Antebellum Oberlin's Commitment to Antislavery:

Radical or Not-Radical-Enough?

History 268

September 17, 2002

You will be placed on a team to marshal arguments for discussion in class either defending Oberlin's radicalism or attacking around one of two sets of issues: (1)the original antislavery commitment or (2)the nature of the antislavery commitment as it evolved in the late 1840s and 1850s.  Your team should look at the texts assigned for class to find evidence to support your point of view.  The questions listed below should serve as ŇpromptsÓ to help you organize your thoughts. 

I:          The Origins of Oberlin's Antislavery Commitment

1.              What was the meaning of the closeness of Oberlin's 1835 vote to enroll students irrespective of color?  Who voted on each side and why?

2.              How important were economic incentives in the Oberlin decision to embrace students of color?  How important were religious commitments?

3.              What does the Constitution of the Oberlin Antislavery Society mean when it states as its object:

Our object is the immediate emancipation of the whole colored race within the United States: The emancipation of the slave from the oppression of the master, the emancipation of the free colored man from the oppression of public sentiment, and the elevation of both to an intellectual, moral, and political equality with the whites.

How ŇradicalÓ were these objectives?  What can we say about conceptions of social and political equality?

4.              Why did antebellum Oberlin align its antislavery commitments in opposition to William Lloyd Garrison's American Antislavery Association?

II.        The Evolution of Oberlin's Antislavery Commitment, 1840-1861

  1. Did race relations at Oberlin College and in the Oberlin Community develop in parallel?  Think about similarities and differences
  2. What was the relationship between the African American community in the town of Oberlin and the African American students at the Oberlin Collegiate Institute?
  3. What does the biography of John Mercer Langston tell us about race and radicalism in antebellum Oberlin?
  4. What does the history of the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue tell us about race and radicalism in antebellum Oberlin?
  5. What kinds of evidence do you think would best help you discuss Oberlin's antislavery commitment, 1840-1861?