Civilization the Primal Need of the Race, and The Attitude of the American Mind

Crummell, Alexander, 1819-1898Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.2

Word count: 44K words
Chapters: 5

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Civilization the Primal Need of the Race, and The Attitude of the American MindAuthor: Crummell, Alexander, 1819-1898,Language: English, Class: E151: History: America: United States, Release Date: Feb 13, 2010

Editor's review

This short English-language document collects two speeches by Alexander Crummell, one discussing civilization as the primal need of the race and the other examining the attitude of the American mind. The author was a nineteenth-century African American minister and thinker, and his arguments bear clear marks of their era and a religious-moral mode of reasoning; the text is primary material for understanding nineteenth-century American racial discourse and the intellectual currents of the time. Its value lies not in offering conclusions directly applicable today but in presenting a mode of argumentation and rhetorical strategy within a historical context, helping readers understand how public discussion of civilization, race, and the American spirit unfolded. Suitable as supplementary reading for courses in American history, African American studies, and intellectual history, and for readers interested in nineteenth-century English speechwriting. As a public-domain electronic text it is short and easily accessible and can be read in one sitting, but it should be read with historical annotations and secondary research to grasp its proper measure.

Who it's for

A good fit for

University students studying nineteenth-century American racial discourse and intellectual history
Readers interested in early African American public speech documents
Teachers needing short English-language historical sources for classroom discussion
Those interested in the history of American ideas of civilization and religious rhetoric

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking a systematic theoretical monograph rather than short speeches
Readers expecting contemporary critical or policy analysis
Those who struggle with English reading and do not wish to use background annotations

Reading tips

First read an overview of nineteenth-century American race and abolitionist background, then approach the text.
Read the two speeches separately, noting the author's argumentative steps and key rhetoric after each.
Compare the concept of civilization in the text with other thinkers of the period and take brief notes.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What are these two texts roughly about?

One argues whether civilization is the primal need of the race; the other discusses the attitude of the American mind. Both are nineteenth-century American public speeches with religious and moral argumentation and should be understood in their historical context.

Can I read it without a background in American history?

Yes, but it is advisable to first acquire basic background on nineteenth-century American racial issues and the abolitionist movement; otherwise the period discourse may be mistaken for universal conclusions. Reading with an introduction or course notes works better.

Is this a complete book or an excerpt?

This is a public-domain electronic text containing two speeches by the author. It is short and not a systematic monograph, suitable as a historical fragment or classroom supplement rather than a substitute for a general history or research monograph in the field.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Crummell, Alexander, 1819-1898 Author · American · 1819–1898

Alexander Crummell (1819–1898) was an African American Episcopal priest, a pioneer of Pan-Africanism, and the founder of the American Negro Academy. One work by him is held in this collection, namely Civilization the Primal Need of the Race, and The Attitude of the American Mind. Public information about the details of his life is limited, but the titles of his works and his identity suggest that he addressed such themes as the progress of racial civilization and the orientation of American thought, writing in a religious and public-argumentative vein that served the self-improvement and rights claims of African Americans. As an early promoter of Pan-African ideas, his writings and his church and educational activities have inspired later African American thinkers, and he is a figure worth noting in the study of nineteenth-century African American religious and social thought.