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History of Racism

Louis Agassiz

Louis Agassiz (1807-1873) was a Swiss-born natural scientist, a professor of zoology and geology in the predecessor of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and a prominent supporter of racial segregation and white supremacy. Agassiz was educated and spent his early career in Western Europe (Irmscher, 2013, p. 41-84). He began his scientific career cataloguing fish fossils, work for which he would later win the Wollaston Medal, the proto-Nobel Prize (Irmscher, 2013, p. 82-83). He became the first prominent proponent1 of the concept of Ice Ages (repeated periods of wide-scale glaciations in Earth’s past) in the 1830s, a sensational idea that captured the attention of the scientific community and the larger public. This professional success was accompanied by accusations of plagiarism (Irmscher, 2013, p. 64-68, 79-80). To start anew, Agassiz leveraged personal connections to secure a short-term position in Boston (1846) and then a permanent professorship at Harvard (Irmscher, 2013, p. 80). 

Though Agassiz is not remembered today as a titan of nineteenth-century science, he enjoyed great renown among his contemporaries, particularly the public at large.2 He spent much of his time and funds during his tenure at Harvard creating what would come to be known as the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ), then known as Agassiz’s museum (Windsor, 1991). This museum was intended to (a) make science more accessible to the public by showcasing the diversity of nature and (b) display evidence for his theory on the origins of species (Windsor, 1991, 9-12). Agassiz’s scientific career dwindled in his later years as he held fast to beliefs incompatible with Darwin’s theory of evolution (Windsor, 1991, p. 37-65; Irmscher, 2013, p. 311-336).

Agassiz believed science could be used to justify racism and white supremacy. He was a prominent advocate for polygenism (Lurie, 1954; Gould, 1996, p. 74), the idea that “different human races had biologically distinct origins” (Irmscher, 2013, p. 227). Agassiz used polygenism to argue that Black people were part of an inferior race (Gould, 1996, p. 74-77; Irmscher, 2013, 220-245). Agassiz also attempted to classify human races like the biological specimens in his museum. He commissioned photographs of enslaved peoples (in the American South and Brazil) and people of African, indigenious South American, and mixed racial descent (in Brazil) as evidence—in his eyes—of the inferiority of non-white peoples and the dangers of interracial children (Machado, 2010; L. Agassiz & E. Agassiz, 1868, Appendix V).

Agassiz’s pseudoscientific work on race influenced the development of formalized segregation in the United States. Samuel Gridley Howe, a leader of the American Freedmen’s Inquiry Commission, sought Agassiz’s professional opinion for the commission’s report to Congress on the future of liberated Blacks after the Emancipation Proclamation (Gould, 1996, p. 79-82; Irmscher, 2013, p. 245-262; Strickland, 2019). While Agassiz thought of himself as a supporter of abolition (Wallis, 1995), he strongly and unabashedly advocated for segregation and advocated against mixed-race children and social equality between whites and Blacks; Agassiz justified his position via pseudoscientific studies (Gould, 1996, p. 79-82; Agassiz, 1863a; Agassiz, 1863b; Agassiz, 1863c). The arguments from Agassiz’s letters can be seen in the final report to Congress (Irmscher, 2013, p. 260-262), a document regarded as the “blueprint for Reconstruction'' (Strickland, 2019). 

As an educator at a prominent university and as the most high-profile popularizer of science of his day, Agassiz had a significant platform from which to advocate his racist ideologies, both among his students and in the broader academic and political community. His public writings and lectures touched both on the scientific question of human origins and on socio-political questions of racial equality (e.g., Agassiz, 1850; lectures as discussed in Lurie, 1954). Notably, he was a close mentor of Nathaniel S. Shaler, who went on to continue Agassiz’s legacy of scientific racism into the late 19th century (e.g., Irmscher, 2013, p. 263-265). 

Harvard is working to revise its portrayal of Agassiz’s legacy to accurately acknowledge his contribution to racist thought. The MCZ Faculty Curators voted to remove the “Agassiz Museum” from MCZ letterhead, the Agassiz name from the MCZ conference room, and the busts and portraits of Louis Agassiz from public view in the Ernst Mayr Library in fall 2020. MCZ also plans to collaborate with the campus initiative on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery to highlight the views and impact of Louis Agassiz. 

Despite these efforts, Agassiz’s legacy remains significant at Harvard. “Agassiz'' is engraved above the main entrance to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. In addition, there is a sign marking the location of the home of the first President of Radcliffe College, Elizabeth Cary Agassiz who was married to Louis Agassiz, that makes reference to both of their achievements without noting his contributions to scientific racism. Tamara Lanier, a woman identifying as a descendant of one of the enslaved peoples depicted in Agassiz’s photos, sued Harvard University for ownership of the images and punitive damages in March 2019 (Hartocollis, 2019); Lanier’s lawsuit was recently dismissed but is subject to ongoing appeals (Hartocollis, 2021).  

Attempts to address Agassiz’s legacy continue beyond the Harvard community. The Cambridge Maria L. Baldwin School, originally named after Agassiz, was renamed in 2002 (Dorgan, 2002). The Cambridge City Council voted to rename a neighborhood named after Agassiz in February 2020 (Schumer & Xu, 2020). The European Geophysical Union renamed the Louis Agassiz Medal, established in 2005 to recognize outstanding scientific contribution to the study of the cryosphere, to the Julia and Johannes Weertman Medal (EGU News, 2019). Numerous landmarks remain named after Agassiz.

1Multiple lines of preserved evidence exist that suggest Agassiz was not the originator of the Ice Age hypothesis but merely the most effective populizer (Irmscher, 2013, p. 64-68, 77). Improperly crediting associates for ideas (i.e., plagiarism) was an accusation repeatedly made against Agassiz throughout his career by colleagues and students (Irmscher, 2013; Windsor, 1991, p. 47-65). 

2For example, his death and ill health in the days leading up to it were front-page news for the New York Times and many other periodicals (Irmscher, 2013, p. 25, 36-37).

References and Resources:

Agassiz, Louis (1850). “The diversity of origin of the human races.” Christian Examiner. https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-101157103-bk 

Agassiz, L (1854). Sketch on the natural provinces of the animal world, and their relations to the different types of man. In Nott, J. C., Gliddon, G. R., & Morton S. G. (Eds.), Types of Mankind, Or, Ethnological Researches : Based Upon the Ancient Monuments, Paintings, Sculptures, and Crania of Races, and Upon Their Natural, Geographical, Philological and Biblical History, Illustrated by Selections from the Inedited Papers of Samuel George Morton and by Additional Contributions from L. Agassiz, W. Usher, and H.S. Patterson (lviii - lxxvi). JB Lippincott, & Co.

Agassiz, L. (1863a). [Letter written August 9, 1863 to S. G. Howe]. In Louis Agassiz Correspondence and Other Papers. MS Am 1419. Retrieved from https://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:2643633?n=618. 

Agassiz, L. (1863b). [Letter written August 10, 1863 to S. G. Howe]. In Louis Agassiz Correspondence and Other Papers. MS Am 1419. Retrieved from https://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:2643633?n=622. 

Agassiz, L. (1863c). [Letter written August 11, 1863 to S. G. Howe]. In Louis Agassiz Correspondence and Other Papers. MS Am 1419. Retrieved from https://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:2643633?n=627.

Agassiz, Louis, & Agassiz, Elizabeth (1868). A journey in Brazil. Ticknor and Fields, Boston. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000203526 

Dorgan, Lauren (2002). “Committee Renames Local Agassiz School.” The Harvard Crimson. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2002/5/22/committee-renames-local-agassiz-school-the/ 

EGU News (2019) “EGU Louis Agassiz Medal renamed to honour Julia and Johannes Weertman.”  European Geosciences Union. https://www.egu.eu/news/468/egu-louis-agassiz-medal-renamed-to-honour-julia-and-johannes-weertman/

Foreman, P. Gabrielle, et al. Writing about Slavery/Teaching About Slavery: This Might Help community-sourced document.

Gould, Stephen Jay (1996). The mismeasure of man (Revised and Expanded). WW Norton & company 

Graves, Joseph (2016). “Smashing Agassiz’s Boulder”. Race, Representation and Museums Lecture Series, Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpDDSS2hp-s

Graves Jr, J. L., & Graves, J. L. (2003). The emperor's new clothes: Biological theories of race at the millennium. Rutgers University Press.

Hartocollis, A. (2019) “Who Should Own Photos of Slaves? The Descendants, not Harvard, a Lawsuit Says.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/20/us/slave-photographs-harvard.html  

Hartocollis, A. (2021) “Images of Slaves Are Property of Harvard, Not a Descendant, Judge Rules.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/04/us/harvard-slave-photos-renty.html 

Irmscher, C. (2013). Louis Agassiz: creator of American science. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Isselbacher, J. E. & McCafferty M.C. (2019) “Agassiz’s Descendants Urge Harvard to Turn Over Slave Photos.” The Harvard Crimson. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2019/6/21/agassiz-family-says-give-up-photos/ 

Lurie, E. (1954). Louis Agassiz and the races of man. Isis, 45(3), 227-242.

Machado, M. H. P. T. (2010). “Traces of Agassiz on Brazilian Races: The Formation of a Photographic Collection.” In Machado, M. H. P. T., & Huber, S.  (Ed.). (T) races of Louis Agassiz: Photography, Body and Science, Yesterday and Today. Capacete. 

Miles, T., Singleton, K. Sinha, M. & Stauffer, J (2020). The Enduring Legacy of Slavery and Racism in the North [Lecture]. Harvard Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.

Nott, J. C., Gliddon, G. R., & Morton S. G. (1854). Types of Mankind Or, Ethnological Researches: Based Upon the Ancient Monuments, Paintings, Sculptures, and Crania of Races, and Upon Their Natural, Geographical, Philological and Biblical History, Illustrated by Selections from the Inedited Papers of Samuel George Morton and by Additional Contributions from L. Agassiz; W. Usher; and HS Patterson (Vol. 1). JB Lippincott, & Co.

Schumer, E. R. & Xu, C. (2020) “Cambridge City Council Approves Agassiz Neighborhood Name Change.” The Harvard Crimson. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/2/12/city-approves-agassiz-rename-resolution/ 

Strickland, J. (2019). The American Freedmen's Inquiry Commission, 19th-Century Racial Pseudosience, and the False Assessment of Black America, 1863-1864. Fed. Hist., 11, 109.

Wallis, B. (1995). Black bodies, white science: Louis Agassiz's slave daguerreotypes. American Art, 9(2), 39-61.

Winsor, M. P (1991). Reading the Shape of Nature: Comparative Zoology at the Agassiz Museum. University of Chicago Press.

Nathaniel S. Shaler

Nathaniel S. Shaler (1841-1906) was a professor of paleontology and geology at Harvard University, a former Dean of Science, and strong proponent of scientific racism. He grew up in Kentucky, completed his undergraduate education at Harvard under the tutelage of Louis Agassiz, and went on to serve as a soldier in the Union during the Civil War (Livingstone, 1984). During his tenure as a professor at Harvard, he was known for being a dedicated teacher and an inspiring lecturer whose door was always open to his students (“Nathaniel Southgate Shaler 62’”). Shaler sought to understand ethnic differences from the viewpoint of natural history and to develop theories on immigration and the role of African Americans in a post-Civil War society through combining his analyses with those from adjacent fields such as evolutionary biology, anthropology, and human geography (Livingstone, 1984).

Similar to Louis Agassiz, Shaler believed that humankind had a plural origin, and thus could be categorized into different species. He argued that peoples from northern and western Europe developed into a “superior” race due to geographic and climatic influences. In particular, he claimed that superior races developed in environments that were suitable for agriculture but also had a non-productive winter season, which encouraged foresight and crop planning. In addition, he argued that it was necessary to have a long enough period of geographic isolation in the early development of such a race, during which the race could evolve towards a civilized state without mixing with other races. Inherent to these claims is the belief that socio-cultural characteristics and structures could be inherited. Since non-white species had not evolved (socially) beyond the “tribal stage” according to Shaler, the only way to guarantee the survival of “civilized” society was to ensure the western European white race continued to pass down these “civilized” characteristics (Livingstone, 1984). 

These beliefs strongly determined Shaler’s attitude towards contemporary issues during the Reconstruction surrounding African Americans as well as immigration. His concern for the continuation of the legacy of Anglo-Saxon society and the fear that “inferior” races lacked the social capability to assimilate into this society led him to argue against interracial mixing (Livingstone, 1984). An advocate for a national eugenics program, he claimed that mixed-race offspring had shorter lifetimes and were less fertile and that an individual does not have the right to pass on their “infirmities” to the next generation (Shaler, Man and the Earth, 159). His persistent claims that African Americans lacked civilized characteristics, combined with the 1890 census that reported on Black incarceration rates, were used to disseminate the idea of “Black criminality,” a racist notion that shaped the trajectory of post-Reconstruction American history and society (“Writing Crime Into Race”, Lydialyle Gibson; The Condemnation of Blackness, Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Ch 1). Shaler’s pronouncements as a well-regarded Harvard professor had great weight during a pivotal moment of the Reconstruction era when a national debate was unfolding surrounding the role of recently-freed African Americans in a future American society. 

Shaler also took on a role in the public debate surrounding immigration policies, particularly in New England. The conjunction of Emancipation, forced Native American relocation, and increased immigration from eastern and southern Europe all led to a national reckoning with the concept of the American “melting pot”. Shaler’s claims that the  Northern European race was superior and that integration of any inferior races into American society would threaten the legacy of Western culture and democracy resonated strongly with the majority Anglo-Saxon population of New England. Several of his students went on to found Boston’s Immigration Restriction League, whose arguments against immigration and continued assimilation of non-Anglo-Saxon races were strongly supported by Shaler himself (Livingstone, 1984). 

In summary, Nathanial S. Shaler’s synthesis of racial theories from different fields into a cohesive ideological framework of scientific racism had profound influence on discussions of racial integration in the late 19th century. Through his preeminent position as a Harvard professor with scientific credibility and influence on the education of a future generation of scholars, he was able to successfully disseminate his racist ideas in the academic and political milieus.

Today, at a time when many academic institutions are grappling with how to reconcile with their past connections to slavery and racist thought, Harvard University, and in particular the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS; formally the Geology Department, under which Shaler has his appointment) are working to update their portrayal of Nathanial S. Shaler. Recently, a conference room in the EPS building (2019) and a teaching award given in EPS (2018), both previously named in Shaler’s honor, have been renamed. A bust of Shaler is in the process of being removed from the aforementioned conference room. Nonetheless, a fund set up by former students of Shaler still supports graduate student activities in EPS, and Shaler is still memorialized on the walls of EPS as a “geologist; sympathetic, stirring teacher; fertile adventurous thinker and writer; ardent faithful friend; [and] patriot” (photo).

References and Resources: