A Hierarchical System of Oppression

One of the aspects of “A Matter of Principle” that struck me most was the way in which the story portrays (and points to the irony in) a hierarchical system of racial discrimination and oppression. In the beginning of the story, Mr. Clayton articulates the discrimination he faces as a man of “mixed” race. He claims, “the white people lump us all together as negroes, and condemn us all to the same social ostracism” but defends, “I don’t accept this classification…and I imagine that, as the chief party in interest, I have a right to my own opinion” (67). In this statement, Mr. Clayton expresses his desire to associate with white people because his biological makeup is primarily white and because he believes he is entitled to his own self-identification. The great irony of the story is that he is blind to his own racism and to how he deflects the oppression he experiences onto people who have a darker skin tone than him, such as Congressman Hamilton Brown. Hamilton Brown’s name itself is perhaps a paradox. It associates Hamilton (perhaps a reference to Alexander Hamilton, a prominent white political figure in American history) with the color brown.

This hierarchical system of oppression is further highlighted by the narrator’s description of marriage relations. The narrator gives insight into societal norms by stating that “Miss Clayton and her friends, by reason of their assumed superiority of black people, or perhaps as much by reason of a somewhat morbid shrinking from the curiosity manifested toward married people of strongly contrasting colors, would not marry black men, and except in a rare instance would white men would not marry them” (69). The narrator conveys three things in this long sentence: that society generally disapproves of interracial couples, that women who appear “white” reject black men as suitable partners, and that white men would not marry women of mixed race. The story creates a world in which white men are superior to all and in which racial makeup, rather than gender, determine all other positions in the social hierarchy. There is a system of oppression that “trickles down” from white men. Ironically, Mr. Clayton goes to great lengths to prevent his daughter from “mixing” socially with black men when in fact she and Mr. Clayton have a mixed racial identity.

            After Mr. Clayton believes that Congressman Brown is dark-skinned, he is determined to entirely disassociate himself from him and must place his family in total isolation to do so. His blindness to his own racism is apparent in his claim, “we’ll have to do this thoroughly, or our motives will be misconstrued, and people will say we are prejudiced and all that, when it is only a matter of principles with us” (79). Even after creating an elaborate scheme to avoid hosting Congressman Brown for fear of societal scrutiny, he worries society may also perceive his plan as prejudice. There is no way in which he can truly win society’s approval. Furthermore, he tries to convince himself and his family that their racism is based on “principles” rather than skin tone. He is desperately and helplessly trying to defy the system of oppression and social hierarchy in the world of the story.