John Witherspoon and Slavery: Ideology versus Praxis
This article reassesses the life and legacy of John Knox Witherspoon on the basis of his relationship to slavery. It argues that Witherspoon's ideological commitment to Presbyterianism came into constant tension with the realities of slavery both in his native Scotland and in the burgeoning Ame...
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| Tipo de documento: | Electrónico Artículo |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Verificar disponibilidad: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Publicado: |
Sage Publ.
2024
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| En: |
Theology today
Año: 2024, Volumen: 80, Número: 4, Páginas: 383-394 |
| Clasificaciones IxTheo: | KAH Edad Moderna KBF Islas Británicas KBQ América del Norte KDD Iglesia evangélica NBE Antropología NCA Ética |
| Otras palabras clave: | B
African American history
B Slavery B colonial America B Higher Education B Scotland B Christianity |
| Acceso en línea: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Sumario: | This article reassesses the life and legacy of John Knox Witherspoon on the basis of his relationship to slavery. It argues that Witherspoon's ideological commitment to Presbyterianism came into constant tension with the realities of slavery both in his native Scotland and in the burgeoning American colony he eventually called home. Three snapshots in Witherspoon's life encapsulate this tension: his interaction with Jamie Montgomery, an enslaved man whom Witherspoon baptized in Scotland; his contributions to the scheme to train two free African Americans—John Quamine and Bristol Yamma—for their mission to Africa; and his tutoring of John Chavis, a free Black man from Virginia, at the same time he held property in slaves. Most accounts of Witherspoon's life fail to interrogate these snapshots and so fail to grasp a nuanced portrait of the imminent figure. This article parses through his unequal treatment of the African Americans he taught and the African Americans he enslaved to deliver a new reading of Witherspoon. This reading, in turn, maps onto a broader reconsideration of the founding principles of the early United States. |
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| ISSN: | 2044-2556 |
| Obras secundarias: | Enthalten in: Theology today
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/00405736231207552 |