The Relations of Negroes and Indians in Massachusetts (1920)

"Woodson's major argument in this piece is that black and Indian intermarriage occurred to such a degree in Massachusetts, that Native communities there should be defined as melting pots." - A Companion to African American History (2008)

"Woodson described 'the relations of Negroes and Indians' as 'one of the longest unwritten chapters in the history of the United States.'" - History's Memory (2004)

Did Native American tribe serve as a frequent refuge for run-away slaves and did subsequent African-American intermarriage result in a large "melting pot" in Native American tribes in Massachusetts?

In 1920, African-American historian Carter Godwin Woodson (1875 -1950) published a short 12-page work titled "The Relations of Negroes and Indians in Massachusetts."

In introducing his work, Woodson

"One of the longest unwritten chapters of the history of the United States is that treating of the relations of the Negroes and Indians. The Indians were already here when the white men came and the Negroes brought in soon after to serve as a subject race found among the Indians one of their means of escape....Statistics show, however, that in spite of this impediment to the escape of Negroes to Indian communities, a considerable number of blacks availed themselves of this opportunity...."

About the

Carter Godwin Woodson (1875 -1950) was an American historian, author, journalist, and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. He was one of the first scholars to study the history of the African diaspora, including African-American history.

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