White Over Black: American Attitudes toward the Negro, 1550-1812 by Winthrop Jordan

Winthrop Jordan's book, “White Over Black: American Attitudes toward the Negro, 1550-1812” is an in-depth exploration of the attitudes of early American societies towards African Americans. Jordan skillfully dissects the complex and fascinating history of race relations between Europeans and African Americans during the first centuries of the Americas. His work examines the development of the African American identity in the early years, as well as the experiences of both African and European settlers.

Jordan focuses primarily on English colonization and its impacts on African Americans, as well as the religious tenets of the process. His work offers a unique insight into the history and development of race relations in early America. While some of the attitudes he uncovers can seem shocking and antiquated today, Jordan correctly emphasizes that understanding the attitudes of early American societies is paramount to understanding the complexities and progress of the history of race relations in America.

Jordan's research is divided into three distinct parts: the status of blacks in Europe before and during the Renaissance; patterns of European immigration, settlement, and labor exploitation; and the complex contest between European Protestant Christianity and African slave status. Through writings, maps, and court records, Jordan meticulously assesses the black experience in different regions of the Atlantic world. Through this, he reveals the manifold ways African American culture and identity developed and evolved through the period.

In the first part of the book, Jordan examines the status of the African slave in Europe and its transformation into the American colonies. He discusses how the religious and social framework of colonial America created profoundly unequal labor patterns, with African slaves being forced to bear the burden of plantation labor. He also reveals how Black and white identities developed differently in different colonies, often in response to regional or local conditions.

The second part of the book looks at the development of the African American identity within the colonies, as well as African American efforts to gain liberation. Jordan provides a thoughtful and provocative discussion of the development of plantation labor and inequality, as well as African American culture during the colonial period. The analysis he provides highlights the complexities of race relations between the masters and their slaves, as well as how both parties ultimately had vested interests in maintaining the plantation economy.

The final part of the book discusses how Africans were impacted by the Protestant Christianization of early America, primarily focusing on the “Great Awakening” of 1735-1750. Jordan provides a thorough and insightful look at how Protestant Christianity interacted with African American slavery. He discusses how the religious aspects of enslavement, combined with economic and legal oppression, impacted the African American identity.

Winthrop Jordan’s “White Over Black: American Attitudes toward the Negro, 1550-1812” is an invaluable contribution to the understanding of early race relations in America. Through extensive research and thoughtful analysis, Jordan sheds light on the complex and often heartbreaking history of slavery, race, and religion in the early colonies. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the evolution of African American identity, as well as the long and ongoing struggle for racial equality in America.