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Very interesting letter from a "negro" in defense of his race...
Very interesting letter from a "negro" in defense of his race...
Item # 703800
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March 03, 1790
GAZETTE OF THE UNITED STATES, New York, March 3, 1790
* Letter No. IV by "Rusticus"
* "Africanus" a free black - Negro
* African Americans - integration ?
On the front page. under "Congress" is the recent business conducted by the House of Representatives. Much is on Madison's second speech in opposition to Hamilton's report on public credit & moving his own proposal for solving the country's fiscal problems.
A page 3 letter to the editor begins: "The critical moment is at hand. Whether the new government will stand or fall: Whether the United States will rise into respectability, or sink into contempt, will be decided, when the question, respecting public debt, shall be determined..." & and much more, signed in type: A Connecticut Man.
The back page has "Letter No. IV" signed in type: Rusticus, in which he discusses interracial marriage and the manumission of negroes. This is followed by a very significant letter which begins: "I am a sheep-hairy negro the son of an African man and woman; by a train of fortunate events I was left free..." In his letter, this individual discusses African descent, some false perceptions and generalizations about blacks, and the argument "...that the Africans are an inferior link in the chain of nature." He also responds to some of the thinking put forth by Rusticus. The letter is signed in type: Africanus.
Four pages, some fold rubbing with one tiny hold at a fold juncture, generally in good condition.
AI notes: On March 3, 1790, Letter No. IV by “Rusticus” was published in the Gazette of the United States, edited by John Fenno. In this letter, Rusticus argued that African Americans were inherently inferior and that their integration—especially through interracial marriage—would endanger the moral and social fabric of the young American republic. He warned that emancipation and equality would lead to societal disorder. A response came from “Africanus,” a free Black individual, who firmly rejected Rusticus’s claims and defended the intelligence and humanity of African Americans, asserting their right to equal treatment. This exchange highlighted the racial tensions and early public debates about race, rights, and citizenship in post-revolutionary America.
Considered by many as the most significant newspaper of the 18th century, particularly during this, one of the formative years of the new federal government, as the Gazette was the mouthpiece of all matters political. Most pronouncements from Congress & the President were printed first in this newspaper.
Category: The 1600's and 1700's
No Longer Available
