Race Power of an Illusion

Race: Power of an Illusion

This second episode of the PBS series, "The Story we Tell" discusses how race and racism developed in this country. Surprisingly, the series experts believe race has a history, and develops over time, and "that it is constructed by society to further certain political and economic goals" ("Race"). The episode begins with narration that leads into the controversial words of Thomas Jefferson, who wrote that he found blacks inferior to whites in "body and mind." The episode suggests that Thomas Jefferson was then the first American to theorize race in the country. The episode then goes on to discuss the juxtaposition of Jefferson's theory that "all men are created equal" with his own slaveholding and clear approval of slaveholding in the United States. Does this mean that the founding fathers felt those of color were "less than" men?

The episode then discusses early history in the colonies, before race was an issue. The narrator states, "Blackness and whiteness were not yet clear categories of identity" ("Race"). In fact, religion was more of a social barrier than race at the time. Before the influx of slaves into the country, the lowest class in America was the indentured servants from Europe, who came to the country for a new start, but first had to serve their owners for a specific amount of time. When this source of cheap labor began to disappear, planters began to turn to black slaves for their work-intensive crops like tobacco, and later cotton. The white indentured servants began to move up the social ladder, leaving the blacks on the bottom rung. It was during this time that "white" and "black" began to take on additional meaning, and whites, even at the lowest social levels, began to distance themselves from blacks.

Indians, at first, were not seen as a separate race, but as descendents of the European race, and so, they were salvageable and worthwhile, unlike the lower-class blacks. Indian wars changed the way many people viewed Indians, but one of the reasons Indians were sent to reservations was because the people felt if they could convert them to white ways, they could eventually assimilate into white culture. This effort was not made with the black slaves. From this moment on, there was a marked difference between the races, and it has lasted throughout the centuries. The episode then concentrates on the assimilation of the Cherokees, who gave up nearly all their lands to whites, and were literally thrown from their lands from whites during the westward expansion, and after Andrew Jackson took office as President, championing the "common man," who was increasingly white and seeking democracy. As the nation grows stronger, so do feelings on race. In fact, the episode notes, "Nationalism begins to be, in many respects, equated to race" ("Race").

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 added to racism in the country by legitimizing the power and supremacy of the whites over other races. Jackson said of the Indians, "Established in the midst of another and superior race, they must necessarily yield to the force of circumstances and ere long disappear" ("Race"). Clearly, how whites looked at other races had shifted dramatically, and the issue of race was now one of the most important issues for a largely white society on the move. This idea of white supremacy continued as Indians were removed from their native lands, and the war with Mexico took place. Mexicans were seen as an inferior race too, and so this justified the war. As whites moved West, slavery was an issue dividing the country.