Oberlin, Hotbed of Abolitionism
College, Community, and the Fight for Freedom and Equality in Antebellum America
J. Brent Morris
Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Published: 09/2014
Pages: 352
Subject: History, Social Science
| University of North Carolina
Print ISBN: 9.78E+12
eBook ISBN: 9781469618289
DESCRIPTION
By exploring the role of Oberlin--the college and the community--in
fighting against slavery and for social equality, J. Brent Morris
establishes this "hotbed of abolitionism" as the core of the
antislavery movement in the West and as one of the most influential
reform groups in antebellum America. As the first college to admit
men and women of all races, and with a faculty and community
comprised of outspoken abolitionists, Oberlin supported a cadre of
activist missionaries devoted to emancipation, even if that was
through unconventional methods or via an abandonment of strict
ideological consistency. Their philosophy was a color-blind
composite of various schools of antislavery thought aimed at
supporting the best hope of success. Though historians have
embraced Oberlin as a potent symbol of egalitarianism, radicalism,
and religious zeal, Morris is the first to portray the complete
history behind this iconic antislavery symbol.
In this book, Morris shifts the focus of generations of antislavery
scholarship from the East and demonstrates that the West's
influence was largely responsible for a continuous infusion of
radicalism that helped the movement stay true to its most
progressive principles.