"In his book, Grégoire systematically refutes all the major arguments for the inferiority of blacks, countering them with examples showing how blacks and black societies possess the same elements of intellect and civilization found in white societies. Its examples of African-American achievement, especially the biographical listings in Chapter VII, remained a standard source for abolitionist writings throughout the nineteenth century"--Jeffrey Makala, http://delphi.tcl.sc.edu/library/digital/collections/gregoireabout.html

Amongst other things, this book is a devastating critique of Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia, in which he mused about black inferiority. Its publication in 1810, after Jefferson's opposition to its appearance, was a major event for African Americans.

"The Abbé Henri-Baptiste Grégoire (1750-1831), a Catholic priest and bishop, was a leading French abolitionist at the turn of the eighteenth century, a participant in the Revolution of 1789, and a member of its governing assembly. His work An Enquiry Concerning the Intellectual and Moral Faculties and Literature of Negroes was first published in 1808. The first edition in English, the complete text of which is included here, was brought out in 1810 by Brooklyn printer Thomas Kirk"--Digital Collections home page.

Excerpt from An Enquiry Concerning the Intellectual and Moral Faculties, and Literature of Negroes: Followed With an Account of the Life and Works of Fifteen Negroes and Mulattoes, Distinguished in Science, Literature and the Arts I beg leave to inform the reader that this transla tion was made from the manuscript of the author'; and with such haste, that an apology for its imper. Fections is necessary. The only merit I dare to claim, ifmerit it can be called, is that of not hav. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

"In his book, Grégoire systematically refutes all the major arguments for the inferiority of blacks, countering them with examples showing how blacks and black societies possess the same elements of intellect and civilization found in white societies. Its examples of African-American achievement, especially the biographical listings in Chapter VII, remained a standard source for abolitionist writings throughout the nineteenth century"--Jeffrey Makala, http://delphi.tcl.sc.edu/library/digital/collections/gregoireabout.html