Looking forward to picking the brains of the outstanding Reference Librarians at the American Philosophical Society (APS) this summer.
So many abolitionists were members and certainly Founding Fathers. I’ll be following up on Thomas Jefferson’s presidency of the APS and whether or not the intellectual visionaries addressed or avoided commentary on slavery in the United States. Thanks to APS Library Patrick Spero, I have some leads to begin to research, and this work will be exciting.
Feel free to share leads, and as always, when I speak or publish, I will acknowledge all intellectual helpers.
Speaking of helpers, I want to thank three scholars who helped me with fellowship applications this Spring. My colleague Maurice Jackson always pushes me to be generous and open-minded about historical ideas on Quakers, slavery, and freedom. International Scholar Peter Onuf has been so generous for years since I enrolled in a Constitutional Seminar at the New York Historical Society where he and Annette Gordon-Reed addressed Jefferson, race, and the American constitution. Peter’s sharp-eyed criticism is making me a better writer, and I believe his support was instrumental in my securing a Fellowship with the International Center of Jefferson Studies just next to Jefferson’s home and slave plantation, Monticello where I will be August 2020. Kean University Acting Dean of Liberal Arts Jonathan Mercantini wrote another critical letter for the ICJS fellowship and we have worked together for almost ten years on teaching and research projects.
What intrigues me is why Quakers or Quaker abolitionists would sell goods to slaveholding men? As smart person once asked me, “How can a person be against slavery and own slaves or work for slave owners?” That’s a great question. My research is looking at Quakers that worked for directly or with Jefferson, and the complication of holding anti-slavery values and making money off slavery.
I promise to post more regularly, and thank all the scholars and human rights activists, present and past, who inspired me to challenge conventional ideas.
Be well,
Sue K.
skozelabolition 