Review: Race and the Early Republic
Race and the Early Republic is an excellent introduction to how US society reacted to citizens and slaves who were outside the early ideas of what constituted people. Of course, the term in use was “white men” – a more honest phrasing than many in common use today. Michael Morrison builds Race from a collection of scholarly essays on relevant topics and enlists the authors to cross-pollinate (and cross reference) one another. It forms an interesting and cohesive collection. It is academic enough that it is a little dry for my tastes.
Though I find the presentation sterile, the ideas are compelling. Essays address different aspects of how European immigrants, indigenous people, and slaves found their way in the new country. Importantly the authors look out from the groups as well as in from the majority and historical point of view. The collection acknowledges what the dominant population encoded into the historical narrative as well as the actions and reactions of the people themselves. The resulting book brings more texture and understanding of the period and how it meshes with what comes before and after.