'The Delicacy of the Subject': Creating a Proslavery Argument at Antebellum Emory Public

Abstract

This thesis explores the ideological defense of slavery at Emory College between 1834 and 1861.
Emory's intellectual investment in slavery and southern politics is apparent through what
professors lectured, wrote, and privately thought on race, slavery, and eventually, secession.
Emory impressed upon its students a proslavery ideology which evolved with and paralleled
proslavery thought across the South. I trace such thought both in the curriculum and in the
public and private discourse-diaries, letters, student essays, newspaper articles, and other
published materials-of students and professors. By approaching the college through these
sources, I provide a unique understanding of how slavery, states' rights, race, and secession
played a role in students' education. I update the institutional history of Emory and identify a
new method of inquiry for exploration of the interactions between slavery and higher learning.
More generally, this thesis contributes to the historiography of antebellum college education and
student culture in the United States.

Table of Contents

Preface.......................................................................................................1

Introduction: Founding a College in the Proslavery South.................................4

Chapter One: The Clash Between North and South.........................................17

Chapter Two: An Education Fit for Southern Gentlemen..................................40

Chapter Three: Creating a Southern Worldview at Emory College.....................55

Conclusion: Dealing with Slavery in the Present.............................................80

Bibliography.............................................................................................83

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	History
Degree	BA
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	History, United States
Mot-clé	Antbellum South Proslavery History, United States Southern Intellectual Culture Slavery Emory
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Harris, Leslie, Emory University
Committee Members	Crespino, Joseph, Emory University Gadsden, Brett, Emory University Ashmore, Susan, Emory University

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