democracy in america-1-第116章

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pon　the　abolition　of　slavery　in　the　South　…　　Dangers　to　come　…　General　anxiety　…　Foundation　of　a　Black　colony　in　Africa　…　Why　the　Americans　of　the　South　increase　the　hardships　of　slavery；　whilst　they　are　distressed　at　its　continuance。　

The　Indians　will　perish　in　the　same　isolated　condition　in　which　they　have　lived；　but　the　destiny　of　the　negroes　is　in　some　measure　interwoven　with　that　of　the　Europeans。　　These　two　races　are　attached　to　each　other　without　intermingling；　and　they　are　alike　unable　entirely　to　separate　or　to　combine。　The　most　formidable　of　all　the　ills　which　threaten　the　future　existence　of　the　Union　arises　from　the　presence　of　a　black　population　upon　its　territory；　and　in　contemplating　the　cause　of　the　present　embarrassments　or　of　the　future　dangers　of　the　United　States；　the　observer　is　invariably　led　to　consider　this　as　a　primary　fact。

The　permanent　evils　to　which　mankind　is　subjected　are　usually　produced　by　the　vehement　or　the　increasing　efforts　of　men；　but　there　is　one　calamity　which　penetrated　furtively　into　the　world；　and　which　was　at　first　scarcely　distinguishable　amidst　the　ordinary　abuses　of　power；　it　originated　with　an　individual　whose　name　history　has　not　preserved；　it　was　wafted　like　some　accursed　germ　upon　a　portion　of　the　soil；　but　it　afterwards　nurtured　itself；　grew　without　effort；　and　spreads　naturally　with　the　society　to　which　it　belongs。　　I　need　scarcely　add　that　this　calamity　is　slavery。　　Christianity　suppressed　slavery；　but　the　Christians　of　the　sixteenth　century　re…established　it　…　as　an　exception；　indeed；　to　their　social　system；　and　restricted　to　one　of　the　races　of　mankind；　but　the　wound　thus　inflicted　upon　humanity；　though　less　extensive；　was　at　the　same　time　rendered　far　more　difficult　of　cure。

It　is　important　to　make　an　accurate　distinction　between　slavery　itself　and　its　consequences。　　The　immediate　evils　which　are　produced　by　slavery　were　very　nearly　the　same　in　antiquity　as　they　are　amongst　the　moderns；　but　the　consequences　of　these　evils　were　different。　　The　slave；　amongst　the　ancients；　belonged　to　the　same　race　as　his　master；　and　he　was　often　the　superior　of　the　two　in　education　*d　and　instruction。　　Freedom　was　the　only　distinction　between　them；　and　when　freedom　was　conferred　they　were　easily　confounded　together。　The　ancients；　then；　had　a　very　simple　means　of　avoiding　slavery　and　its　evil　consequences；　which　was　that　of　affranchisement；　and　they　succeeded　as　soon　as　they　adopted　this　measure　generally。　　Not　but；　in　ancient　States；　the　vestiges　of　servitude　subsisted　for　some　time　after　servitude　itself　was　abolished。　There　is　a　natural　prejudice　which　prompts　men　to　despise　whomsoever　has　been　their　inferior　long　after　he　is　become　their　equal；　and　the　real　inequality　which　is　produced　by　fortune　or　by　law　is　always　succeeded　by　an　imaginary　inequality　which　is　implanted　in　the　manners　of　the　people。　　Nevertheless；　this　secondary　consequence　of　slavery　was　limited　to　a　certain　term　amongst　the　ancients；　for　the　freedman　bore　so　entire　a　resemblance　to　those　born　free；　that　it　soon　became　impossible　to　distinguish　him　from　amongst　them。

＇Footnote　d：　It　is　well　known　that　several　of　the　most　distinguished　authors　of　antiquity；　and　amongst　them　Aesop　and　Terence；　were；　or　had　been　slaves。　Slaves　were　not　always　taken　from　barbarous　nations；　and　the　chances　of　war　reduced　highly　civilized　men　to　servitude。＇

The　greatest　difficulty　in　antiquity　was　that　of　altering　the　law；　amongst　the　moderns　it　is　that　of　altering　the　manners；　and；　as　far　as　we　are　concerned；　the　real　obstacles　begin　where　those　of　the　ancients　left　off。　This　arises　from　the　circumstance　that；　amongst　the　moderns；　the　abstract　and　transient　fact　of　slavery　is　fatally　united　to　the　physical　and　permanent　fact　of　color。　　The　tradition　of　slavery　dishonors　the　race；　and　the　peculiarity　of　the　race　perpetuates　the　tradition　of　slavery。　　No　African　has　ever　voluntarily　emigrated　to　the　shores　of　the　New　World；　whence　it　must　be　inferred；　that　all　the　blacks　who　are　now　to　be　found　in　that　hemisphere　are　either　slaves　or　freedmen。　　Thus　the　negro　transmits　the　eternal　mark　of　his　ignominy　to　all　his　descendants；　and　although　the　law　may　abolish　slavery；　God　alone　can　obliterate　the　traces　of　its　existence。

The　modern　slave　differs　from　his　master　not　only　in　his　condition；　but　in　his　origin。　　You　may　set　the　negro　free；　but　you　cannot　make　him　otherwise　than　an　alien　to　the　European。　　Nor　is　this　all；　we　scarcely　acknowledge　the　common　features　of　mankind　in　this　child　of　debasement　whom　slavery　has　brought　amongst　us。　　His　physiognomy　is　to　our　eyes　hideous；　his　understanding　weak；　his　tastes　low；　and　we　are　almost　inclined　to　look　upon　him　as　a　being　intermediate　between　man　and　the　brutes。　*e　The　moderns；　then；　after　they　have　abolished　slavery；　have　three　prejudices　to　contend　against；　which　are　less　easy　to　attack　and　far　less　easy　to　conquer　than　the　mere　fact　of　servitude：　the　prejudice　of　the　master；　the　prejudice　of　the　race；　and　the　prejudice　of　color。

＇Footnote　e：　To　induce　the　whites　to　abandon　the　opinion　they　have　conceived　of　the　moral　and　intellectual　inferiority　of　their　former　slaves；　the　negroes　must　change；　but　as　long　as　this　opinion　subsists；　to　change　is　impossible。＇

It　is　difficult　for　us；　who　have　had　the　good　fortune　to　be　born　amongst　men　like　ourselves　by　nature；　and　equal　to　ourselves　by　law；　to　conceive　the　irreconcilable　differences　which　separate　the　negro　from　the　European　in　America。　　But　we　may　derive　some　faint　notion　of　them　from　analogy。　　France　was　formerly　a　country　in　which　numerous　distinctions　of　rank　existed；　that　had　been　created　by　the　legislation。　　Nothing　can　be　more　fictitious　than　a　purely　legal　inferiority；　nothing　more　contrary　to　the　instinct　of　mankind　than　these　permanent　divisions　which　had　been　established　between　beings　evidently　similar。　　Nevertheless　these　divisions　subsisted　for　ages；　they　still　subsist　in　many　places；　and　on　all　sides　they　have　left　imaginary　vestiges；　which　time　alone　can　efface。　　If　it　be　so　difficult　to　root　out　an　inequality　which　solely　originates　in　the　law；　how　are　those　distinctions　to　be　destroyed　which　seem　to　be　based　upon　the　immutable　laws　of　Nature　herself？　When　I　remember　the　extreme　difficulty　with　which　aristocratic　bodies；　of　whatever　nature　they　may　be；　are　commingled　with　the　mass　of　the　people；　and　the　exceeding　care　which　they　take　to　preserve　the　ideal　boundaries　of　their　caste　inviolate；　I　despair　of　seeing　an　aristocracy　disappear　which　is　founded　upon　visible　and　indelible　signs。　　Those　who　hope　that　the　Europeans　will　ever　mix　with　the　negroes；　appear　to　me　to　delude　themselves；　and　I　am　not　led　to　any　such　conclusion　by　my　own　reason；　or　by　the　evidence　of　facts。

Hitherto；　wherever　the　whites　have　been　the　most　powerful；　they　have　maintained　the　blacks　in　a　subordinate　or　a　servile　position；　wherever　the　negroes　have　been　strongest　they　have　destroyed　the　whites；　such　has　been　the　only　retribution　which　has　ever　taken　place　between　the　two　races。

I　see　that　in　a　certain　portion　of　the　territory　of　the　United　States　at　the　present　day；　the　legal　barrier　which　separated　the　two　races　is　tending　to　fall　away；　but　not　that　which　exists　in　the　manners　of　the　country；　slavery　recedes；　but　the　prejudice　to　which　it　has　given　birth　remains　stationary。　Whosoever　has　inhabited　the　United　States　must　have　perceived　that　in　those　parts　of　the　Union　in　which　the　negroes　are　no　longer　slaves；　they　have　in　no　wise　drawn　nearer　to　the　whites。　　On　the　contrary；　the　prejudice　of　the　race　appears　to　be　stronger　in　the　States　which　have　abolished　slavery；　than　in　those　where　it　still　exists；　and　nowhere　is　it　so　intolerant　as　in　those　States　where　servitude　has　never　been　known。　

It　is　true；　that　in　the　North　of　the　Union；　marriages　may　be　legally　contracted　between　negroes　and　whites；　but　public　opinion　would　stigmatize　a　man　who　should　connect　himself　with　a　negress　as　infamous；　and　it　would　be　difficult　to　meet　with　a　single　instance　of　such　a　union。　　The　electoral　franchise　has　been　conferred　upon　the　negroes　in　almost　all　the　States　in　which　slavery　has　been　abolished；　but　if　they　come　forward　to　vote；　their　live