The blessing of whiteness in the curse of ham: Reading gen 9:18-29 in the antebellum south

Abstract

This essay examines the antebellum history of interpretation surrounding; the curse of Ham in Gen 9:18-29. It explores how modern notions of scientific racism were read into the story as a de facto justification for the tranaatlantic slave trade and the institution of slavery in tha antebellum South. However, more than simply being used as a prooftext for racist agendas, the curse of Ham provided a biblical foil foi" circumscribing a racial rtierarchy whfre whitenase "was positioned as superkw in the figure of Japheth. By consMering key features of the racist antebellum interpretation, I argue that the proslavery rationalization of Christian antebellum writers is rooted in a deracialized whiteness that was biblically produced and blessed with divine authority.