''The Leopard's Spots: A Romance of the White Man's Burden—1865–1900'' is the first novel of Thomas Dixon's

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology * Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

trilogy, and was followed by '' The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan'' (1905), and '' The Traitor: A Story of the Fall of the Invisible Empire'' (1907). In the novel, published in 1902, Dixon offers an account of

in which he portrays a Reconstruction leader (and former slave driver), Northern

carpetbagger In the history of the United States, carpetbagger is a largely historical term used by Southerners to describe opportunistic Northerners who came to the Southern states after the American Civil War, who were perceived to be exploiting the l ...

s, and emancipated slaves as the villains; Ku Klux Klan members are anti-heroes. While the playbills and program for ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play ''The Clan ...

'' claimed ''The Leopard's Spots'' as a source in addition to ''The Clansman'', recent scholars do not accept this. A passage from the

Book of Jeremiah The Book of Jeremiah ( he, ספר יִרְמְיָהוּ) is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and the second of the Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. The superscription at chapter Jeremiah 1:1–3 identifies the b ...

(13:23) is included on the title page: "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?" The title conveyed the idea that as leopards could not change their spots, people of African origin could not change what Dixon, as a racist and

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...

, viewed as inherently negative character traits.

A reply to ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel '' Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the har ...

's landmark novel of 1852, '' Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'', had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U.S. and is said to have "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War". It was still widely read fifty years after its publication. According to Dixon, whose contact with the work was a dramatized version, Stowe "grossly misrepresent d the American South, and he felt her sympathetic portrayal of African Americans demanded revision. So as to make it clear he is answering Stowe, he presents his version of Stowe's characters, using Stowe's character names.

Characters

Leading characters of the story (as listed in the book)

* Charles Gaston – A man who dreams of making it to the Governor's Mansion * Sallie Worth – A daughter of the old-fashioned South * Gen. Daniel Worth – Her father * Mrs. Worth – Sallie's mother * The Rev. John Durham – A preacher who threw his life away * Mrs. Durham – Of the Southern Army that never surrendered * Tom Camp – A one-legged Confederate soldier * Flora – Tom's little daughter * Simon Legree – Ex-slave driver and Reconstruction leader * Allan Mcleod – A

scalawag In United States history, the term scalawag (sometimes spelled scallawag or scallywag) referred to white Southerners who supported Reconstruction policies and efforts after the conclusion of the American Civil War. As with the term ''carpetb ...

* Hon. Everett Lowell – Member of Congress from Boston * Helen Lowell – His daughter * Miss Susan Walker – A maiden of Boston * Major Stuart Dameron – Chief of the Ku Klux Klan * Hose Norman – A dare-devil poor white man * Nelse – A black hero of the old régime * Aunt Eve – His wife – "a respectable woman." * Hon. Tim Sheldby – Political boss of the new era * Hon. Pete Sawyer – Sold seven times, got the money once * George Harris, Jr. – An Educated Negro, son of Eliza * Dick – An unsolved riddle

Using names of characters in ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''

* Simon Legree – In ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''; a cruel master, hateful of religion, superstitious, and determined to “break” Tom * Tom Camp – In Stowe's novel Tom (no last name) is a humble African-American slave and "Mr. Shelby's best hand". Dixon's Tom is a former Confederate soldier, a poor white Christian whose family is victimized by black men. * Hon. Tim Shelby – Political boss. In ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' Arthur Shelby was Tom's owner, who " sold him South". His son George Shelby is also a character. * George Harris, Jr – An educated negro

Dramatization

A dramatization by Dixon, with the same title, was produced in New York in 1913.

References

External links

Full text of ''The Leopard's Spots''
''Documenting the American South'', University of North Carolina * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leopards Spots, The 1902 American novels White supremacy in the United States American political novels Novels about the Ku Klux Klan Doubleday, Page & Company books Novels by Thomas Dixon Jr. American novels adapted into films * Wilmington insurrection of 1898 Anti-Tom novels Race-related controversies in literature American novels adapted into plays