| Summary: | Racial thought at the close of the 18th century differed radically from that of the 19th century, when the concept of race as a fixed biological category would emerge. Instead, many early Americans thought that race was an exterior bodily trait, incrementally produced by environmental factors, and continuously subject to change. While historians have documented aspects of 18th century racial thought, this is the first book to identify how this thinking informs the figurative language in the literature of this crucial period.
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