HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Lane Seminary, sometimes called Cincinnati Lane Seminary, and later renamed Lane Theological Seminary, was a
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...
that operated from 1829 to 1932 in Walnut Hills, Ohio, today a neighborhood in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
. Its campus was bounded by today's Gilbert, Yale, Park, and Chapel Streets. Its board intended it to be "a great ''central theological institution'' at Cincinnati — soon to become the great
Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia * Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Ando ...
or
Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...
of the West." However, the founding and first years of Lane were difficult and contentious, culminating in a mass student exodus over the issue of
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, or more specifically whether students were permitted to discuss the topic publicly, the first major
academic freedom Academic freedom is a moral and legal concept expressing the conviction that the freedom of inquiry by faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy as well as the principles of academia, and that scholars should have freedom to teac ...
incident in America. There was strong pro-slavery sentiment in Cincinnati, and the trustees immediately prohibited further discussion of the topic, to avoid repercussions. With the city being on the border of the South, a lot of
fugitive slaves In the United States, fugitive slaves or runaway slaves were terms used in the 18th and 19th century to describe people who fled slavery. The term also refers to the federal Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850. Such people are also called free ...
and
freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), abolitionism, emancipation (gra ...
went through Cincinnati, including
James Bradley James Bradley (1692–1762) was an English astronomer and priest who served as the third Astronomer Royal from 1742. He is best known for two fundamental discoveries in astronomy, the aberration of light (1725–1728), and the nutation of the ...
, who would participate in the pivotal Lane slavery debates in the 1830s. Their competition for jobs had led to the anti-abolitionist
Cincinnati riots of 1829 The Cincinnati race riots of 1829 were triggered by competition for jobs between Irish immigrants and native blacks and former slaves, in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States but also were related to white fears given the rapid increases of free and fu ...
and would soon produce the
Cincinnati riots of 1836 The Cincinnati riots of 1836 were caused by racial tensions at a time when African Americans, some of whom had escaped from slavery in the Southern United States, were competing with whites for jobs. The racial riots occurred in Cincinnati, Ohio, Un ...
.


Inauguration

"The founding of Lane Seminary was accomplished after years of sometimes disparate efforts on the part of a large number of people." The Presbyterian tradition was to have educated clergy, and there was no seminary serving the vast and increasingly populated lands west of the
Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...
. As early as 1825, the denomination was on record as saying such a seminary was needed. In 1829 there were only 8,000 ministers to serve a population of 12,000,000, two thousand more churches than ministers, and only 200 ministers per year being trained. While there were local efforts to have the new seminary in Cincinnati, the Presbyterian General Assembly decided in 1827 to locate it in
Allegheny, Pennsylvania Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. It was located north across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, with its southwest border formed by ...
, near Pittsburgh. The western synods refused to accept this, finding it too far away. In the summer of 1828 Ebenezer Lane, a New Orleans businessman, "made known his interest in setting up a theological seminary near Cincinnati based on the manual labor system." He and his brother Lane pledged $4,000 for the new school, on condition that it be in Cincinnati and follow the manual labor model. After this, their connection with the Seminary was minimal; Ebenezer was not even happy that it carried his name. The land was donated by Kemper Seminary. "Walnut Hill was a pretty little village, quite distant from Cincinnati, the first stopping-place for the stage on the Madisonville or some other northern Ohio route." "The location of Lane Seminary is in the midst of a most beautiful landscape. There is just enough, and just the right admixture of hills and dale, forest and field, to give it the effect we love in gazing upon a calm and quiet scene of beauty," wrote a visiting minister in 1842. A board was set up in October 1828, and the Ohio General Assembly issued a charter on February 11, 1829, specifying that the manual labor system would be "the fundamental principle" of the Seminary. The Rev. George C. Beckwith was appointed to a professorship in April, accepted in August, and he arrived in Cincinnati in the following November. He "had 3 or 4 students during the winter." In July, 1830, Beckwith visited the
Oneida Institute The Oneida Institute was a short-lived (1827–1843) but highly influential school that was a national leader in the emerging Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist movement. It was the most radical school in the country, the first at w ...
and wrote back to Cincinnati that manual labor worked well and that the farmers and mechanics of the neighborhood approved of it. He resigned in August 1830. "At that time
830 __NOTOC__ Year 830 ( DCCCXXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Britain * King Wiglaf of Mercia regains control from Wessex, and returns to the throne.S ...
the seminary consisted of some woods and one foundation for a building." In January, 1831,
George Washington Gale George Washington Gale (1789 – September 13, 1861) was a Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, Presbyterian minister who founded the Oneida Institute of Science and Industry. Early life Gale was born in Stanford, New York, St ...
, president of the Oneida Institute, recommended a steward to supervise the Seminary farm; in February the trustees made the appointment. But in the winter of 1830–31, "Lane Seminary was in a state of suspended animation. There were no teachers and apparently only two students,
Amos Dresser Amos Dresser (December 17, 1812 – February 4, 1904) was an abolitionist and pacifist minister, one of the founders of Olivet College. His name was well known in the Antebellum period because of a well-publicized incident: in 1835 he was arrested ...
and
Horace Bushnell Horace Bushnell (April 14, 1802February 17, 1876) was an American Congregational minister and theologian. Life Bushnell was born in the village of Bantam, township of Litchfield, Connecticut. He attended Yale College where he roomed with fu ...
, who had come out from the Oneida Institute and had been given special permission by the trustees to occupy rooms in the lonesome Seminary building." Bushnell, who on his arrival in 1830 "found t the embryonic Laneno theology", slept "on a study-table, with his books for a pillow". In 1834, the manual labor department contained six printing presses, operated by 20 students, and had printed 150,000 copies of "Webster's spellling books", for a bookstore. 30 students were employed in cabinet making, and total enrollment before the mass walkout was about 100.


The Oneida Institute and Lane

By coincidence, the local efforts to set up a seminary fit with the desires of the Tappan philanthropists,
Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...
and
Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...
, to found a seminary in what was then the growing west of the new country. The
charisma Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...
tic Theodore D. Weld had been one of the first Oneida students, first studying and working on George Washington Gale's farm, then at Gale's Oneida Institute of Science and Industry from its opening in 1827 through 1830. When he left Oneida, he was hired by the new Manual Labor Society, an institution created to employ Weld, its only employee ever. Funded by the same Tappan brothers that had funded Oneida, his charge was "to find a site for a great national manual labor institution...where training for the western ministry could be provided for poor but earnest young men who had dedicated their lives to the home missionary cause in the 'vast valley of the Mississippi'". Weld himself was seeking to continue his preparation for a career as a minister. As he put it in his report, "though I can no longer publicly advocate it as the agent of your society, I hope soon to plead its cause in the humbler sphere of personal example, while pursuing my professional studies, in a rising institution at the west, in which manual labor is a DAILY REQUISITION." "Cincinnati was the logical location. Cincinnati was the focal center of population and commerce in the Ohio valley." In the pre-railroad era, Cincinnati was the most accessible city in what was then the west of the United States. Weld stopped at Cincinnati twice on his manual labor lecture and scouting tour: in February and March 1832, and in the following September. On the earlier visit he delivered several lectures and supported the call to famous revivalist
Charles Grandison Finney Charles Grandison Finney (August 29, 1792 – August 16, 1875) was an American Presbyterian minister and leader in the Second Great Awakening in the United States. He has been called the "Father of Old Revivalism." Finney rejected much of trad ...
to come west; Finney declined, though he did come three years later, as professor and later president of the new
Oberlin Collegiate Institute Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of higher ...
. Weld's second choice—and it was his choice, because the Tappans relied on his recommendations—was
Lyman Beecher Lyman Beecher (October 12, 1775 – January 10, 1863) was a Presbyterian minister, and the father of 13 children, many of whom became noted figures, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher, Charles Beecher, Edward Beecher, Isabella Bee ...
, father of
Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the Abolitionism, abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery ...
, who would graduate from Lane, and
Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...
; Lane had been trying to recruit him since February 1831. Lane, Weld concluded, would do as a manual labor theological school, if Beecher would come. "Such an institution would undoubtedly attract many of Weld's associates who had been disappointed in the failure to establish theological instruction at the Oneida Institute." Beecher did come, as president and as "Chair of Systematic Theology", motivated by the promise of a $20,000 subvention for Lane from "Tappan". Beecher, along with professor
Thomas J. Biggs Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...
, future president of
Cincinnati College The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrol ...
, began as president December 26, 1832; this is when "Lane actually began operation.... Before that time, staff was slight and housing meager." The house the Beecher family lived in is now known as the Harriet Beecher Stowe House. "Lane was Oneida moved west." Early in June 1833, Weld,
Robert L. Stanton Robert Lodowick Stanton D.D. (March 28, 1810 – May 23, 1885) was an American Presbyterian minister, educator and college administrator. He served as president of Miami University of Ohio from 1868 to 1871. He also served as president of Oa ...
, and "six other young Finneyites" arrived in Cincinnati, having completed their journey by river from Rochester and Oneida. "They were promptly admitted to the seminary on the recommendation of two other 'Oneidas' orter and Weedalready in attendance." However, although technically enrolled as a student, and having declined the chair of Sacred Rhetoric and Oratory, Weld was the ''
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' head of Lane; "He...told the trustees what appointments to make." "Many of the students considered him the real leader of Lane", their "patron saint". "In the estimation of the class, he was president. He took the lead of the whole institution. The young men had, many of them, been under his care, and they thought he was a god." The tempo of the seminary was sharply stepped up, its real head now being on the ground. "Weld is here & we are glad," wrote Professor Biggs on July 2. The self-assembling at Lane of men from very diverse places, called by a modern writer an invasion, was so colorful that multiple authors have described it. The earliest is from Weld himself; he is one of the "two members": A contemporary commentator points to the work on rafts as reflecting the students' experience with manual labor at Oneida. A modern retelling of the same incident: " e institution itself is second in importance to no other in the United States." Beecher "assured us that he had more brains in this theological camp than could be found in any other in the United States." Beecher, in his autobiography, takes a dig at Oberlin, while claiming that there were already "colored students" at Lane: "It was with great difficulty, and only in the prospect of rich endowments and of securing a large class of students, that the principle of admission irrespective of color, already in practice at Lane, received from the trustees of Oberlin a cold and ambiguous sanction." What he says about Oberlin is roughly correct, but none of the black students at Oneida moved to Lane. The one black student currently known of at Lane,
James Bradley James Bradley (1692–1762) was an English astronomer and priest who served as the third Astronomer Royal from 1742. He is best known for two fundamental discoveries in astronomy, the aberration of light (1725–1728), and the nutation of the ...
, by his own description "so ignorant, that I suppose it will take me two years to get up with the lowest class in the institution," despite Beecher's regret felt it wiser not to attend a student gathering at Beecher's home.


The slavery debates

Lane Seminary is known primarily for the debates held there over 18 evenings in February 1834; John Rankin was in attendance, as was
Harriett Beecher Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...
towe daughter of Lane's president. They were nominally on the topic of colonization of freed slaves, on sending them to (not "back to") Africa. They were publicized nationally and influenced the nation's thinking about
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, creating support for abolition. A four-page report by H. B. Stanton appeared in March in both ''The Liberator'' and the '' New York Evangelist,'' and
Garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...
and
Knapp Knapp may refer to: People * Knapp (surname) Places * Knapp, Dunn County, Wisconsin * Knapp, Jackson County, Wisconsin * Knapp, Hampshire, England, a village in the parish of Ampfield * Knapp, Perthshire, Scotland * Knapp Creek (West Virgi ...
, printers of ''The Liberator'' and most books on slavery in the U.S. in the early 1830s, issued it in
pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...
form. A seven-page response, under the title "Education and slavery", appeared in the Cincinnati-based '' Western Monthly Magazine''; Weld published a lengthy reply. The affair got further publicity late in 1834, when 51 of the Lane students — the vast majority — published a 28-page pamphlet
''A statement of the reasons which induced the students of Lane Seminary, to dissolve their connection with that institution''
(Cincinnati, 1834).


Background


The abolition–colonization controversy

Part of "the negro problem", as it was seen in the
antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum ar ...
United States, was the question of what to do with former slaves who had become free. Since the eighteenth century, Quakers and others had preached the sinfulness of slave ownership, and the number of
freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), abolitionism, emancipation (gra ...
(and freed women) was rising and showed every sign that it would continue to grow. The freed slaves married and had children, so the number of
free people of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (French: ''gens de couleur libres''; Spanish: ''gente de color libre'') were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not ...
(Blacks born free) was rising even faster. Some owners freed their slaves in their wills. Philanthropic societies and individuals raised or donated funds to purchase slaves' freedom; freedmen sometimes were able to purchase the freedom of family members. In some Northern cities there were more than a handful of escaped slaves. The status of these free blacks was anything but comfortable. They were not citizens and in most states could not vote. They had no access to the courts or protection by the police. In no state could their children attend the public schools. They were subject to discriminatory treatment in everyday life. The original "remedy" for this problem was to help them go "back to Africa". The British had been doing this, in
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
, moving former American slaves there who had gained their freedom by escaping to British lines during the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
, and who found
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
, where the British took many of them, too cold. The British also took to Sierra Leone slaves captured from slaving ships who were being smuggled illegally across the Atlantic to North America. A well-to-do African-American shipowner,
Paul Cuffe Paul Cuffe, also known as Paul Cuffee (January 17, 1759 – September 7, 1817) was an American businessman, whaler and abolitionist. Born free into a multiracial family on Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts, Cuffe became a successful merchant and ...
, transported some former slaves to Sierra Leone. However, sending former slaves to a British colony as a policy was politically unacceptable. The American Colonization Society was formed to help found a new, American colony of freed blacks. Although there was some talk of locating the colony in the American territories of the Midwest, or on the Pacific coast—a sort of reservation for Blacks—what was decided was to follow the English example and start an African colony. The closest available land was what became
Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
.


The rejection of colonization

The colonization project got off to a promising start, with various governmental and private donations and the participation of distinguished individuals: U.S. presidents Jefferson, Monroe, and Madison; Senator
Henry Clay Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, al ...
, who presided over its first meeting; as well as most of the future white abolitionists. The problem had been solved, and in an honorable way; the former slaves would fare better in Africa, it was argued, among other blacks. The situation quickly started to unravel. First of all, the disease rates among the new colonists were the highest since accurate record-keeping began. Over 50% of them died of malaria and other diseases. Particularly telling to
Gerrit Smith Gerrit Smith (March 6, 1797 – December 28, 1874), also spelled Gerritt Smith, was a leading American social reformer, abolitionist, businessman, public intellectual, and philanthropist. Married to Ann Carroll Fitzhugh, Smith was a candidat ...
, an abolitionist philanthropist, was that the American Colonization Society allowed the sale of alcohol (as well as guns and chewing tobacco) in the colonies that became Liberia. He commented on it in the Society's ''African Repository'' magazine. Smith was for temperance, and according to him, the fact that blacks in Africa were allowed to import liquor from the United States revealed the true goals of many of the white members of the American Colonization Society: to get rid of the blacks without having them up North.


Weld organizes "debates"

Lyman Beecher, head of the Seminary, was a colonizationist, and gave a speech on that topic to the Cincinnati Colonization Society on June 4, 1834. At Lane there was a "colonization society", supporting the efforts of the
American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebor ...
to send free blacks to Africa, to Liberia. How it came to be is not known, but it was there when the Oneida contingent and friends arrived. There had been similar groups at Western Reserve and other colleges. Weld read
William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was a prominent American Christian, abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely read antislavery newspaper '' The Liberator'', which he found ...
's new abolitionist newspaper '' The Liberator'', begun in 1831, and his ''Thoughts on African Colonization'', which appeared in 1832. These had a great influence at the other eastern Ohio college, Western Reserve College, leading to
Beriah Green Beriah Green Jr. (March 24, 1795May 4, 1874) was an American reformer, abolitionist, temperance advocate, college professor, minister, and head of the Oneida Institute. He was "consumed totally by his abolitionist views". He has been described as ...
's 4 published sermons, and his relocation under pressure to Gale's school, Oneida. What Garrison desired, and he convinced Green, was "immediatism": immediate, complete, and uncompensated freeing of all slaves. Over a period of several months Weld convinced nearly all of the students individually of the superiority of the abolitionist view. To generate publicity for the abolitionist cause, Weld announced a series of "debates". Weld "had no intention of holding a debate on the pros and cons of antislavery." "There was little opposition, little conflict, and consequently little debate." In his correspondence Weld informed friends that he was trying to get the anti-slavery (immediatist) argument and evidence out to as many people as possible. Nevertheless, what was announced was debates, on two points. When the merits of the proposed solutions to slavery were debated over 18 days at the Seminary in February 1834, it was one of the first major public discussions of the topic, but it was more of an anti-slavery revival than a "debate". No speaker appeared to defend either
American slavery The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its founding in 1776 until 1865, predominantly in the South. Slave ...
or the colonization project.


The stated topics of the debates

The two specific questions addressed were: * ''"Ought the people of the slaveholding states abolish slavery immediately?"'', and * ''"Are the doctrines, tendencies, and measures of the
American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebor ...
, and the influence of its principal supporters, such as render it worthy of the patronage of the Christian public?"'' The debates were not transcribed, and there was no attempt afterwards, as there would be later with Pennsylvania Hall, to collect the texts which were written out — not all were — and make a booklet of them. However, Garrison promptly published a pamphlet, and there are excerpts in newspapers and books. Each question was debated for two and a half hours a night for nine nights. Among the participants: * Eleven had been born and brought up in slave states. * Seven were sons of slaveowners. * One had only recently ceased to be a slaveowner. * One, Bradley, had been a slave and had bought his freedom. * Ten had lived in slave states. * One, Birney, had been an agent of the Colonization Society. Arguments addressing the first question in favor of the immediate abolition of slavery included: * Slaves long for freedom. * When inspired with a promise of freedom, slaves will toil with incredible alacrity and faithfulness. * No matter how kind their master is, slaves are dissatisfied and would rather be hired servants than slaves. * Blacks are abundantly able to take care of and provide for themselves. * Blacks would be kind and docile if immediately emancipated. In response to the second question, the Reverend
Samuel H. Cox Samuel Hanson Cox (August 25, 1793 – October 2, 1880) was an American Presbyterian minister and a leading abolitionist. Cox was born in Rahway, New Jersey to Quaker family. After renouncing his religion and serving in the War of 1812, he s ...
, who had served as an agent for the Colonization Society, testified that his view of the Society's plan changed when he realized that no blacks, despite the claims of those who ventured to speak for them, would ever consent to be removed from their native country and transplanted to a foreign land. He reasoned, therefore, that the plan could only be enacted by a "national society of kidnappers".


Participants


Notable people present

"The President, and the members of the faculty, with one exception iggs were present during parts of the discussion." *
Gamaliel Bailey Gamaliel Bailey (December 3, 1807June 5, 1859) was an American physician who left that career to become an abolitionist journalist, editor, and publisher, working primarily in Cincinnati, and Washington, D.C. Anti-abolitionist mobs attacked his ...
, physician, lecturer on physiology at Lane, who went on to become an abolitionist newspaper editor. *
Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...
, at that time simply Harriet Beecher, daughter of Lane's president; 18 years later published ''
Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U. ...
''. *
Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the Abolitionism, abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery ...
,
alumnus Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...
, minister, called, after his father Lyman, "the most noted minister of the nineteenth century". Supported sending rifles ("
Beecher's Bibles "Beecher's Bibles" was the name given to the breech-loading Sharps rifle that were supplied to and used by the anti-slavery settlers and combatants in Kansas, during the Bleeding Kansas period (1854–1860). The breech loading model 1853 Sharps C ...
") to emigrants trying to make Kansas a free state. *
Lyman Beecher Lyman Beecher (October 12, 1775 – January 10, 1863) was a Presbyterian minister, and the father of 13 children, many of whom became noted figures, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher, Charles Beecher, Edward Beecher, Isabella Bee ...
, president of Lane, father of Henry and Harriet. * James G. Birney, attorney, former
American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebor ...
Agent, author of a lengthy published break with or attack on the Society. "His knowledge and pervasive influence informed the Lane Seminary debate, lifting it to the height of its subject." *
James Bradley (former slave) James Bradley ( 1810 – after 1837) was an African Slavery in the United States, slave in the United States who purchased his freedom and became an anti-slavery activist in Ohio. Bradley was two or three years old when he was enslaved and transp ...
, the only Black participant. * Samuel Crothers (probable but unconfirmed) *
Amos Dresser Amos Dresser (December 17, 1812 – February 4, 1904) was an abolitionist and pacifist minister, one of the founders of Olivet College. His name was well known in the Antebellum period because of a well-publicized incident: in 1835 he was arrested ...
, Lane student; would become famous for being publicly whipped in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
, for distributing abolitionist literature. * Huntington Lyman *
Asa Mahan Asa Mahan (; November 9, 1799April 4, 1889) was a U.S. Congregational clergyman and educator and the first president of both the Oberlin Collegiate Institute (later Oberlin College) and Adrian College. He described himself as "a religious teacher ...
, minister, and the only Lane trustee who supported the students; resigned with the students and accompanied them to the
Oberlin Collegiate Institute Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of higher ...
, becoming its first president. *
John Rankin (abolitionist) John Rankin (February 5, 1793 – March 18, 1886) was an American Presbyterian minister, educator and abolitionist. Upon moving to Ripley, Ohio, in 1822, he became known as one of Ohio's first and most active "conductors" on the Underground R ...
, author of the first American anti-slavery book, and key figure on the
Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...
in Ohio. In 1835 Rankin published a pamphlet defending the students who debated. *
Henry Brewster Stanton Henry Brewster Stanton (June 27, 1805 – January 14, 1887) was an American abolitionist, social reformer, attorney, journalist and politician. His writing was published in the '' New York Tribune,'' the ''New York Sun,'' and William Lloy ...
, future abolitionist speaker and politician, and husband of
Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elizabeth Cady Stanton (November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 Seneca ...
. *
Calvin Ellis Stowe Calvin Ellis Stowe (April 6, 1802 – August 22, 1886) was an American Biblical scholar who helped spread public education in the United States. Over his career, he was a professor of languages and Biblical and sacred literature at Andover Theolo ...
, Lane professor, future husband of Harriet Beecher. *
Theodore Dwight Weld Theodore Dwight Weld (November 23, 1803 – February 3, 1895) was one of the architects of the American abolitionist movement during its formative years from 1830 to 1844, playing a role as writer, editor, speaker, and organizer. He is best known ...
, former Oneida student, anti-slavery activist. *
Hiram Wilson Hiram Wilson (September 25, 1803 – April 16, 1864) was an anti-slavery abolitionist who worked directly with escaped and former slaves in southwestern Ontario. He attempted to improve their living conditions and help them to be integrated into ...
, former Oneida student; moved to Canada and ran Canadian
terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...
for the
Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...
.


Speakers at the debates

* "Mr. Henry P. Thompson, a native and still a resident of
Nicholasville, Kentucky Nicholasville is a home rule city in and the county seat of Jessamine County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 31,490 during the 2020 U.S. Census, making Nicholasville the 10th-largest settlement in the state. Since the late 20th ce ...
, made the following statement at a public meeting in Lane Seminary, Ohio, in 1833
834 __NOTOC__ Year 834 ( DCCCXXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * March 1 – Emperor Louis the Pious is restored as sole ruler of the Fr ...
He was at that time a slaveholder." * "Rev. Coleman S. Hodges, a resident of Western Virginia, gave the following testimony at the same meeting:" *"Mr. Calvin H. Tate, of Missouri, whose father and brother were slaveholders, related the following at the same meeting. The plantation on which it occurred, was in the immediate neighborhood of his father's." * The most notable speaker at the debates was
James Bradley James Bradley (1692–1762) was an English astronomer and priest who served as the third Astronomer Royal from 1742. He is best known for two fundamental discoveries in astronomy, the aberration of light (1725–1728), and the nutation of the ...
, as he was the only Black participant and so far as is known the only Black in attendance. This is the first instance in the history of the United States that a Black man addressed a white audience:


Sequela (the following events)

"The trustees soon expressed a determination to prevent all further discussion of the comparative merits of the policy of the Colonization Society, and the doctrine of immediate emancipation, either in the recitation rooms, the rooms of the students, or at the public table; although no objection had previously been made to the free discussion of any subject whatever. During the vacation that followed, in the absence of a majority of the professors, this purpose was framed into a law, or rule, of the seminary, and obedience to it required from all." The trustees laid down the doctrine that "no associations or societies ought to be allowed in the seminary, except such as have for their immediate object, improvement in the prescribed course of studies." This was followed by an order in these words: "Ordered that the students be required to discontinue those societies he Anti-slavery and Colonization societiesin the seminary." The event resulted in the dismissal of a professor, John Morgan, and the departure of a group of 40 students and a trustee. It was one of the first significant tests in the United States of
academic freedom Academic freedom is a moral and legal concept expressing the conviction that the freedom of inquiry by faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy as well as the principles of academia, and that scholars should have freedom to teac ...
and the right of students to participate in free discussion. It also marked the first organized student body in American history. Several of those involved went on to play an important role in the
abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...
movement and the buildup to the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. At the end of the debate, many of the participants concluded not only that slavery was a sin, but also that the policy of the American Colonization Society to send blacks to Africa was wrong. As a result, these students formed an antislavery society and began organizing activities and outreach work among the black population of Cincinnati. They intended to attain the emancipation of blacks, not by rebellion or force, but by "approaching the minds of slave holders with the truth, in the spirit of the Gospel."


After the debates


Activities in the black community

"We believe faith without works is dead," Weld wrote to Arthur Tappan in 1834. He, Augustus Wattles, and other students created a school out of three rooms, and raised hundreds of dollars to outfit a library and rent classrooms. Classes were run both days and evenings, and the school was soon at capacity. Inspired by
Prudence Crandall Prudence Crandall (September 3, 1803 – January 27, 1890) was an American schoolteacher and activist. She ran the first school for black girls ("young Ladies and little Misses of color") in the United States, located in Canterbury, Connecticut. ...
's example, he also set up a school for black women, and Arthur Tappan paid $1,000 () for four female teachers to relocate from New York to Cincinnati. As Lewis Tappan put it in his biography of his brother, " e anti-slavery students of Lane Seminary established evening-schools for the adults, and day-schools for the children of the three thousand colored of Cincinnati." Weld continued to Tappan:


The threat of violence

Rumors circulated during the summer of 1834 about mob violence against the Seminary; the threat of violence had caused Miami University of Ohio to ban the discussion of abolition. Cincinnati, largely pro-Southern, had already experienced the anti-black Cincinnati riot of 1829; and the huge anti-abolition riots in New York in July 1834, which specifically targeted the Tappans, were heavily reported in the Cincinnati newspapers. In 1835, after the
whipping of Amos Dresser Amos Dresser (December 17, 1812 – February 4, 1904) was an abolitionist and pacifist minister, one of the founders of Olivet College. His name was well known in the Antebellum period because of a well-publicized incident: in 1835 he was arreste ...
, a Lane student, in
Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
, newspapers of that city "warn dthe leaders of that institution to be cautious how they proceed."


Trustees ban the discussion of abolition

As Cincinnati businessmen, the members of the school's board of trustees were quite concerned about being associated with such a radical expression of abolitionism, which could have led to a physical attack on the Seminary. "A riot was very arrowlyaverted, probably only because of Lane's summer vacation." President Beecher did not want to escalate the matter by overreacting, but when the press began to turn public opinion against the students that summer, he was fundraising in Boston. In his absence, the executive committee of the trustees issued a report ordering the abolishment of the school's antislavery society, stating that "no associations or Societies among the students ought to be allowed in the Seminary except such as have for their immediate object improvement in the prescribed course of studies." They also declared that they had the right to dismiss any student "when they shall think it necessary to do so." They further adopted a rule to "discourage...such discussions and conduct among the students as are calculated to divert their attention from their studies", meaning that students were not to discuss abolitionism even when dining (talking to students while they were eating was specifically prohibited in the Standing Rules enacted by the trustees on October 13, 1834.) The committee underlined their position by dismissing professor John Morgan for taking the side of the students. In October, without waiting for Beecher to return, the board ratified the committee's resolutions. On his return, Beecher and two professors issued a statement intended to assuage the anger of the students regarding the action of the trustees, but it was regarded by the students as a faculty endorsement of the trustees' action.


The "Lane Rebels" resign

On October 21, most of the students resigned, as did trustee
Asa Mahan Asa Mahan (; November 9, 1799April 4, 1889) was a U.S. Congregational clergyman and educator and the first president of both the Oberlin Collegiate Institute (later Oberlin College) and Adrian College. He described himself as "a religious teacher ...
(another member of Finney's contingent). (Technically, they requested dismissal from the school, which was granted.) In December they published a
pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...
of 28 pages, written by Weld, on "the reasons which induced the students of Lane Seminary, to dissolve their connection with that institution." The pamphlet received national attention, as it was reprinted in full in ''The Liberator''. Hostile press reports turned this incorrectly into the expulsion of the students, "in consequence of the dangerous principles they held in relation to slavery." The Rebels were a loosely defined group, and different sources give different names and figures. The ''Statement'' had 51 signatures, but it adds that "several of our brethren, who coincide with us in sentiment, are not able to affix their names to this document, in consequence of being several hundred miles from the Seminary." According to Lane, there were 40, including the entirety of Lane's first class, the class of 1836 (which began in 1833). There were also prospective students who declined to enroll. Lawrence Lesick, author of the only book on the Lane Rebels, gives a figure of 75, but 19 more had left before the trustees took action, and only 8 students, out of 103, remained at Lane at the beginning of the next term. According to Oberlin, 32 of them enrolled, although some others who enrolled at the same time, though not students at Lane, are considered part of the Rebels. A few enrolled at other schools, such as
Auburn Theological Seminary Auburn Theological Seminary, located in New York City, teaches students about progressive social issues by offering workshops, providing consulting, and conducting research on faith leadership development. The seminary was established in Auburn, N ...
. Weld and some other student leaders at Lane —
William T. Allan William is a male given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norm ...
, Weld's collaborator and president of Lane's new anti-slavery society; James A. Thome, a prominent speaker during the debates; and
Henry B. Stanton Henry Brewster Stanton (June 27, 1805 – January 14, 1887) was an American Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, social reformer, Lawyer, attorney, journalist and politician. His writing was published in the ''New York Tribune, ...
— had been threatened with expulsion. Weld did not withdraw until the motion to expel him, which would have been nationally publicized, had been defeated.


The "seminary" at Cumminsville

About a dozen of the
Lane Rebels Lane Seminary, sometimes called Cincinnati Lane Seminary, and later renamed Lane Theological Seminary, was a Presbyterian theological college that operated from 1829 to 1932 in Walnut Hills, Ohio, today a neighborhood in Cincinnati. Its campus ...
, as they came to be called, established an informal seminary of their own in 1834–1835, in Cumminsville, Ohio. "We went out, not knowing whither we went. The Lord's hand was with us. Five miles from the seminary we found a deserted brick tavern, with many convenient rooms. Here we rallied. A gentleman of the vicinity offered us all necaessary fuel, a gentleman far off ewis Tappansent us a thousand dollars, and we set up a seminary of our own and became a law unto ourselves. George Whipple was competent in Hebrew, and William T. Allan in Greek. They were made professors in the intermediate state. It was desirable that we should remain near to Cincinnati for a season, as we were there teaching in evening schools for the colored people of that city." At Cumminsville, "the students continued their work in the black community. William T. Allan, Andrew Benton, Marius R. Robinson, Henry B. Stanton, and George Whipple taught in the Sabbath schools. John W. Alvord, Huntington Lyman, Henry B. Stanton, James A. Thome, and Samuel Wells gave lectures twice a week in the black community. The students also alternated in preaching at eight different churches, including two black churches. They helped support Augustus Wattles' teachers in schools, enlisted the cooperation of local black ministers, and kept Weld, now an anti-slavery agent, and
Joshua Leavitt Rev. Joshua Leavitt (September 8, 1794, Heath, Massachusetts – January 16, 1873, Brooklyn, New York) was an American Congregationalist minister and former lawyer who became a prominent writer, editor and publisher of abolitionist literature. ...
informed of local events." This was the point at which the former Lane students came into contact with
John J. Shipherd John Jay Shipherd (March 28, 1802 – September 16, 1844) was an American clergyman who co-founded Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, in 1833 with Philo Penfield Stewart. In 1844, Shipherd also founded Olivet College in Olivet, Michigan. B ...
, founder of the new
Oberlin Collegiate Institute Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of higher ...
, "a college in name only" that had been founded the previous year (1833). "The former Lane students literally took possession of the embryo institution."


The conditions of the Lane Rebels' enrollment at Oberlin

The students negotiated with Shipherd the installation of Asa Mahan, the Lane trustee who resigned, as Oberlin's president. Oberlin also agreed to hire Morgan, the discharged professor. The trustees would not have the power, as they did at Lane, to meddle in the affairs of professors and students. The most controversial condition insisted on by the Rebels was that Oberlin commit itself to accepting African-American students in general, and the very popular
James Bradley James Bradley (1692–1762) was an English astronomer and priest who served as the third Astronomer Royal from 1742. He is best known for two fundamental discoveries in astronomy, the aberration of light (1725–1728), and the nutation of the ...
in particular, equally. This was agreed to reluctantly, after a "dramatic" vote (4–4, tie broken by chair). The Lane Rebels, with Weld at their head, could insist on these conditions because funding from the Tappans came with them. If the trustees did not agree they would lose this crucial funding, as well as Mahan, Finney, and Shipherd, who threatened to quit. The conditions of the Rebels set limits, for the first time, on an American college's authority over students and faculty. They also were part of the shift in American antislavery efforts from colonization to abolition; many of the Rebels would become part of Oberlin's cadre of minister–abolitionists.


The Seminary after 1834

When the Rebels departed in October 1834, "they left behind them but two seminarians in a theological department that had boasted forty, and only five scholars of the sixty formerly enrolled for the literary curriculum." "Of the several gloomy years that succeeded the abolition secession, I need only say, that the wonder is, that Lane did not perish. It had few students and little money." "The institution was disgraced and wrecked; it never recovered from the experience." In 1837 "the seminary had no students", but Beecher went on a recruiting trip and persuaded some to enroll. Following the slavery debates, Lane Seminary continued as a "New School" seminary, cooperating with
Congregationalists Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
and others in mission and education efforts and involved in social reform movements like abolition,
temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...
, and Sabbath legislation. The seminary admitted students from other denominations and pursued educational and evangelistic unity among
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
churches in the West. In 1837 there were 41 students from 15 states, and 4 faculty: Beecher,
Calvin Ellis Stowe Calvin Ellis Stowe (April 6, 1802 – August 22, 1886) was an American Biblical scholar who helped spread public education in the United States. Over his career, he was a professor of languages and Biblical and sacred literature at Andover Theolo ...
, Thomas J. Biggs, and
Baxter Dickinson Baxter Dickinson (April 14, 1795 – December 5, 1875) was an American minister. Dickinson, youngest son of Azariah and Mary (Eastman) Dickinson, was born in Amherst, Mass., April 14, 1795. He graduated from Yale College in 1817. He spent a yea ...
. After the Civil War, the New School and the Old School Presbyterians had reconciled, and Lane Seminary was reorganized along more conservative Presbyterian lines. In 1910, it became affiliated with the Presbyterian Seminary of the South, and the Seminary continued as a small but respected school, though financial pressures continued to increase. Following a brief period of growth in the 1920s, it became apparent that Lane could no longer survive as an independent school. In 1932 it suspended operations and transferred its library and other resources to
McCormick Theological Seminary McCormick Theological Seminary is a private Presbyterian seminary in Chicago, Illinois. It shares a campus with the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, bordering the campus of the University of Chicago. A letter of intent was signed on May 5 ...
, in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
. While a permanent Board of Trustees for Lane Theological Seminary remained in service until the Seminary was legally merged out of existence in 2007, the faculty, library collections, and students were transferred to Chicago, and the last remnants of the Cincinnati campus, except for the house of president Lyman Beecher, were destroyed in 1956. A historical marker in front of an automobile dealership at 2820 Gilbert Ave. marks the site of the campus.


Historical re-enactments

The Lane Debates have been re-enacted in recent years by historians from
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
, the
University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...
, and
Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...
.


Media

A movie about the debates, '' Sons & Daughters of Thunder'', was released in December 2019. It is based on a play by Earlene Hawley and Curtis Heeter.


Archival material

Archival materials of Lane are located at the
Presbyterian Historical Society The Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS) is the oldest continuous denominational historical society in the United States.Smylie, James H. 1996. ''A Brief History of the Presbyterians.'' Louisville, Kentucky: Geneva Press. Its mission is to col ...
in Philadelphia.


Historical marker


Former Oneida students who enrolled at Lane

24 of the 40 members of Lane's first theological class were from the
Oneida Institute The Oneida Institute was a short-lived (1827–1843) but highly influential school that was a national leader in the emerging Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist movement. It was the most radical school in the country, the first at w ...
. So far as is known, none of Oneida's African-American students made the move. Those identified conclusively are the following. Those that left with the Lane Rebels (according to the table cited above) and enrolled at Oberlin are marked in bold. *John Watson Alvord *George Bristol *Charles P. Bush; it is not clear if he is Michigan politician
Charles P. Bush Charles P. Bush (March 18, 1809 – 1857) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan, and served as the state's 6th Lieutenant Governor from 1847 to 1848. Biography Bush was born in Ithaca, New York. Bush moved to Michigan in 1836, becomi ...
. *
Horace Bushnell Horace Bushnell (April 14, 1802February 17, 1876) was an American Congregational minister and theologian. Life Bushnell was born in the village of Bantam, township of Litchfield, Connecticut. He attended Yale College where he roomed with fu ...
*
Amos Dresser Amos Dresser (December 17, 1812 – February 4, 1904) was an abolitionist and pacifist minister, one of the founders of Olivet College. His name was well known in the Antebellum period because of a well-publicized incident: in 1835 he was arrested ...
*Alexander Duncan, not to be confused with
Alexander Duncan (politician) Alexander Duncan (1788 – March 23, 1853) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Ohio for four terms from 1837 to 1845. Biography Born in Bottle Hill (now Madison, New Jersey, Madison), Morris County, New Jersey ...
, from Cincinnati *Hiram Foote *Augustus Hopkins †1841 *Russell Jesse Judd *John J. Miter *Joseph Hitchcock Payne *Ezra Abell Poole *Samuel Fuller Porter *Charles Stewart Renshaw *
Robert L. Stanton Robert Lodowick Stanton D.D. (March 28, 1810 – May 23, 1885) was an American Presbyterian minister, educator and college administrator. He served as president of Miami University of Ohio from 1868 to 1871. He also served as president of Oa ...
, worked in Lane's print shop *Asa A. Stone, †1835 Stone published two lengthy letters reporting on Southern slavery. *Sereno Wright Streeter *Calvin Waterbury *Augustus Wattles *Edward Weed. "There was a town gathering at Chillicothe on the same day of last week, when Mr. Weed arrived in town on some business; and being known as an abolitionist, some indignities were offered to him—such as shaving his horse, removing the wheels of his wagon, &c.; that Mr. Weed soon after left town, was followed by the mob, his wagon broken to pieces, his horse killed, and at length ''himself suspended to a tree by a rope of bark,'' until he was dead." (italics in original) *
Theodore Dwight Weld Theodore Dwight Weld (November 23, 1803 – February 3, 1895) was one of the architects of the American abolitionist movement during its formative years from 1830 to 1844, playing a role as writer, editor, speaker, and organizer. He is best known ...
*Samuel T. Wells, described as "student monitor-general" on Lane's farm *George Whipple "abandoned his school in Kentucky to study theology and teach elementary courses at the seminary". Later he taught at Oberlin. *
Hiram Wilson Hiram Wilson (September 25, 1803 – April 16, 1864) was an anti-slavery abolitionist who worked directly with escaped and former slaves in southwestern Ontario. He attempted to improve their living conditions and help them to be integrated into ...


Notable alumni

*
Edward H. Allen Edward Herrick Allen (April 24, 1830 – December 1, 1895) was a Republican Party (United States), Republican Kansas City Mayor in 1867. Biography Allen was born in Danbury, Connecticut and claimed a Mayflower ancestry. He graduated from Mariett ...
, Kansas City Mayor *
Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the Abolitionism, abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery ...
, 1837 * Jonathan Blanchard, abolitionist and founder of Wheaton College *
John Gregg Fee John Gregg Fee (September 9, 1816 – January 11, 1901) was an abolitionist, minister and educator, the founder of the town of Berea, Kentucky, The Church of Christ, Union in Berea (1853), Berea College (1855), the first in the U.S. South with ...
, abolitionist and founder of
Berea College Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. Berea College charges no tuition; every adm ...
*
James C. White James Charles White, Jr. (April 6, 1937 – September 2, 2009) was an American radio personality, radio talk-show host. He is best known for his 30 years of work at KMOX, in St. Louis, Missouri. Youth and early radio career Jim White began his ra ...


See also

*
Walnut Hills United Presbyterian Church Walnut Hills United Presbyterian Church is a historic church tower in the Walnut Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The last remnant of a landmark church building, it was designed by a leading Cincinnati architect and built ...


References


Further reading


Resources for Studying the Lane Debates and the Oberlin Commitment to Racial Egalitarianism
* * Reproduces original documents. * * * *Aptheker, Herbert. ''Abolitionism: A Revolutionary Movement''. Boston: Twayne, 1992. *Editorial. North Star, 26 January 1849. ''I think it's "Colonization"''


Notes


External links

*
Web site for ''Sons and Daughters of Thunder''


''Oberlin College''. * Randy McNutt (September 28, 2003)

''The Cincinnati Enquirer''.
Lane Seminary, 1841

Lane Seminary, Walnut Hills

Presbyterian Historical Society archives
{{authority control 19th century in Cincinnati Abolitionism in the United States Seminaries and theological colleges in Ohio Universities and colleges in Cincinnati Christianity in Cincinnati Educational institutions established in 1829 Educational institutions disestablished in 1932 Defunct private universities and colleges in Ohio 1829 establishments in Ohio 1932 disestablishments in Ohio Oneida Institute American manual labor schools Demolished buildings and structures in Ohio Academic freedom Lane Rebels African-American history in Cincinnati