Date Awarded
2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Department
History
Advisor
Melvin P Ely
Committee Member
Hannah Rosen
Committee Member
Andrew Fisher
Abstract
Policies of Purity: Anti-miscegenation Policies and Multiracial Tribes in Virginia and North Carolina This paper explores the official policies and laws implemented in North Carolina and Virginia in the early twentieth century that restricted the freedoms of Afro-Indigenous tribes. Specifically, this essay discusses acts like the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 and its effects on the Monacan people of Virginia as well as various policies in North Carolina that restricted access to equal education for the Lumbee people. A secondary goal of this essay is to explain how far-reaching the effects of these policies have been on multiracial tribes. Perceptions of Performance: Evolving Media Portrayals of Black Sideshow Performers, 1852-1950 This paper discusses the ways in which evolving cultural attitudes affected media depictions of Black sideshow performers throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Two different sets of performers are used as case studies: Millie and Christine McKoy, conjoined twins born into slavery in North Carolina, and George and Willie Muse, albino brothers born in Virginia. By comparing and contrasting their lives and their portrayals in the media, this essay aims to show how increasing interest in eugenics and Jim Crow attitudes affected how performers were advertised and discussed.
DOI
https://dx.doi.org/10.21220/s2-hq5v-br83
Rights
© The Author
Recommended Citation
Brabble, Jessica, "The Age Of Eugenics: Exploring Intersections Of Race, Disability, And Eugenics In United States Culture, 1850-1950" (2022). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. William & Mary. Paper 1673281610.
https://dx.doi.org/10.21220/s2-hq5v-br83
