An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States

Du Bois’s paper offered a broad social history of Black Americans.
Beginning with the movement of Africans to the Americas, he plainly
stated, “The African slave trade to America arose from the desire of the
Spanish and other nations to exploit rapidly the resources of the New
World.” In opening the discussion this way, Du Bois placed blame for the
current condition of Black Americans squarely on the shoulders of
European nation-states. Perhaps uncritically, he reasoned that Europeans
were unable to exploit American Indian labor because of “the weaknesses
and comparative scarcity of the Indians.” 48 After explaining the population
growth of enslaved Blacks, Du Bois attempted to show the resilient spirit
within the African diaspora through a brief discussion of slave rebellions.
“Only two of these [revolts] were large and successful,” he wrote, “[that] of
the Maroons in Jamaica in the seventeenth century, and of Touissant
L’Ouverture in Hayti [sic] in the eighteenth century.” 49
Du Bois’s writing on slave rebellions in the African diaspora was likely
influenced by his meeting other Africans in the diaspora from the late
nineteenth century until around 1900. Before coming to London for the
URC in 1911, he had attended the First Pan-African Conference, held in
July 1900.
After identifying the social discourses that justified slavery, Du Bois
illustrated the agency of Black Americans during Reconstruction. Once
they learned of the US political system, “the Negroes secured a better class
of white and Negro leaders.” With these new leaders, reasoned Du Bois,
came “a more democratic form of government,” “free public schools,” and
“the beginnings of a new social legislation.” 50 These relative successes
were short-lived. Beginning in 1890, the neocolonialism against Black
Americans took full hold. Virtually all Blacks were excluded from voting,
as well as from other political and social opportunities afforded to first-class
citizens. “With this legislation have gone various restrictive laws to curtail
the social, civil, and economic freedom of all persons of Negro descent,”
wrote Du Bois. The legitimacy of Black exclusion from social, economic,
and political arenas, he reasoned, constituted “the Negro problem.” Of
course, Du Bois reminded his audience that the “Negro problem” was
actually an American, white supremacist problem.
Eastman’s paper offered a similarly broad history of American Indians.
His intention, however, like his life’s focus, was to bridge the white and
American Indian worlds, to show the former the virtues of a “simple” life