he theory laid out by previous historians, that Slavery in South America was more humane, because of the sympathy of the Catholic Church towards slavery, and Portuguese Laws, which recognized the human rights of slaves. Believed to be in direct contrast with American slavery, which held that slaves were chattel property and possessed no rights the law was required to recognize. The Historians credited with advancing this position were; Frank Tannenbaum in his book Slave and Citizen: The Negro in the Americas (Alfred A. Knopf, New York: 1946) and Stanley M. Elkins in his book Slavery: A Problem in American Institutional and Intellectual Life (Chicago University Press: 1959). However, after further examination Mr. Degler changes his opinion and within the text of his book Neither Black nor White, presents data that substantiates the claim, that there was little or no difference in the legal definition of slavery between Brazil and the United States. He also argues that Brazilian slavery was physically harsher, thereby less humane, than that of the United States. The author offers six chapters in an effort to support his conclusions. Chronologically outlined the chapters are; The Challenge of the Contrast, Slavery Compared, The Outer Burdens of Color, The Roots of Difference, and A Contrast in the Future? The purpose of chapter One is two define the contrasts in background between Brazil and the United States. Degler systematically examines several topics including: history, education, literature, visual arts, segregation, and engineering. Within each topic Mr. Degler gives concise examples of how Brazil embraced Negro contributions where American counterparts either suppressed or totally negated the possibility of Negro contribution. By illustrating the differences between the two countries, the author is preparing the reader to explore the question; how did countries with similar systems of slavery develop such different ideologies with regards to the acceptance of Negroes in society. The Second and lengthiest chapter of Mr. Degler’s book is entitled, Slavery Compared. As the title suggests the author closely compares slavery between the two countries. The basis for his examination is the nineteenth century. The two factors that facilitated the selection of this time period where, that slavery was well established in both countries, and a wealth of evidence existed for making the comparison, during the time period. Under the sub-title, Who Protects the Slave’s Humanity? The author chronicles the fact that there was virtually no difference in the legal definition of a slave between the two countries. This is

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