein fitted by
eddicashen or intelligence, when the fust and
cheefest qualificashen uv a strate Dimekrat is his
not knowin how to read? Why, to-day, in my
county, ef a Dimekrat kin rite his name without
runnin his tongue out, we alluz refooze to elect
him a delegate in the county convenshun. It exposes
him to the suspishun uv knowin too much.

I hev quit all these shaller dodges, long ago.
We must hev the nigger, for jest at this time
there ain't no uther cappitle for us to run on; but
he must be put on maintainable ground. I put
my foot on him, on the ground uv the DIVERSITY
UV THE RACES! He is not wun uv us. He is
not a descendant uv Adam. Goddlemity probably
made him, ez he did the ox, and the ass, and
the dorg, and the babboon, but not at the same
time, nor for the same purposes. He is not, in
enny sence uv the word, a MAN! His kulor is diffrent,
the size uv his head is diffrent, his foot is
longer, and his hand is bigger. He wuz created
a beast, and the fiat uv the Almity give us dominion
over him, the same ez over other beasts.

Does the theologian say that this doctrine undermines
the Christian religion? I to wunst

reply, that that don't matter to us. Dimokrasy
and religion shook hands and bid each other a
affekshunate farewell, years ago. Uv what comparison
is religion to a Dimekratik triumph?

Doth the ethnologist say that the diffrence
atween the Caucassian and Afrikin is no greater
than atween the Caucassian and Mongolian? I
anser to wunst that he is rite—that the Mongolian
is likewise a beest; becoz, don't yoo see there
ain't no Mongolians in this seckshun uv country
to disprove it.

Doth the Ablishnist pint to a nigger who kin
read and rite, and figure through to division, and
in sich other partickelers show hisself sooperior
to the majority uv Dimekrats? I alluz draw myself
up to my full hite, assoom a virchusly indignant
look, and exclaim, “He 's nuthin but a d—d
nigger, anyhow!” wich is the only effective argument
we hev hed for ten years.

Doth the besotted nigger-lover pint to the mulatter,
and say, “What will yoo do with him, who
is half beest and half man, who hez half a sole
that is to be saved—for one-half uv whom Christ
died?” I anser at wunst, that I don't deal in abstrackshuns,
and git out ez soon ez possible, for
there is a weak pint there, that I hevent ez yit
bin able to git over.

This wun weak pint is no argument agin my
theory, for happy is the Dimekrat who kin propound
a theory that hezent a skore, instid uv wun,
weak places in it.

This doctrine kivers the whole ground. Ef the
nigger is a beest, Dimekrats hev a good excuse
for not givin to mishnary sosieties, for uv what
use is it to undertake to Christianize beests, who
hev no soles to save and no intrest in the blood
uv Christ? It gives us a perfek rite to re-establish
slavery, for doth not Blackstun, who wuz supposed
to know ez much law ez a Noo Gersey justis
uv the peece, say that we hev a rite to ketch
and tame the wild beest, and bend him to our
uses?

Also, he can't vote; for wood the lowest white
man consent to vote alongside uv a beest, even ef
he did walk on 2 legs? Not enny.

Let this doctrine be vigerusly preechd, and I
hev no doubt suthin will result from it.