Racist 19th Century Geography textbook
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scanned and transcribed ‘The Geographic Reader for the Dixie Children’, by Marinda Branson Moore. The text is from the pre-Civil War South and is blatantly racist.
The African or negro race is found in Africa. They are slothful and vicious, but possess little cunning. They are very cruel to each other, and when they have want they sell their prisoners to the white people for slaves. They know nothing of Jesus, and the climate in Africa is so unhealthy that white men can scarcely go there to preach to them. The slaves who are found in America are in much better condition. They are better fed, better clothed, and better instructed than in their native country.
Yikes. There’s also a Q&A at the end, to sum things up:
Q. How do the Indians live?
A. By hunting and fishing.Q. Where did they once live?
A. In all America.Q. What has become of them?
A. The white people drove them away and took their lands.Q. Are they all gone?
A. A few of them live in some places but do not seem much happy.Q. Was it not wrong to drive them away and take their lands?
A. It was, and God will judge the white man for it.Q. May not some of the wars we have had, have been such judgments?
A. Very likely.
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