been known to the white race. Thus the Hottentots and the
Abyssinians have maintained themselves in their respective homes
without change ever since their existence has been known to us,
even though their number is less than that of our pure black
population. The same, also, is the case with the population of
Australia and of the Pacific islands. The Papuan race, the Negrillo
race, the Australian race proper, distinct from one another, as
well as from all other inhabitants of the earth, number each fewer
inhabitants than already exist of the negro race in the United
States alone, not to speak of Central and South America.
This being the case there is, it seems to me, no more reason to
expect a disappearance of the negro race from the continent of
America without violent interference, than to expect a
disappearance of the races inhabiting respectively the South Sea
Islands, Australia, the Cape of Good Hope, or any other part of the
globe tenanted by the less populous races. The case of the American
Indians, who gradually disappear before the white race, should not
mislead us, as it is readily accounted for by the peculiar
character of that race. The negro exhibits by nature a pliability,
a readiness to accommodate himself to circumstances, a proneness to
imitate those among whom he lives,--characteristics which are
entirely foreign to the Indian, while they facilitate in every way
the increase of the negro. I infer, therefore, from all these
circumstances that the negro race must be considered as permanently
settled upon this continent, no less firmly than the white race,
and that it is our duty to look upon them as co-tenants in the
possession of this part of the world.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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