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Relation to other texts we have read about slavery - similarities and differencies:

Compared to other texts we have read, James Hunt supports his claim with scientific research in “The Negro’s Place in Nature”. For example, he claims that Negro is unfit for civilization. In “The Cornerstone Speech”, Alexander Stephens also claims that the Negro is unequal to the white man, and that owning slaves should be a right to every man. So in both examples they justify the inequality of the negro to the white man, and that the negro should know his place in the society.

In most of the other texts we have read, they have either been narratives, letters or speeches from a subjective point of view and not an objective research paper. in the text “letter from Jackson Whitney”, we read about a slave who managed to escape from slavery, but unfortunately he was not able to bring his family with him. Slaves escaping from their owners would have had to be brave and have a high intelligence, in order to plan their escapes. Most of the time the slaves would have to either be able to read or write, in order to communicate with the smugglers, whereas James Hunt describes the deformed anatomy of a negro’s mind.

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Group G: Sander, Mikkel W., Nathalie, Isak

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Group G: Sander, Mikkel W., Nathalie, Isak

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Difference between a scientific argument and a political argument :

The difference between a scientific and a political argument is, that in a scientific argument you must have statements, observations and proof, that supports your arguments and statements.

A political argument also needs to have statements, but you must be political and objective. When you are a scientist you HAVE to have arguments build on stone hard proof. Where as a political argument it is more important that people think and have the conception that what you are saying is true. You should make people think you have authority and what you are saying is reliable.

Is ”The Negro’s Place in Nature” a scientific or a political text?

At first you would say that “The Negro’s Place in Nature”, is built on a lot of evidence and observations this can be seen in the section “Physical difference between the negro and the white man”, page 54, line 1-6 “The average height of the negro is less than the European, and although there are occasionally exceptions, the skeleton of the negro is generally heavier, and the bones larger and thicker in proportion to the muscles, than those of the European. The bones are also whiter, from the greater abundance of calcareous salts.”

Also at page 54, line 14-15* ‘Burmeister has pointed out the resemblance of the foot and the position of the toes of the negro to those of the apes’ *we see “hard” evidence that the black and white man are different.

But suddenly we see a different side of “the Scientific text”, in the section ‘The Typical Negro’, in this section we see bias, racism and generalization more than evidence. For instance page 55, line 22-26 ‘He(The negro) smokes haschisch till he alcohols his senses, or fall into convulsions; he drinks palm-wine till he brings on loathsome disease; he abuses children, and stabs the poor brute of a woman whose hands keep him from starvation, and makes a trade of his own offspring’ there are also a good example in the last section, ‘Conclusion’ at page 56, line 3-6 ‘We shall then learn, that it is only by observation and experiments that we can determine the exact place in nature which the Negro race should hold, and that it is both absurd and chimerical to attempt to put him in any other.

therefore is the following text ‘The Negro’s Place in Nature’ both scientific and political, because we at first have evidence based on how the negro’s are built, but then we read deeper in the text, and it starts to get more political than scientific. but somehow it is understandably why the text gets more racist, because at that time, it was not the Negro’s that read this text, it was the slave owners, and they would not read it if they had said slaves are humans to, slaves are like white people just with a different color, so this text is both political and scientific.

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Introduction and The physical difference between the Negro and the white man:
It’s generally taught that the Negro only differs from the European in the colour from his skin. But such opinions are not supported by facts.

One of the physical differences between the negro and the white man is that their skeleton is generally heavier. The bones are larger and thicker in proportion to the muscles. The bones are also whiter because they have a high amount off calcerous salts. Their arms usually reach below the middle of their femur. And their knees are bent and their calves are weak.

Their thorax is more compressed and has a cylindrical form

Their legs are longer, but they look short because the ankles are only 11/4 inches to 11/2 inches above the ground. Their feet are flat, and resembles the foot of an ape because the toes are separated and they use the great toe as a thumb.

The upper part of a blacks thigh is rather thin.

The Domestic Negro:

The domestic negro has more intelligence than those who work at field labour who are nearly in the same state of intelligence as when they left Africa. The domestic negro is improved in intelligence in America.

They are true to their character, and it is said that he is no sooner taught to read, he will take every chance of reading his masters letters, and if he will be taught to write, he will soon learn to forge his masters signature. This could apply with perhaps greater force than those semi-civilized Negroes.

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Summary of Hunt's main points (150-200 words):

James Hunt’s paper is about the Negro’s place in nature. He talks about the differences between the white and the black man. He describes the physical differences between the two races, but also between different kinds of blacks, the domestic Negro and the typical Negro. Their musculature, skeleton, height and the colour of their bones are different from the white man. James Hunt also describes the differences between the domestic Negro and the typical Negro. He describes the way the domestic Negro is of a higher value than the typical Negro. Based on the view on the domestic Negro he is more intelligent. They have more knowledge because they are surrounded by whites, while the typical Negro is at field labour. The typical Negro is treated very horribly and described as a savage. He is sloth, drinks and abuses children. They should be educated at a very simple level because they will not be able to be as good as the white man.

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Choice of negative words in the passage - The Typical Negro:
The text states that the typical negro in general is an outcast, and basically not belongs in our society, that he is nothing but a true savage of Africa. He is described as a lazy and sluggish man who is due to nothing good for humanity, a man who is despicable and vile. Being called out as a child rapist and murderer.

In the passage he says, that the typical negro spends his days in sloth, and his nights in debauchery which is a way of life, that often contain lots of alcohol. Beside this, the negro’s smokes cannabis, drinks palm-wine till he brings on a loathsome disease. James Hunt is describing the negro’s as a sloppy human being. They drink, smoke and seem to be indifferent with their lives and surroundings.

The negroes does not deserve to be called “brethren”, a brother. They deserve to be called their children. They want to educate the negroes, but the whites do definitely not want the negroes to be as intelligent as the whites.

Effect of Hunt’s choice of words:

As far as we can see his vocabulary and choice of words states that he does not care for the black people, he is not sugar coating any of his pronouncements.

He does not want the negro’s to be equal with others, he wants to educate them because they

can be useful, but not on the same level as the white people.

“Let us educate them carefully, and in time we may elevate them, not to our own level - that, I fear, can never be - but to the level of those from whom they have fallen.”

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Group E: Baran, Carolina, Ditte, Mads, Mie

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Group E: Baran, Carolina, Ditte, Mads, Mie

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James Hunt’s arguments, p. 57.

1. List the three most bizarre claims in Hunt’s text.

-       1.) “The upper thighbone of the Negro has not so decided a resemblance to the ape as that of the bushmand.”

-       2.) “...He smokes hashish till he alcoholics his senses, or fall into convulsions”

-       3.) “...He abuses children, and stabs the poor brute of a woman whose hands keep him from starvation…”

1. How would you describe Hunt’s methods of argument?
Hunt uses the difference between the african and the european people to justice the suppression of the negroes. Hunt also generalise the negroes in two categories, which is The Domestic Negro and The Typical Negro.  He compares the negroes to the apes which puts them to a lower range in the society.

2. Reading the passage The domestic Negro, it seems, according to Hunt, that slaves employed in domestic labour are more intelligent and civilized compared to slaves employed in field labour. What is indicated in this passage about the relationship between the white man and African slaves?

-       They trust the domestic negro more than the negro in the field because the white man mean that the domestic negro are more smart, and they imitated the right race, because they are living with the white man and his family in the house,

1. According to Hunt, what might improve African slaves?

-       Give them some their liberty for six months, and after they will come running back, because their master was supplying them with food and clothes.

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The opposition:

Question 1:

” It is too generally taught that the negro only differs from the European in the color of his skin and the peculiarity of his hair; but such opinions are not supported by facts” P. 53 L. 1-3

·         In this quote James Hunt claims that his opinions are not supported by facts. By that, you can conclude that not everyone agrees with his opinions.

“The real facts seem to be, that the negroes employed in domestic labour have more intelligence than those who are employed at field labour who are nearly in the same state of intelligence as when they left Africa” P. 55 L. 1-5

·         James Hunt manipulates the reader, when he says, “the real facts” because these facts are not proved. So, when he says “facts” it is his own opinion, because it is not proved.

“Here is Anthony Trollope, who is certainly quite guiltless of ever having examined the evidence of the distinction between the Negro European, and yet truly says…” P. 55 L. 39-41

·         Hunt puts down Trollope’s arguments, by saying he has not examined the evidence of distinction himself. In this quote, Hunt has doubles standards because he has also stated something without having any prove.

“We must for the present leave aside all questions as to the original of the Negro, and simply take him as he exists, and not as poets and fanatics paint him” P. 56 L. 1-3

·         Here it is indicated, that Hunt has different opinions than the poets and fanatics.

Question 2:

Hunt’s opposition could be abolitionists, the blacks, other scientists, fanatics, poets, Anthony Trollope and the northern states in the US.

The northern states, the blacks and the abolitionists is against slavery and therefor also against Hunt.

It could be other scientists, because Hunt is biased, and he is not as subjective as he should be. For example, when he talks about the typical negro, he tells about things that is not scientifically proved.

Hunt uses the famous novelist, Anthony Trollope, in his arguments, which makes his own arguments stronger because people know who Trollope is, and therefore Hunt´s arguments become more trustworthy and powerful.

Fanatics and poets describes blacks differently than Hunt describes them, and that is why they are against Hunt.

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Group B: 3 Mikkel B., Julius, Liv G., Mathilde

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Group B: 3 Mikkel B., Julius, Liv G., Mathilde

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The typical Negro:

What are Hunt’s main arguments about “the typical Negro” and his behavior? List 3-5 Examples.

Dr. James Hunt is an anthropologist and that makes him trustworthy and gives him the ethos appeal because he is an educated man in the area that he writes.

“The typical Negro, unrestrained by moral laws, spends his days in sloth and his nights in debauchery” [1]

With this quote, Dr. James Hunt means that negroes, without any moral laws, spend their day without being productive.

“He smokes haschisch till he alcohols his senses, or falls into convulsions”[2]

Referring to the last part, Dr. James Hunt again refers to the negro without any morals who smokes and drinks until falling into cramps or overdosing.

“He abuses children, and stabs the poor brute of a woman whose hands keep him from starvation” [3]

Here Dr. James Hunt uses the pathos appeal to make the reader fear the Negro. He abuses his position to make prejudices about the negro. His argumentations are without evidence, but nobody would point those things out at the time because he is an anthropologist.

“Let us educate them carefully….”[4]

At this point in the text it all makes sense, as we can read, that he has a hidden agenda, as an anthropologist he must make recommendations for us to evolve our society, and his recommendation is that we can never integrate them to society because they are below us.

[1] Page 55 line 21[2] Page 55 line 22 ’middle’[3] Page 55 line 24[4] Page 55 line 31

Conclusion:
“They expect food, clothes and instructions as to every simple act of life, as do children”[1]
in this quotation its is easy to see the agenda we talked about before he portays them as children, at the time children was allowed to work, so its actually not wrong for him to portay their workers with children, also hes there is some pathos in this, hes not trying to make people hate the negroes but hes trying to portay them as helpless children it can even look like a justification for the whites to use the negroes.
“We must for the present leave aside all questions as to the origin of the negro. And simply take him as he exists, not as poets and fantaics paint him”[2]
this is the only sign of logos in the text, there is not actual argument for logos but he is reffering this as scientific fact and says that the poets words should not be trusted.

[1] Page 55 line 45[2] Page 56 line 1.