The Negro and the American Dream

In England recently Mr. James Baldwin appeared before the Cambridge Union, an ancient and illustrious debating society whose officials have included Thomas Macaulay, William Thackeray and John Maynard Keynes, to argue the motion that “The American dream is at the expense of the American Negro.” (I appeared as the negative guest speaker.) The motion carried by about 3-1. On the showing of the Cambridge Union,

British youth would appear to believe that American progress towards the American dream requires the exploitation of the American Negro, an assumption so preposterous as to raise interesting questions about the land that believes this superstition, rather than about the land in which it is allegedly practiced.

About the Author

William F. Buckley Jr.

William F. Buckley Jr. founded National Review magazine in 1955.

Featured Tags

William F. Buckley Jr.

America

Britain

England

In England recently Mr. James Baldwin appeared before the Cambridge Union, an ancient and illustrious debating society whose officials have included Thomas Macaulay, William Thackeray and John Maynard Keynes, to argue the motion that “The American dream is at the expense of the American Negro.” (I appeared as the negative guest speaker.) The motion carried by about 3-1. On the showing of the Cambridge Union,

British youth would appear to believe that American progress towards the American dream requires the exploitation of the American Negro, an assumption so preposterous as to raise interesting questions about the land that believes this superstition, rather than about the land in which it is allegedly practiced.