Colonial lower classes were ranked by national-racial stereotypes serving labor control

Evidence

As might be expected, the white servant class drew to itself the social categories that had long been a basic currency for Western culture. Smith recorded the points of observation of the contemporaries of these “white” servants. He noted the attempts made to characterize the colonial lower class in racial and national terms: Franklin said the Germans were stupid… . Rarely was any criticism levelled against the Scots… . Even though they had been rebels or vagabonds at home, they were looked upon as universally ambitious, industrious, and intelligent… . Irish were least favored, and some colonies taxed or even forbade their importation. This was partly because of their religion, which was held to be politically dangerous, but mainly because of their tendency to be idle and to run away. — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 422

Categorization

• SHARE: A scholar of labor history or racial formation would appreciate these concrete 18th-century rankings of servant nations.