democracy in america-1-第85章

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ther　slaves　or　freedmen。　　Thus　the　negro　transmits　the　eternal　mark　of　his　ignominy　to　all　his　descendants；　and　although　the　law　may　abolish　slavery；　God　alone　can　obliterate　the　traces　of　its　existence。

The　modern　slave　differs　from　his　master　not　only　in　his　condition；　but　in　his　origin。　　You　may　set　the　negro　free；　but　you　cannot　make　him　otherwise　than　an　alien　to　the　European。　　Nor　is　this　all；　we　scarcely　acknowledge　the　common　features　of　mankind　in　this　child　of　debasement　whom　slavery　has　brought　amongst　us。　　His　physiognomy　is　to　our　eyes　hideous；　his　understanding　weak；　his　tastes　low；　and　we　are　almost　inclined　to　look　upon　him　as　a　being　intermediate　between　man　and　the　brutes。　*e　The　moderns；　then；　after　they　have　abolished　slavery；　have　three　prejudices　to　contend　against；　which　are　less　easy　to　attack　and　far　less　easy　to　conquer　than　the　mere　fact　of　servitude：　the　prejudice　of　the　master；　the　prejudice　of　the　race；　and　the　prejudice　of　color。

＇Footnote　e：　To　induce　the　whites　to　abandon　the　opinion　they　have　conceived　of　the　moral　and　intellectual　inferiority　of　their　former　slaves；　the　negroes　must　change；　but　as　long　as　this　opinion　subsists；　to　change　is　impossible。＇

It　is　difficult　for　us；　who　have　had　the　good　fortune　to　be　born　amongst　men　like　ourselves　by　nature；　and　equal　to　ourselves　by　law；　to　conceive　the　irreconcilable　differences　which　separate　the　negro　from　the　European　in　America。　　But　we　may　derive　some　faint　notion　of　them　from　analogy。　　France　was　formerly　a　country　in　which　numerous　distinctions　of　rank　existed；　that　had　been　created　by　the　legislation。　　Nothing　can　be　more　fictitious　than　a　purely　legal　inferiority；　nothing　more　contrary　to　the　instinct　of　mankind　than　these　permanent　divisions　which　had　been　established　between　beings　evidently　similar。　　Nevertheless　these　divisions　subsisted　for　ages；　they　still　subsist　in　many　places；　and　on　all　sides　they　have　left　imaginary　vestiges；　which　time　alone　can　efface。　　If　it　be　so　difficult　to　root　out　an　inequality　which　solely　originates　in　the　law；　how　are　those　distinctions　to　be　destroyed　which　seem　to　be　based　upon　the　immutable　laws　of　Nature　herself？　When　I　remember　the　extreme　difficulty　with　which　aristocratic　bodies；　of　whatever　nature　they　may　be；　are　commingled　with　the　mass　of　the　people；　and　the　exceeding　care　which　they　take　to　preserve　the　ideal　boundaries　of　their　caste　inviolate；　I　despair　of　seeing　an　aristocracy　disappear　which　is　founded　upon　visible　and　indelible　signs。　　Those　who　hope　that　the　Europeans　will　ever　mix　with　the　negroes；　appear　to　me　to　delude　themselves；　and　I　am　not　led　to　any　such　conclusion　by　my　own　reason；　or　by　the　evidence　of　facts。

Hitherto；　wherever　the　whites　have　been　the　most　powerful；　they　have　maintained　the　blacks　in　a　subordinate　or　a　servile　position；　wherever　the　negroes　have　been　strongest　they　have　destroyed　the　whites；　such　has　been　the　only　retribution　which　has　ever　taken　place　between　the　two　races。

I　see　that　in　a　certain　portion　of　the　territory　of　the　United　States　at　the　present　day；　the　legal　barrier　which　separated　the　two　races　is　tending　to　fall　away；　but　not　that　which　exists　in　the　manners　of　the　country；　slavery　recedes；　but　the　prejudice　to　which　it　has　given　birth　remains　stationary。　Whosoever　has　inhabited　the　United　States　must　have　perceived　that　in　those　parts　of　the　Union　in　which　the　negroes　are　no　longer　slaves；　they　have　in　no　wise　drawn　nearer　to　the　whites。　　On　the　contrary；　the　prejudice　of　the　race　appears　to　be　stronger　in　the　States　which　have　abolished　slavery；　than　in　those　where　it　still　exists；　and　nowhere　is　it　so　intolerant　as　in　those　States　where　servitude　has　never　been　known。　

It　is　true；　that　in　the　North　of　the　Union；　marriages　may　be　legally　contracted　between　negroes　and　whites；　but　public　opinion　would　stigmatize　a　man　who　should　connect　himself　with　a　negress　as　infamous；　and　it　would　be　difficult　to　meet　with　a　single　instance　of　such　a　union。　　The　electoral　franchise　has　been　conferred　upon　the　negroes　in　almost　all　the　States　in　which　slavery　has　been　abolished；　but　if　they　come　forward　to　vote；　their　lives　are　in　danger。　　If　oppressed；　they　may　bring　an　action　at　law；　but　they　will　find　none　but　whites　amongst　their　judges；　and　although　they　may　legally　serve　as　jurors；　prejudice　repulses　them　from　that　office。　　The　same　schools　do　not　receive　the　child　of　the　black　and　of　the　European。　　In　the　theatres；　gold　cannot　procure　a　seat　for　the　servile　race　beside　their　former　masters；　in　the　hospitals　they　lie　apart；　and　although　they　are　allowed　to　invoke　the　same　Divinity　as　the　whites；　it　must　be　at　a　different　altar；　and　in　their　own　churches；　with　their　own　clergy。　　The　gates　of　Heaven　are　not　closed　against　these　unhappy　beings；　but　their　inferiority　is　continued　to　the　very　confines　of　the　other　world；　when　the　negro　is　defunct；　his　bones　are　cast　aside；　and　the　distinction　of　condition　prevails　even　in　the　equality　of　death。　　The　negro　is　free；　but　he　can　share　neither　the　rights；　nor　the　pleasures；　nor　the　labor；　nor　the　afflictions；　nor　the　tomb　of　him　whose　equal　he　has　been　declared　to　be；　and　he　cannot　meet　him　upon　fair　terms　in　life　or　in　death。

In　the　South；　where　slavery　still　exists；　the　negroes　are　less　carefully　kept　apart；　they　sometimes　share　the　labor　and　the　recreations　of　the　whites；　the　whites　consent　to　intermix　with　them　to　a　certain　extent；　and　although　the　legislation　treats　them　more　harshly；　the　habits　of　the　people　are　more　tolerant　and　compassionate。　　In　the　South　the　master　is　not　afraid　to　raise　his　slave　to　his　own　standing；　because　he　knows　that　he　can　in　a　moment　reduce　him　to　the　dust　at　pleasure。　　In　the　North　the　white　no　longer　distinctly　perceives　the　barrier　which　separates　him　from　the　degraded　race；　and　he　shuns　the　negro　with　the　more　pertinacity；　since　he　fears　lest　they　should　some　day　be　confounded　together。

Amongst　the　Americans　of　the　South；　nature　sometimes　reasserts　her　rights；　and　restores　a　transient　equality　between　the　blacks　and　the　whites；　but　in　the　North　pride　restrains　the　most　imperious　of　human　passions。　　The　American　of　the　Northern　States　would　perhaps　allow　the　negress　to　share　his　licentious　pleasures；　if　the　laws　of　his　country　did　not　declare　that　she　may　aspire　to　be　the　legitimate　partner　of　his　bed；　but　he　recoils　with　horror　from　her　who　might　become　his　wife。

Thus　it　is；　in　the　United　States；　that　the　prejudice　which　repels　the　negroes　seems　to　increase　in　proportion　as　they　are　emancipated；　and　inequality　is　sanctioned　by　the　manners　whilst　it　is　effaced　from　the　laws　of　the　country。　　But　if　the　relative　position　of　the　two　races　which　inhabit　the　United　States　is　such　as　I　have　described；　it　may　be　asked　why　the　Americans　have　abolished　slavery　in　the　North　of　the　Union；　why　they　maintain　it　in　the　South；　and　why　they　aggravate　its　hardships　there？　　The　answer　is　easily　given。　　It　is　not　for　the　good　of　the　negroes；　but　for　that　of　the　whites；　that　measures　are　taken　to　abolish　slavery　in　the　United　States。

The　first　negroes　were　imported　into　Virginia　about　the　year　1621。　*f　In　America；　therefore；　as　well　as　in　the　rest　of　the　globe；　slavery　originated　in　the　South。　　Thence　it　spread　from　one　settlement　to　another；　but　the　number　of　slaves　diminished　towards　the　Northern　States；　and　the　negro　population　was　always　very　limited　in　New　England。　*g

＇Footnote　f：　See　Beverley's　〃History　of　Virginia。〃　See　also　in　Jefferson's　〃Memoirs〃　some　curious　details　concerning　the　introduction　of　negroes　into　Virginia；　and　the　first　Act　which　prohibited　the　importation　of　them　in　1778。＇

＇Footnote　g：　The　number　of　slaves　was　less　considerable　in　the　North；　but　the　advantages　resulting　from　slavery　were　not　more　contested　there　than　in　the　South。　　In　1740；　the　Legislature　of　the　State　of　New　York　declared　that　the　direct　importation　of　slaves　ought　to　be　encouraged　as　much　as　possible；　and　smuggling　severely　punished　in　order　not　to　discourage　the　fair　trader。　（Kent's　〃Commentaries；〃　vol。　ii。　p。　206。）　Curious　researches；　by　Belknap；　upon　slavery　in　New　England；　are　to　be　found　in　the　〃Historical　Collection　of　Massachusetts；〃　vol。　iv。　p。　193。　　It　appears　that　negroes　were　introduced　there　in　1630；　but　that　the　legislation　and　manners　of　the　people　were　opposed　to　slavery　from　the　first；　see　also；　in　the　same　work；　the　manner　in　which　public　opinion；　and　afterwards　the　laws；　finally　put　an　end　to　slavery。＇

A　century　had　scarcely　elapsed　since　the　foundation　of　the　colonies；　when　the　attention　of　the　planters　was　struck　by　the　extraordinary　fact；　that　the　provinces　which　were　comparatively　destitute　of　slaves；　increased　in　population；　in　wealth；　and　in　prosperity　more　rapidly　than　those　which　contained　the　greatest　number　of　negroes。　　In　the　former；　however；　the　inhabitants　were　obliged　to　cultivate　the　soil　themselves；　or　by　hired　laborers；　in　the　latter　they　were　furnished　with　hands　for　which　they　paid　no　wages；　yet　although　labor　and　expenses　were　on　the　one　side；　and　ease　with　economy　on　the　other；　the　former　were　in　possession　of　the　most　advantageous　system。　　This　consequence　seemed　to　be　the　more　difficult　to　explain；　since　the　settlers；　who　all　belonged　to　the　same　European　race；　had　the　same　habits；　the　same　civilization；　the　same　laws；　and　their　shades　of　difference　were　extremely　slight。

Time；　however；　continued　to　advance；　and　the　Anglo…Americans；　spreading　beyond　the　coasts　of　the　Atlantic　Ocean；　penetrated　farther　and　farther　into　the　solitudes　of　the　West；　they　met　with　a　new　soil　and　an　unwonted　climate；　the　obstacles　which　opposed　them　were　of　the　most　various　character；　their　races　intermingled；　the　inhabitants　of　the　South　went　up　towards　the　North；　those　of　the　North　descended　to　the　South；　but　in　the　midst　of　all　these　causes；　the　same　result　occurred　at　every　step；　and　in　general；　the　colonies　in　which　there　were　no　slaves　became　more　populous　and　more　rich　than　those　in　which　slavery　flourished。　　The　more　progress　was　made；　the　more　was　it　shown　that　slavery；　which　is　so　cruel　to　the　slave；　is　prejudicial　to　the　master。


Chapter　XVIII：　Future　Condition　Of　Three　Races　…　Part　IV

But　this　truth　was　most　satisfactorily　demonstrated　when　civilization　reached　the　banks　of　the　Ohio。　　The　stream　which　the　Indians　had　distinguished　by　the　name　of　Ohio；　or　Beautiful　River；　waters　one　of　the　most　magnificent　valleys　that　has　ever　been　made　the　abode　of　man。　　Undulating　lands　extend　upon　both　shores　of　the　Ohio；　whose　soil　affords　inexhaustible　treasures　to　the　laborer；　on　either　bank　the　air　is　wholesome　and　the　climate　mild；　and　each　of　them　forms　the　extreme　frontier　of　a　vast　State：　That　which　follows　the　numerous　windings　of　the　Ohio　upon　the　left　is　called　Kentucky；　that　upon　the　right　bears　the　name　of　the　river。　　These　two　States　only　differ　in　a　single　respect；　Kentucky　has　admitted　slavery；　but　the　State　of　Ohio　has　prohibited　the　existence　of　slaves　within　its　borders。　*h

＇Footnote　h：　Not　only　is　slavery　prohibited　in　Ohio；　but　no　free　negroes　are　allowed　to　enter　the　territory　of　that　State；　or　to　hold　property　in　it。　　See　the　Statutes　of　Ohio。＇

Thus　the　traveller　who　floats　down　the　current　of　the　Ohio　to　the　spot　where