Righteous Radicalism: Oberlin Abolitionism from 1839 to 1859
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Date
2013-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Despite the vast research and writing done on abolitionism in the United States and in particular, Oberlin Ohio’s anti-slavery activity, there seems to be little done on what exactly caused the slide in methods from Christian Perfectionism to outright radicalism for the men from Oberlin. Historians who hail from the college itself had done most writings on Oberlin abolitionism, and so they take a rather positive view on the abolitionist activity there. Other writings portray abolitionists simply as criminally radical monomaniacs. In regard to Oberlin both assessments appear to be true. And after analyzing numerous books, newspapers, letters, speeches and articles, it can be stated that the cause of the turn to radicalism for Oberlin was a series of political, legislative and judicial disappointments at the hands of the Federal government. This study looks at Oberlin’s slide from righteousness to radicalism, which took place over a particularly disheartening twenty-year period from 1839 to 1859 and culminated with a fugitive slave rescue from Federal marshals and a failed raid on a Federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Of those who participated and died as a result of the raid were Ohioans John Brown and two men from Oberlin. Additionally, it is often said that these two violent events helped to push the southern slavocracy toward secession, which inadvertently led to emancipation and the Thirteenth Amendment. This study lends credence to both traditional views of Oberlin abolitionism, which exemplifies both heroic righteousness as well as violent radicalism.
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Keywords
Oberlin, Abolition, Anti-Slavery, Liberty Party, John Brown