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Editor's Note: The theory of "scientific racism" - the concept that blacks are biologically inferior to whites - finds its earliest origins in the papers of the nineteenth-century British anthropologist James Hunt. In 1863 Hunt founded the Anthropological Society of London and served as its president until his death in 1869 at the age of 36. Hunt addressed the inaugural meeting of the society delivering a lengthy paper entitled "The Negro's Place in Nature." Hunt's theories are seminal to the writings of contemporary scientific racists such as Arthur Jensen, Richard Lynn, Michael Levin, and J. Philippe Rushton. Here are a few excerpts from the 1863 Hunt address to the Anthropological Society of London.
WE HAVE HEARD DISCUSSIONS recently respecting man's place in nature; but it seems to me that we err in grouping all the different races of man under one generic name, and then comparing them with the Anthropoid Apes. If we wish to make any advance in discussing such a subject, we must not speak of man generally, but must select one race of species, and draw our comparison in this manner.
In the first place, what are the physical distinctions between the Negro and the other races of man?
The average height of the Negro is less than the European, and although there are occasionally exceptions, the skeleton of the Negro is generally heavier, and the bones larger and thicker in proportion to the muscles, than those of the European. The bones are also whiter, from the greater abundance of calcerous salts. The thorax is generally laterally compressed, and, in thin individuals, presents a cylindrical form, and is smaller in proportion to the extremities. The extremities of the Negro differ from other races more by proportion than by form; the arm usually reaches below the middle of the femur. The leg is on the whole longer, but is made to look short on account of the ankle being only between 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 in. above the ground. The foot is flat and the heel is both flat and long. Burmeister has pointed out the resemblance of the foot and the position of the toes of the Negro to those of the ape. The toes are small, the first separated from...