Academics

Dear Colleague,

As director, I invite you to apply to become one of twenty-five participants in an exciting teachers’ institute on Abolitionism and the Underground Railroad in Upstate New York to be held at Colgate University from June 27-July 23, 2010. The National Endowment for the Humanities is sponsoring this institute and has designated it as a “We the People” project. In this letter I want to share with you the excitement I feel about the institute and encourage you to apply.

The Underground Railroad has a history that most contemporary Americans find invigorating and rewarding. Developing concurrently with the abolitionist movement against slavery, the Underground Railroad is an indicator of the genuine love of freedom shared by many Americans today. The battle to end slavery stemmed from the core values of the American Revolution. Some of these values were enshrined in our Constitution; others remained contested in the first half of the nineteenth century. Issues of freedom and equality for men were settled in the cauldron of the Civil War, though political freedoms for women had to wait until the twentieth century, except in a few western states.

Join me as we discover how black and white Americans put their lives on the line toward establishing universal American freedom through the Underground Railroad and the abolitionist movement. As I will detail in this letter, we will read and discuss significant primary documents and key interpretations, listen to some of the nation’s leading experts on the Underground Railroad and Abolitionism, spend evenings watching apposite films and enjoy the facilities of the beautiful Colgate campus during the best season.

Let me tell you more about my plans and the people who will help me make this institute a great experience for you. Upstate New York was one of the most important centers of abolitionist activity from the early 1830s until the Civil War and home to key figures including Gerrit Smith, Jermain Loguen, Beriah Green, Frederick Douglass, John Brown, and Harriet Tubman.  The upstate region is now home to the institution dedicated to commemorating the courage and commitment of these patriots, the National Abolition Hall of Fame located in Peterboro, New York.

Three major “tracks” of the Underground Railroad ran through upstate New York to Canada. On the east side of the state, freedom seekers found sanctuary and assistance from New York City up the Hudson River through the Adirondack Region. In the middle of the state, Underground Railroad routes ran through Ithaca to Rochester and from Binghamton to Syracuse. The third route encompassed the western corridor through Fredonia, Buffalo, and Niagara Falls. Abolitionists in upstate New York deeply influenced the rise of the Underground Railroad there and in Ohio, which became inflamed with antislavery in part through the efforts of agents from the Empire State. New Yorkers were also connected with abolitionists and Underground Railroad workers in New England, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and Virginia.

Participants will study the beginnings of upstate New York’s abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad from their origins in the egalitarian and freedom-loving ethos of revolutionary and early national periods through the Civil War. As institute speaker Fergus Bordewich argues in his fine study, Bound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America, the development of radical abolitionism and the Underground Railroad were intertwined from their beginnings throughout the North and Midwest. These interwoven currents began with the emergence of gradual emancipation in the northern states and African American determination to find liberty as fulfillment of the American Revolution. Even more than the numbers of African Americans who gained freedom by gradual emancipation of slaves, blacks sought self-determination through courtroom battles, by personal agreements with masters and mistresses, and most commonly, scholars agree, by flight from bondage.

In 1799 New York State enacted gradual emancipation. A bill passed in 1817 set the date for final extirpation of slavery on July 4, 1827. Only New Jersey took longer to end slavery, not passing a gradual emancipation act in 1804. Still there was much to be done in New York State. Its African American population faced harsh legal restrictions and growing racism after 1827. They connected their lack of civil liberties with those of enslaved peoples in the southern states. At the same time, a rising educated African American elite in the North was determined to protect endangered freedom and to fight kidnappers intent on profits from illicit sales of blacks to the south, actions which created connections for New York State blacks with enslaved peoples in the southern states. Among whites, such forces as evangelical religion, the legacy of the American Revolution, and concerns the political power of the slave south sustained growing anti-slavery and free labor convictions in the state and in the northern states generally. These themes demonstrate the combined efforts of African and white Americans, the importance of female participation, and the development of abolitionism and the Underground Railroad on the local level. Beginning in the 1830s and swelling in numbers and impact in succeeding decades, white and black activists in upstate New York, in union with colleagues in New York City, created an abolitionist movement that shook society to its roots. Americans find the histories of the Underground Railroad and the abolitionist movement appealing because they represent the moral activism of a concerned, enlightened citizenry often working across racial boundaries. Such activists encouraged society to live up to its principles and ultimately vanquish slavery, an inherently unequal and unfair social system.

The schedule begins with registration and a welcome dinner and introduction to the curriculum on the afternoon and evening of Sunday, June 27. All participants are expected to arrive on Sunday. The institute begins on the morning of June 28 when I lecture and discuss the lengthy history of slavery in New York colony and state and about the development of gradual emancipation. I have invited and received confirmations from some of the best scholars in antebellum American History to speak at our sessions. Manisha Sinha of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and author of many insightful articles and books on abolitionism will speak on Monday afternoon about black abolitionist historiography and activism. Tuesday, David Gellman of DePauw University and author of Jim Crow New York and Emancipating New York will lead discussions of the legal restrictions of African American citizens even after the end of slavery and the rise of racism in the state at the time of initial antislavery efforts. On Tuesday afternoon, Gellman and I will use primary documents to explore methods of emancipation. Later on Tuesday, Emily Hutton-Hughes, head of acquisitions at Colgate’s Case library, will demonstrate the many databases available to institute participants. On Monday and Tuesday evenings, we will watch the four part PBS series, Slavery and the Making of America. On Wednesday, I (Web Page) will lecture and discuss, using my new book, David Ruggles, A Radical Black Abolitionist and the Underground Railroad in New York City, how blacks strived to combat slavery and protect their rights in New York State. I will also use primary documents to enhance discussion. On Thursday, Patrick Rael of Bowdoin College and author of Black Identity & Black Protest in the Antebellum North, will lecture on free black life. He and I will lead the afternoon discussion. On Friday, Craig Wilder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of In the Company of Black Men; the African Influence in African American Culture in New York City, will talk about black nationalism and abolitionism.

We will kick off the second week on Sunday, July 4 with a barbecue following the annual Hamilton town parade. On Monday, July 5, Fergus Bordewich, author of Bound for Canaan and many other books, will lecture on the coalescing of the Underground Railroad in the 1840s and its explosive national presence in the 1850s. The following day, we will travel to Seneca Falls and Auburn, New York, where Judith Wellman, Professor Emerita from SUNY-Oswego, and author of The Road to Seneca Falls: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the First Woman’s Rights Convention, will meet us there and lecture about abolitionism, feminism and the Underground Railroad. Professor Wellman is one of New York State’s leading authorities on the Underground Railroad. On Wednesday morning, Lawrence Hill, author of Someone Knows My Name, a sterling novel about black resistance to slavery and winner of the 2008 British Commonwealth Prize, will speak on the Underground Railroad, abolitionism and fiction. In the afternoon, Milton Sernett, Professor Emeritus at Syracuse University and author of North Star Country, the best book on upstate abolitionism, will lecture and give his wonderful slide show on Harriet Tubman. In the evening there will be a showing of the film Whispers of Angels, about the Underground Railroad. On July 8 & 9, James and Lois Horton (two different websites), two of the most prolific writers and lecturers on the Underground Railroad will discuss teaching slavery and the Underground Railroad in the classroom. James Horton is Professor Emeritus at George Washington University and chief historical consultant for the recent Slavery in New York exhibit at the New-York Historical Society and expert consultant for innumerable PBS shows on slavery and black life. Lois Horton is Professor of Sociology at James Mason University, author of many books and article with her husband and in her own name and is an expert on the Underground Railroad.

The third week will begin on Monday, July 12 with Marcus Rediker of the University of Pittsburg and author of the recent book, The Slave Ship. He will lecture from his forthcoming work on the famous Amistad Case of 1839-1841. On July 13, we will travel a short distance to Peterboro in the morning to hear a lecture by Norman Dann, Professor Emeritus at SUNY-Morrisville and author of Practical Dreamer, the recent biography of Gerrit Smith, the famous upstate abolitionist and financial angel of the movement. The lecture will be held at the Smithfield Community Hall where the 1835 New York State Anti-Slavery Convention occurred. Professor Dann will give us a tour of the Smith estate. In the afternoon, we will bus a few miles to Cazenovia to hear Hugh Humphrey, a former judge and author of an outstanding pamphlet of the famous Cazenovia Fugitive Slave Convention of 1850, talk about the event and guide us through its site. On Wednesday, July 14, Barbara Regenspan, Professor of Education at Colgate will lecture and discuss the making of teaching plans about abolitionism and the Underground Railroad. In the afternoon, I will lecture on Frederick Douglass’s career in New York State after 1847. On Thursday, Bruce Laurie, Professor-Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and author of Beyond Garrison, will lecture and discuss abolitionism at the local level in the northeast during the 1840s and 1850s. On Friday, we will have discussion and library time.

Opening the last week on Monday, July 19 is Douglas Egerton, Professor of History at LeMoyne College, and author of many books including a new one on the election of 1860. He will discuss the crisis of the 1850s and in the afternoon, discuss with the director the legacy of the American Revolution and the abolitionist movement. On Tuesday, Richard Newman, Professor of History at Rochester Institute of Technology, and author of the Transformation of American Abolitionism, will talk about black abolitionists and the crisis of the 1850s. Discussion will continue in the afternoon. On Wednesday, Julie Jeffrey, Professor at Goucher College and author of Abolitionists Remember: Antislavery Autobiographies & the Unfinished Work of Emancipation, will talk about the post civil war memory of abolitionism. On Wednesday evening, John Stauffer, Professor at Harvard University, will give a talk on Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass from his book Giants: The Parallel Lives of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. On Thursday, Stauffer will discuss his work The Black Hearts of Men: Radical Abolitionists and the Transformation of Race. On Thursday afternoon, the class will look at coverage of the John Brown trial of 1859 using the databases Harpweek and America’s Historical Newspapers. In the evening participants can watch the film Glory, on the famous black regiment of the Civil War. The last day, the class will discuss the participation of black and white New Yorkers in the Civil War, followed by a wrap-up discussion Participants will receive copies of the major works of the speakers including most of the titles mention above as well as course packs of important primary materials.

Let me now discuss some of the logistics of the institute. As this schedule indicates, we will share an intense and rewarding four weeks together. Except where noted, all sessions will be held in Alumni Hall on Colgate’s campus. Participants will have access to Case Library, which is open from eight a.m. to five p.m. Monday through Friday during the summer. There may be extended evening hours as well. Case Library is a newly renovated, state-of-the-art library of over 700,000 volumes, plus periodicals, e-journals, government documents, and dozens of appropriate web-based archives. Institute participants will receive a special university card, which will provide access to the library and the university’s Internet system. There will be “library breaks” during the day so that participants may use the library collection. After five p.m. participants can use their card to gain access to the top floor of the library which has many computer terminals, classrooms, rest areas and large comfortable chairs on which to relax and enjoy the view of the campus and town of Hamilton. The card will also provide access to the university dining hall where three meals a day are available throughout the week. In addition to the academic resources, all of the recreational resources of campus are included in the room charge. The facilities are excellent and include tennis courts, racquetball / squash courts, a state-of-the-art fitness center, swimming pool, and boating on nearby Lake Moraine (Athletic Facilities at Colgate). 

While there are no formal writing requirements for the institute, participants may develop lesson plans in conjunction with Professors Regenspan and Hodges.

Participants will live during the seminar at Cutten Hall, one of the university’s modern dormitories for the full three weeks. Cutten Hall does not have air conditioning, but Hamilton’s climate rarely requires it. The dormitory has individual rooms, bathrooms shared by only two people, plentiful common rooms, and a small kitchenette. There will be a dedicated floor in the dormitory for the institute. The dormitory is located very near the library, gym and fitness center, hiking trails, has ample, free parking and is easily accessible to the town. Participants are neither encouraged nor discouraged from bringing their families with them. The dormitory is not appropriate for family living but, if your family plans to come to Hamilton, Colgate will assist you in finding alternative housing. For residents in the dormitory, housing, university facility fees and meal costs are expected to be about $58-60 per day. There are charges per day for sheets and towels included in this fee, but you may save some money by bringing your own. There will be additional charges for spouses and other overnight guests. For an expanded discussion of housing options, please use this link. 

Colgate University is aware that the institute participants will be mature adults and teaching professionals. Therefore institute participants will be designated as “visiting scholars.” Each participant will receive $3300 stipend to help defray costs of the seminar and transportation to and from your home. Colgate University policy provides participants with half their stipend upon arrival. Participants taking advantage of the inexpensive housing and meal plan can pay for these benefits with the second installment. That will be given out in the middle of the second week. In addition to the activities on campus, participants should enjoy the many events in the town, which is a short walk from the school. Mid-summer is probably the best time of year to be in Hamilton, with its writers’ workshops at the university, farmers’ markets, opera houses, antique fairs, and evening concerts on the town green. Colgate University has extensive experience with summer groups, and “rolls out the red carpet” for them. Participants will have weekends free for relaxation and contemplation. For those seeking recreation beyond Hamilton, the Adirondack Mountains are within two hours drive as are many other attractions in upstate New York.

Applications should be sent to Professor Graham Russell Hodges, NEH Summer Institute for Teachers, Upstate Institute, Colgate University, Hamilton, New York 13346. In your application please spend special effort on an essay that includes relevant personal academic information; your interest, both personal and intellectual in the topic; qualifications to do the work of the project and make a contribution to it; what you hope to accomplish by participation, including any research and writing projects and the relation of the study to your teaching. I welcome your application and ask that it be postmarked by March 1, 2010. Sincerely, Graham Russell Hodges George Dorland Langdon, Jr. Professor of History