Friday Dead Racist Blogging: Near, Far, Wherever You Are Edition

In last week's DRB post, I omitted the end of the penultimate paragraph because it mentioned something so amusing I felt it deserved its own post.


Representative Thomas Corwin of Ohio--he of the famed Corwin amendment--gave a speech on January 24, 1860, which included this quote:

The population, which usually goes into new Territories is generally led by an eager and sometimes wild spirit of adventure. The people will keep out the negro, because they have no negroes of their own, no slaves of their own. I care not whether the Territory be at the north pole or near the equator, they will go there, and will keep your negroes out, if you allow them to determine whether slavery shall be there or not.

Emphasis mine.

This just makes me think of some bizarre advertisement. "Call us, and we'll gas your termites keep out your negroes! No distance is too far, no negro problem too large!"

--From the Congressional Globe, 36th Congress, 1st Session, Appendix, p. 149