3 chapters across the catalog
Thomas Sowell's writings highlight the historical internal hierarchies within the "white" classification, where Northern and Western Europeans were favored over Southern and Eastern Europeans. During the early 20th century, prominent American writers and editors warned against "racial degeneration" caused by the immigration of "Alpine" and "Mediterranean" peoples. This history demonstrates that the definition of whiteness has always been a gatekept political tool.
The discussion turns to Madison Grant, an influential 20th-century conservationist and author of "The Passing of the Great Race." The hosts explain how Grant's theories on the "Nordic" racial hierarchy influenced Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party's eugenics policies. They link Grant's background as a "Puritan" elite to the historical development of scientific racism in America.
The segment explains how eugenics ideas were imported to the U.S. in the early 1900s by figures like Charles Davenport and Harry Laughlin to create a "white master Nordic race." This led to the "one drop rule" to protect the "political fence" of whiteness. The hosts emphasize that Hitler actually got his eugenics ideas from the United States, not the other way around.
