Silent Voices: The Chains of Science and Pseudoscience (1865–1880)

Part 2 of the Reconstruction Era Series 

Written by Kino Smith

I. The Odyssey of Wandering and Psychological Chains

The road to freedom was perilous for emancipated Black Americans, both physically and psychologically. Thousands took to the roads, driven by a desperate need to reconnect with loved ones or find safety. For many, the journey was an odyssey of survival, filled with danger and heartbreak.

Sarah Moses, a freedwoman from Alabama, recounted:

“We walked until our feet bled, praying for safety. Each new town greeted us with rifles or sneers, and still, we pressed on. We had nowhere to go, but staying meant death.”

Many families placed ads in newspapers like The Christian Recorder in search of lost relatives, a heartbreaking testament to slavery’s legacy:

“Wanted: My son, James, aged 12, sold to Mr. Thomas in Virginia. If anyone knows of his whereabouts, please contact Mary Simmons.”

Even as freedpeople sought to rebuild their families, systems like the Black Codes worked to tear them apart. Under apprenticeship laws, Black children were declared “wards of the state” and forcibly returned to their former enslavers under the guise of "training." These laws foreshadowed the modern child welfare system, which still disproportionately separates Black families. Today, Black children represent 14% of the U.S. population but 23% of those in foster care.¹

The image depicts a white scientist, reminiscent of Samuel Morton, studying a skull, symbolizing the rise of racial pseudoscience used to justify Black inferiority after emancipation. In the background, a young Black girl watches from the shadows, representing the countless freed children trapped in systems designed to maintain white supremacy, from the Black Codes to forced apprenticeships.

II. A Nation Defined by Bias: The Rise of Eugenics

In the decades following emancipation, science became a tool for maintaining racial hierarchy. Samuel Morton’s craniometry studies, which falsely claimed that African skulls were smaller and less developed than European ones, fueled the pseudoscientific belief in Black inferiority.² Harper’s Weekly amplified these ideas with cartoons comparing Black Americans to apes, embedding them into public consciousness.³

White supremacy found further validation in the growing field of eugenics. Scholars like Anoop Nayak described whiteness as a "modern invention," strategically crafted to maintain social dominance.⁴ Eugenics positioned whiteness as the pinnacle of civilization while dehumanizing Black Americans, shaping policies that excluded them from education, voting, and economic opportunity.

III. Weaponizing Science in Law and Society

Psychiatry’s Role in Racial Control 

Psychiatry played a sinister role in rationalizing racism. Terms like “drapetomania,” coined by Dr. Samuel Cartwright, pathologized the desire for freedom as a mental illness, framing Black independence as unnatural.⁵ These ideas justified systemic oppression and reinforced stereotypes of Black irrationality and criminality that persist in modern political discourse.

Medical Exploitation and the Myth of Black Pain 

Marion Sims, known as the “father of modern gynecology,” performed experimental surgeries on enslaved women without anesthesia, claiming they felt less pain. This myth endures: a 2016 study revealed that 50% of white medical students believed Black patients experience less pain, leading to disparities in pain management.⁶ Today, Black women are 3–4 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women.⁷

Education and Cultural Control

 Over 90% of textbooks used in American classrooms today are authored by white scholars, perpetuating the exclusion of Black perspectives.⁸ Standardized tests, shaped by these curricula, often disadvantage Black students. Black children are 5.8 times more likely to be suspended than their white peers for similar behaviors, a reflection of deeply entrenched stereotypes.⁹

IV. Perceptions in Media and Culture

Minstrel shows, popular entertainment of the era, dehumanized Black Americans through exaggerated caricatures. Performers in blackface portrayed them as lazy, ignorant, and buffoonish. This imagery shaped public opinion and justified segregation.

In literature, Thomas Dixon Jr.’s The Leopard’s Spots romanticized the antebellum South while portraying Black Americans as a threat to white society.¹⁰ These narratives reinforced white supremacy and made their way into school curricula, further entrenching stereotypes.

In contrast, Black writers like Frances Ellen Watkins Harper fought back with powerful works that celebrated dignity and resilience. Her poem Bury Me in a Free Land declared:

"I ask no monument, proud and high, to arrest the gaze of the passers-by; all that my yearning spirit craves, is bury me not in a land of slaves."

V. Resistance and Triumph

Despite the oppressive weight of pseudoscience and systemic racism, Black Americans resisted with courage and intellect. Frederick Douglass dismantled Samuel Morton’s theories, stating:

“No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck.”¹¹

The AME Church and Black newspapers like The Christian Recorder amplified voices of resistance, highlighting achievements in education, labor, and invention. These institutions became lifelines for a community determined to rise above systemic oppression.

VI. The Modern Legacy of Bias

The pseudoscientific racism of the 19th century continues to shape systemic inequities today:

1. Healthcare: Black patients are 40% less likely to receive adequate pain medication compared to white patients.⁷

2. Employment: Resumes with “Black-sounding” names are 50% less likely to receive callbacks.¹²

3. Housing: Black-owned homes are appraised at 23% less value, even in similar neighborhoods.¹³

4. Education: The exclusion of Black scholars from curricula perpetuates disparities in academic achievement and opportunities.

   
   

Despite these barriers, Black Americans work an average of 38.8 hours per week—the highest among racial groups in the U.S.¹⁴ Yet, the stereotype of laziness persists, distorting political discourse and public perception.

VII. Reflections and Engagement

The Reconstruction era shows that systemic racism is built on both ideas and actions. Pseudoscientific beliefs justified exclusion, segregation, and violence—and their remnants linger in implicit biases today.

Engagement Questions:

1. How can education systems dismantle historical biases in curricula and testing?

2. What role does media play in perpetuating or dismantling stereotypes?

3. How can communities address disparities in healthcare, housing, and employment?

Footnotes

1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau Statistics, 2022.

2. Morton, Samuel, Crania Americana (1839).

3. Harper’s Weekly, Editorial Cartoons, 1868.

4. Nayak, Anoop, Critical Whiteness Studies (2007).

5. Cartwright, Samuel, Diseases and Peculiarities of the Negro Race (1851).

6. Hoffman, Kelly et al., Racial Bias in Pain Assessment and Treatment Recommendations (2016).

7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Racial Disparities in Maternal Mortality (2021).

8. National Education Association, Curriculum Reports (2020).

9. U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection, 2021.

10. Dixon, Thomas, The Leopard’s Spots (1902).

11. Douglass, Frederick, My Bondage and My Freedom (1855).

12. Bertrand, Marianne and Sendhil Mullainathan, Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal? (2004).

13. Perry, Andre, The Devaluation of Assets in Black Neighborhoods (2018).

14. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Average Weekly Work Hours by Race (2024).