Drapetomania

Drapetomania was a conjectural mental illness that, in 1851, American physician Samuel A. Cartwright hypothesized as the cause of enslaved Africans fleeing captivity. It has since been debunked as pseudoscience and part of the edifice of scientific racism.

History[edit | edit source]

Samuel A. Cartwright, a Southern physician, coined the term "drapetomania" in a paper delivered before the Medical Association of Louisiana that was widely reprinted. He stated that the malady was unknown to our medical authorities, although its diagnostic symptom, the absconding from service, is well known to our planters and overseers.

In addition to identifying drapetomania, Cartwright prescribed a remedy. His feeling was that with "proper medical advice, strictly followed, this troublesome practice that many Negroes have of running away can be almost entirely prevented." In the case of slaves "sulky and dissatisfied without cause"—a warning sign of imminent flight—Cartwright prescribed "whipping the devil out of them" as a "preventative measure."

Criticism and Legacy[edit | edit source]

The concept of drapetomania has been widely debunked as pseudoscience and is considered to be part of the edifice of scientific racism. The term is currently used to illustrate the historical and systemic pathologization of black behavior.

References[edit | edit source]

Drapetomania Resources
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