Not to sidetrack things too much, but the anti-slavery racists were just as happy with Darwinism, and they made up most of the political team working with the X Club.

This seems counter-intuitive, but slaves were seen as having a huge economic advantage: they were cheaper than free labour. It was expected that once freed, they'd no longer be able to compete.

The whole story would require another thread, of course.

Dark Matter + Dark Energy = Dark Truth

"We find that such evidence demonstrates that the ID argument is dependent upon setting a scientifically unreasonable burden of proof for the theory of evolution." - Judge Jones Kitzmiller case
http://www.talkreason.org/articles/Falsify.cfm

"To Compel A Man To Furnish Funds For The Propagation Of Ideas He Disbelieves And Abhors Is Sinful And Tyrannical." - Thomas Jefferson

"And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath?" - Thomas Jefferson