Negroes and Negro "Slavery:" the first an inferior race: the latter its normal condition.

"Negroes and Negro 'Slavery:' the first an inferior race: the latter its normal condition" by J. H. Van Evrie, M.D. is a controversial treatise written in the mid-19th century. The work argues against the abolitionist movement, asserting that it is based on erroneous beliefs about racial equality and the nature of slavery. The author positions the black race as inherently inferior and maintains that slavery is the natural condition for those of African descent. At the start of the book, the author presents a preface discussing the political and social turmoil in America amid the rising anti-slavery sentiment and the onset of the Civil War. He critiques the abolitionist movement as rooted in delusion and foreign influence, particularly from European ideals. Van Evrie aims to provide a justification for the existing social order in the southern United States, asserting that it is rooted in natural law and necessity rather than moral failing. He sets the stage for a detailed exploration of the supposed differences between races, intending to argue for the social subordination of African Americans as not just preferable but essential for societal stability. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

John H. Van Evrie (1814–1896) was an American physician and defender of slavery best known as the editor of the Weekly Day Book and the author of several books on race and slavery which reproduced the ideas of scientific racism for a popular audience. He was also the proprietor of the publishing company Van Evrie, Horton & Company. Van Evrie was described by the historian George M. Fredrickson as "perhaps the first professional racist in American history." His thought, which lacked significant scientific evidence even for the time, emphasized the inferiority of black people to white people, defended slavery as practiced in the United States and attacked abolitionism, while opposing class distinctions among white people and the oppression of the white working class. He repeatedly put "slave" and "slavery" in quotation marks, because he did not think these were the right words for enslaved Blacks.