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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| Type de support: | Électronique Article |
| Langue: | Anglais |
| Vérifier la disponibilité: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | En cours de chargement...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Publié: |
Sage Publ.
2024
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| Dans: |
Theology today
Année: 2024, Volume: 80, Numéro: 4, Pages: 383-394 |
| Classifications IxTheo: | KAH Époque moderne KBF Îles britanniques KBQ Amérique du Nord KDD Église protestante NBE Anthropologie NCA Éthique |
| Sujets non-standardisés: | B
African American history
B Slavery B colonial America B Higher Education B Scotland B Christianity |
| Accès en ligne: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Résumé: | 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 |
| Contient: | Enthalten in: Theology today
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/00405736231207552 |