Agassiz’s polygenist ideas survived Darwin via influential Harvard students

Evidence

Mark’s research was groundbreaking: I did not realize just how pervasive Agassiz’s theories were—and still are. As a professor, he had many students who espoused his theories, including Nathaniel Southgate Shaler, who went on to become Harvard’s dean of sciences and continued to “advocate extensively on polygenist principles” well after Charles Darwin debunked the ridiculous theory. He also published an article in the Atlantic Monthly in November 1884 titled “The Negro Problem,” where he described Black children as “lost in the woods, needing the old protection of a strong mastering hand.” — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 823

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to ‘On Sacrifice’ article’s theme of how institutions preserve harmful ideologies past their scientific refutation.