Assignment 1

Race Amalgamation

In August of 1896, Frederick Ludwig Hoffman published a book called “Race Traits and Tendencies of the American Negro” for the American Economic Association. Included in this book was a chapter titled “Race Amalgamation” where Hoffman argues against the idea of race amalgamation, or racial interbreeding. Hoffman believes that if whites and blacks have children together, then the children will suffer from extensive health problems. Hoffman relied on data produced by other social scientists to attempt to prove his point, because he was not a trained social scientist himself. The data he used is considered heavily incorrect by today’s standards because most of it was guided by scientific racism. Hoffman is most likely writing to an audience of his peers, including people who work in the insurance industry. This is proven by the fact that his book was published for the American Economic Association.

Hoffman’s main argument is that race amalgamation is detrimental to whites and blacks because it results in children with serious health issues. Hoffman wants to convince others that race amalgamation is a bad idea, and he does this by scaring his readers. At first glance, it appears that Hoffman is using, or attempting to use, logic to convince his readers that he is right through data tables and examples. When one reads the text more closely however, it becomes clear that Hoffman’s evidence is questionable at best. The data tables and other evidence are confusing and do not really seem to connect to Hoffman’s main point. What Hoffman does well is invoke fear in his reader. He writes of the prostitution and concubinage of colored women, the health complications of children with interracial parents, and the marital issues that face interracial couples. Family is a heavily valued thing in this period of American history, and Hoffman wants his readers to believe that race amalgamation will destroy families. He is claiming if a white person marries a black person it will hurt their children, and it will ruin their relationships. This is going to resonate with his audience because they do value their families and fear is a good motivator. Moreover, the confusing way in which the evidence is presented is going to elevate this fear.

Hoffman’s readers could easily be persuaded by Hoffman’s essay due to his use of rhetoric from the social science community. As stated by John Swales, one of the six main criteria for a discourse community is having specific lexis. Hoffman is very good at using the terminology that goes along with being part of the social science community, even though Hoffman is not actually a social scientist. From an outsider’s perspective, Hoffman is going to sound knowledgable and professional when writing about race amalgamation. Hoffman must be well aware of this and uses it to his advantage to gain the trust of the reader. He furthers this by including evidence in the form of data tables that makes it look like he has done research that can prove his point. Along with this comes a certain respect for scientists of all kinds, including social scientists. It is assumed that science comes without bias because it is just based on cold, hard facts, as discussed in “The Mismeasure of Man.” In the present, it is well known that most of the science being used by Hoffman has some sort of scientific racism attached to it, which means it is most definitely biased. In the time period in which Hoffman wrote his essay, his readers would not have been aware of the bias that was attached to his evidence. Hoffman used this to his advantage as well, gaining the trust of his readers and presenting them with data that is assumed to be scientific, or unbiased, when it has actually been altered to prove Hoffman’s point.