Noah's Curse: The Biblical Justification of American Slavery"A servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren." So reads Noah's curse on his son Ham, and all his descendants, in Genesis 9:25. Over centuries of interpretation, Ham came to be identified as the ancestor of black Africans, and Noah's curse to be seen as biblical justification for American slavery and segregation. Examining the history of the American interpretation of Noah's curse, this book begins with an overview of the prior history of the reception of this scripture and then turns to the distinctive and creative ways in which the curse was appropriated by American pro-slavery and pro-segregation interpreters. |
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Page v
... South's peculiar institution. When I indicated my desire to learn more about Palmer and his proslavery worldview, Valarie suggested I consult the “Palmer Memorial Tablet” that hangs in a dimly lit corner of Palmer Hall, the oldest and ...
... South's peculiar institution. When I indicated my desire to learn more about Palmer and his proslavery worldview, Valarie suggested I consult the “Palmer Memorial Tablet” that hangs in a dimly lit corner of Palmer Hall, the oldest and ...
Page viii
... South and elucidates the ways it functioned to sustain the worldview of antebellum Southerners when their peculiar institution came under attack after 1830.5 Peterson clarifies the “mythic” quality of the curse by carefully noting the ...
... South and elucidates the ways it functioned to sustain the worldview of antebellum Southerners when their peculiar institution came under attack after 1830.5 Peterson clarifies the “mythic” quality of the curse by carefully noting the ...
Page 9
... South culture.30 In The Militant South (1956), John Hope Franklin initiated a new era in scholarly study of the South by emphasizing the centrality of honor to Southern history and explicitly linking slavery and the Southern character ...
... South culture.30 In The Militant South (1956), John Hope Franklin initiated a new era in scholarly study of the South by emphasizing the centrality of honor to Southern history and explicitly linking slavery and the Southern character ...
Page 12
... South mean that its application to racial slavery was also taken for granted? This is where the cultural motifs of honor and order prove so helpful. These aspects of Southern slave society operated in symbiosis with the biblical text ...
... South mean that its application to racial slavery was also taken for granted? This is where the cultural motifs of honor and order prove so helpful. These aspects of Southern slave society operated in symbiosis with the biblical text ...
Page 13
... South's preeminent clergymen during the second half of the nineteenth century. In the late antebellum period, Palmer employed Noah's prophecy as a sanction for chattel slavery, and following the war he analyzed the South's recent past ...
... South's preeminent clergymen during the second half of the nineteenth century. In the late antebellum period, Palmer employed Noah's prophecy as a sanction for chattel slavery, and following the war he analyzed the South's recent past ...
Contents
3 | |
21 | |
HONOR AND ORDER | 63 |
NOAHS CAMERA | 123 |
REDEEMING THE CURSE | 175 |
Notes | 223 |
Bibliography | 299 |
Index | 314 |
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According Adam African American antebellum appear argument association Babel became become Bible Bible readers biblical blessing Book brothers Cain called Canaan century chapter character Christian Church cited Civil claim Commentary culture death descendants desire distinct divine early earth fact father Flood forces Genesis 9 Girard given God’s Ham’s Hamites Hebrew honor human Ibid influence institution interpretation James Japheth John land legend Letters means mind nakedness nature Negro Nimrod Noah Noah’s curse notes observes original Palmer patriarch Presbyterian present Priest prophecy proslavery Providence published question race racial racism readings of Genesis rebellion reference reflected regarded relations religion religious role Scripture segregation separation servitude sexual Shem slave slavery social society sons South Southern story tents theme tower tradition University Press victim violence writes York