Christian free-country ideology forced settlers to deny enslaved people’s humanity

Evidence

The people who settled the country had a fatal flaw. They could recognize a man when they saw one. They knew he wasn’t—I mean you can tell, they knew he wasn’t—anything else but a man; but since they were Christian, and since they had already decided they had come here to establish a free country, the only way to justify the role that this chattel was playing in one’s life was to say that he was not a man. For if he wasn’t a man, then no crime had been committed. This is the root of the present trouble. — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 68

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: Baldwin’s compression of cognitive dissonance logic — professed Christianity plus freedom plus slaveholding entailed the denial of manhood — is a dense, compact explanation that resists paraphrase.
• XREF: Mirrors the architecture of double-consciousness claims and the ‘Christian veneer’ mechanism of self-deception. — connects to: Denying colonized peoples a system of thought denies their humanity. — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 690; Settler nations were built on stolen land and enslaved people. — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror…, 763; Acknowledging slaves’ religion would have conceded their humanity under the law — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 171 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Acknowledging slaves’ religion would have conceded their humanity under the law #corroborates (0.82) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 171
• Denying colonized peoples a system of thought denies their humanity. #expands (0.78) — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 690
• Settler nations were built on stolen land and enslaved people. #complicates (0.72) — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, 763