Upper-Class America Analysis

Words: 341
Pages: 2

The opinions of upper-class America heavily influenced and validated slavery. Smiley & Fakunle discuss the social construction of contemporary race in their article published during the Enlightenment era; biological racial differences between Whites and slaves were the foundation for this social construct. Accordingly, this was the cornerstone of labeling Black as ‘slave’ and ‘inferior.’ Jefferson stated:
Besides those of color, figure, and hair, there are other physical distinctions proving a difference of race… They seem to require less sleep…. Love seems with them to be more an eager desire, than a tender delicate mixture of sentiment and sensation.
Although slavery was initially used to supply cheap labor, the ‘racial distinction’ between