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430 BCE
Herodotus Writes “Histories”
Ancient Greek historical account documenting the Greco-Persian Wars -
400 BCE
The Hippocratic Corpus Texts are Written
Early Greek medical texts laying foundations of Western medicine -
50 BCE
Julius Caesar writes “Commentarii de Bello Gallico”
Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars -
Period: 750 to 1050
Era of Viking Slaving/ The Great movement of Peoples
The widespread capturing and trading of slaves by Vikings -
1453
The Fall of Constantinople
The Ottoman conquest of Constantinople (now Istanbul): the capital of Byzantine Empire -
1516
Portuguese Sugar Plantations are Established in Brazil and the Caribbean
This is the beginning of Portuguese colonization and slavery in the Americas -
Period: to
English White Slave Trade
Period of the trafficking of Europeans into slavery and indentured servitude -
Period: to
John Chardin publishes “The Travels of Sir John Chardin into Persia and the East Indies”
Chardin, a French jewel merchant, wrote his account of his journeys through Persia and India -
Johann Joachim Winckelmann Publishes “The History of the Art of Antiquity”
A book accounting a study of ancient Greek and Roman art and architecture -
“On the Natural Variety of Man”
J.F. Blumenbach’s early racial classification, asserting 5 human varieties -
End of Brits’ Shipping Convicts & Indentured Servants
American Revolution caused this to stop -
Period: to
Physiognomy Develops
A Pseudoscience pulling from the art world: it claimed facial features determine character -
Period: to
Goethe Wrote Works Supporting Winckelmann
This created a Link between German and Greek cultures -
“Letters from an American Farmer" is Published
Series of letters depicting life in Colonial America by Michel- Guillaume-Jean de Crèvecoeur -
"Foundations of the History of Mankind" Is Published
Christoph Meiners’ work less scholarly, more overtly racist. Uses ancient text, pulling from Tacitus (Roman historian/politician), to prove Whites are superior -
Constitution is Signed
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First US Census
This census identifies/recognizes 6 categories:
1) Head of household
2) Free white males over 16
3) Free white males under 16
4) Free white females
5) All other free persons by sex and color
6) Slaves -
Jefferson’s Essay on the Anglo-Saxon Language
Thomas Jefferson’s treatise linking the English language to Anglo-Saxons -
Samuel George Morton
Blumenbach 2.– early figure of scientific racism -
US Census Addendum
Fixes the undercount of Unfree White Persons -
Josiah Nott– “Mulatto, A Hybrid”
RACIST “Scion” from South Carolina
Founded University of Alabama School of Medicine -
Louis Agassiz
Prof at Harvard, Headed “Lawrence Scientific School” and founded Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology
Studied historical geology
Founded glaciology -
“On Germany” is Published
An influential treatise by Madame de Staël about German’s intellectual legacy -
Saturday Evening Post Founded
A popular White-racist owned magazine -
"Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World" Published
An Abolitionist pamphlet calling for slave revolt by David Walker -
US Clergyman & Racial Theorist Sam S. Smith Dies
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Francis Amasa Walker
RACIST
President of MIT
“Monstrous total of 5 and 1/4 million” immigrants -
Census Lists 2 Races: Black & Mulatto
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Emerson Publishes “English Traits”
A collection of essays glorifying masculine English/Saxon racial character -
Dugdale Publishes “The Jukes”
A book arguing that social problems are hereditary based on the study of one family
Full Title: "The Jukes: A Study in Crime, Pauperism, Disease and Heredity" -
Initiation of Eugenics Movement
Francis Galton’s book “Inquiries into Human Faculties and Its development”: it founded the eugenics movement, pseudo-scientific belief of improving the genetic quality through selective breeding and social policies in favor of Whiteness -
Boas Promotes Cultural Relativism
Franz Boas rejects the current racial typologies being propagated, and argued culture, not race, shapes human behavior. Still in favor of Whiteness, however -
Immigration Panic Starts
Rising racism and anti-immigrant hysteria in the US from 1890-1914 -
“The Arian: His Social Role” Published
Anti-Semitic book glorifying the "Aryan race"
Written by Georges Vacher de Lapouge
Originally published in French “L’Aryen: Son rôle social" -
“Races of Europe” Published
Book proposing racial classification and hierarchy of Europeans by William Ripley -
T. Roosevelt Promotes “Sturdy American Stock”
Teddy Roosevelt believes in maintaining the “racial purity” of the US, and advocates for preserving the "sturdy American stock” -
Dillingham Commission Formed
Wanted Restriction Policies: Studied immigrants to inform the, -
“The Melting Pot” Premiers
A play promoting immigrant assimilation into US culture -
The Melting Pot
Controversial play about Russian Jewish immigrant family– advocates for immigrant assimilation into the American “melting pot”– metaphor of immigrants blending into new American identity, celebrating US as “land for immigrants.” -
Dillingham Commission Ends
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World War I
1914-1918 -
“Causes of Race Superiority” Published
Sociology text linking race to the advancement of societies by Edward Ross -
Gobineau’s Racist Essay Brought to US
“Inequality of the Human Resources” by Joseph A. Degobineau was translated into English by Oscar Levy, bringing Gobineau’s racist theories to the US -
Saturday Evening Post=Anti-Immigrant
SEP began publishing anti-immigrant articles in their magazine when Kennet L Roberts joined -
The International Jew: The World’s Problem
“The Jew is a race that has no civilization to point to, no aspiring religion, no great achievement in any relm.”– Henry Ford article in The Dearborn Independent -
Eugenics Conference
Eugenics movement is growing -
“Revolt Against Civilization” Published
Racist, anti-immigrant book– immigrants are a threat to white civilization -
Immigration Act
Jewish and Italian people are severely restricted immigrating from Europe -
Brigham Disavows His Own Book
Carly Brigham retracts his own work in “A Study of American Intelligence” -
Patterns of Culture Published
Book critiquing racial determinism of human behavior– by Ruth Benedict -
Period: to
Intercultural Education Pioneered
Rachel Davis DuBois promoted this educational model asserting cultural diversity in education -
WWII
1939-1945 -
Race: Science and Politics
Book debunking biological concept of race by Benedict -
Races of Mankind
Pamphlet by Benedict, arguing environmental influences on intelligence, disproving foundations of racism -
Taft-Hartley Act
A legislation made to limit power of labor unions (not a good thing) -
Economic 📈, Beauty Standards ☠️
The 1950s– Postwar period started linking status with “White” appearance
Economic prosperity, but toxic changing beauty ideals -
Legal Segregation Ends
1960s– Civil Rights Movement is on the rise -
US Gvmt. Collect Precise Data
For civil rights reinforcement, the US government started collecting more detailed and accurate racial and ethnic data -
Period: to
Critical White Studies Grows
The academic study field of Whiteness as a socially constructed identity -
US Census Changes Race Classifications
Eg. Adding Hispanic/Latino Ethnicity