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The Foundation Of White Supremacist Thinking
The “Cornerstone Speech” Is the Blueprint for Racism in America Today
“With us, all of the white race, however high or low, rich or poor, are equal in the eye of the law. Not so with the negro. Subordination is his place. He, by nature, or by the curse against Canaan, is fitted for that condition which he occupies in our system.”
On March 21, 1861, Alexander H. Stephens, the Vice-President of the Confederacy, gave a speech outlining the reasons for what he called “revolution.” The secession of several Southern states from the union. He didn’t pretend it was about “states’ rights.” He was clear it was about maintaining the institution of enslavement. He didn’t hedge his opinion that white people were superior and Black people were fulfilling their natural, God-ordained place in society.
Stephens’s speech is aptly called the “Cornerstone Speech.: It was the building block upon which modern-day white supremacists could trace their beliefs. Some of his statements could come directly from the comments section of right-wing, white supremacist bloggers. Please read this speech and wonder how close it reads…
