Alexander Crummell: A Study of Civilization and Discontent

391 Pages·1989·26.53 MB·English

by  Wilson Jeremiah Moses

ALEXANDER CRUMMELL

ALEXANDER CRUMMELL
A Study of Civilization
and Discontent
Wilson Jeremiah Moses
New York Oxford
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
1989
Frontispiece: Alexander Crummell, from an engraving in Harper's Weekly,
April 4, 1866. Courtesy of the Rhode Island Historical Society.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Moses, Wilson Jeremiah, 1942-
Alexander Crummell : a study of civilization and discontent.
Bibliography: p. includes index.
1. Crummell, Alexander, 1819-1898. 2. Black
nationalism—United States—History—19th century.
3. Pan-Africanism—History—19th century.
4. Afro-Americans—Biography. I. Title.
E185.97.C87M67 1988 973'.0496073'0924 [B] 87-31493
ISBN 0-19-505096-7
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
In memoriam
William Heard Moses
1910-1983
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Acknowledgments
A project such as this is never brought to completion without the support of
numerous other scholars, librarians, archivists, and students, who willingly share
the products of their own research, collegially exchange ideas, or perform other
tasks requiring diligence and common sense. Thanks are due to Clotilda Bar-
nett, George H. Bass, Nell V. Bellamy, E. E. Bigglestone, Randall Burkett,
Todd Cavalier, Jay Coughtry, Adelaide Cromwell, Hadassah Davis, Anani
Dzidzienyo, William Ferraro, John Hope Franklin, Kevin Gaines, Henry Louis
Gates, Jr., William Gravely, E. S. Leedham Green, Carleton Hayden, Eleanor
Hearn, K. Melvin Hendrix, Richard G. Hewlett, Rhett S. Jones, Amalie M.
Kass, Edith Lee, Leon Litwack, William G. McLoughlin, Donna Mitchell,
John Oldfield, James Patterson, F. Garner Ranney, Natalie Robinson, Louis
Rosenfeld, Milton Sernett, Tom Shick, Carl Stockton, John Thompson, and
Vernon Williams.
Research for this biography was funded by grants from the National Endow-
ment for the Humanities. Southern Fellowships Fund, American Council of
Learned Societies, American Philosophical Society, National Research Coun-
cil, Ford Foundation, and National Academy of Sciences. I also acknowledge
the support of the Brown University Library, Southern Methodist University
Library, Library of Congress, New York Public Library, New-York Historical
Society, Rhode Island Historical Society, Cambridge University Library, Li-
brary of Rhodes House in Oxford University, Archives of Oberlin College,
Widener Library of Harvard University, Columbia University Library, Johns
Hopkins University Library, Archives of the Diocese of Maryland, Archives of
the Episcopal Church, Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest, Howard Univer-
sity Library, Fourah Bay College Library, Archives of the Republic of Liberia,
University of Iowa Library, Mugar Library of Boston University, Massachu-
setts Historical Society, and Dr. Williams Library.
viii / Acknowledgments
Very special thanks are due to Otey Scruggs, who offered me his advice and
encouragement at the earliest stages, and to Richard Blackett, who came up
with several suggestions for improvements. My wife, Maureen Connor Moses,
assisted me with proofreading and did major editing on the bibliography. She
also helped to prepare the index, as she did for my two previous books.
I wish to thank Curtis Church, who originally accepted the manuscript before
leaving Oxford University Press. William P. Sisler, who inherited the manu-
script as something of an orphan, honorably guided it toward publication. Thanks
also are in order to Susan Meigs and Irene Pavitt, for their painstaking efforts
with the manuscript.
Contents
1. Introduction 3
2. The Early Years (1819-1840) 11
3. The Struggles of a Young Priest (1841-1847) 34
4. Arrival in England (1848-1849) 52
5. Cambridge Influences (1849-1853) 67
6. Adjustment to Africa (1853-1861) 89
7. Changing Attitudes in America and a Visit Home (1853-1863) 119
8. Liberia College and the Politics of Knowledge (1863-1867) 146
9. Last Battles with the Bishop (1867-1870) 162
10. Missionary Work and Final Disillusionment (1870-1872) 179
11. Reconsidering the Destiny of Black Americans (1872-1882) 196
12. A Man of Mark (1882-1894) 222
13. Pastor Emeritus (1894-1896) 242
14. Tuskegee Under Fire: The American Negro Academy
(1896-1898) 258
15. Crummeirs Universality and Significance 276
Notes 303
Bibliography 348
Appendix: Constitution and By-Laws
of the American Negro Academy 365
Index 367