ABSTRACT
The rise of antislavery sentiment early in the eighteenth century implied worrisome doubts about the moral rightness of slavery. This chapter explores some of the implications of this development, elucidating the components of race identity imposed on blacks. Focusing on some of the main thrusts of the antislavery movement, the chapter outlines its history and the diverse motivations of its participants. It then identifies two major sources of antislavery thought—religious inspiration and Enlightenment ideology—although the differences between them were probably irrelevant to the galloping advance of racial ideology. The chapter then examines the extreme reaction to abolitionism on the part of proslavery forces, delineating the realities of southern economic, social, and psychological dependence on both race and slavery. Although the expressions of racism may have varied, whites of all social classes adhered to the racial worldview. Finally, the chapter considers the autonomous nature of the concept of race, arguing that it was created as a qualitatively unique social phenomenon.
