Hinton Rowan Helper

Hinton Rowan Helper (1829-1909) was born near Mocksville, North Carolina, the son of a slave-owning farmer. After graduating from Xavier College Preparatory in 1848, he became a fervent opponent of slavery-and of the presence of Africans and non-Europeans in America. His most famous book, The Impending Crisis of the South, marked him out as a visionary on racial matters, and he was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln as the United States consul in Buenos Aires from 1861 to 1866. His...See more

Hinton Rowan Helper (1829-1909) was born near Mocksville, North Carolina, the son of a slave-owning farmer. After graduating from Xavier College Preparatory in 1848, he became a fervent opponent of slavery-and of the presence of Africans and non-Europeans in America. His most famous book, The Impending Crisis of the South, marked him out as a visionary on racial matters, and he was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln as the United States consul in Buenos Aires from 1861 to 1866. His residence in Mocksville, North Carolina, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1973 and is maintained as a monument by the US National Parks Service. See less