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Full-Text Articles in History

“A National Sin”: Samuel Simon Schmucker, Founder Of Gettysburg College, On The Peculiar Institution, Meg A. Sutter Apr 2016

“A National Sin”: Samuel Simon Schmucker, Founder Of Gettysburg College, On The Peculiar Institution, Meg A. Sutter

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Many music and art students at Gettysburg College would recognize the name Schmucker as their building, or affectionately their ‘home,’ on campus. Alumni might even remember Schmucker Hall as their library. However, if asked who founded Gettysburg College, most students and alumni would probably not know his name. Fortunately, our campus is celebrating Founders Day this week to remember those, including our founder Samuel Simon Schmucker, who helped make our college #Gettysburgreat. [excerpt]


"For Safety And For Liberty," The Devan Family Of Gettysburg, Andrew I. Dalton Jan 2016

"For Safety And For Liberty," The Devan Family Of Gettysburg, Andrew I. Dalton

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

This article explores Gettysburg’s 19th century black history through the exciting experiences of the Devan family. Originally from Frederick County, Maryland, they came to Gettysburg as free people of color. In town, one member of the family was suspected of assisting slave catchers by handing over escaped slaves for a profit. Four members of the family served during the Civil War in the United States Colored Troops, three of whom died in the service. This complex story proves the fact that black history is extremely complex and should not be painted by historians with a single brush stroke.


"Or This Whole Affair Is A Failure": A Special Treasury Agent's Observations Of The Port Royal Experiment, Port Royal, South Carolina, April To May, 1862, Michael Edward Scott Emett Jan 2016

"Or This Whole Affair Is A Failure": A Special Treasury Agent's Observations Of The Port Royal Experiment, Port Royal, South Carolina, April To May, 1862, Michael Edward Scott Emett

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This thesis covers two critical months (April and May, 1862) during the Port Royal Experiment, which took place during the Civil War in the Sea Islands of South Carolina. This abolitionist-influenced experiment has been enriched by numerous primary sources from a range of people: military officials, General Superintendents of the Treasury, abolitionists and educators. However, this topic has been missing one important source: Special Treasury Agents. These men implemented the orders of various groups involved with the Experiment. The unpublished papers of one such agent, James Severance, provides a new depth in Port Royal analysis. This firsthand account shows the …


“The Most Poisonous Of All Diseases Of Mind Or Body”: Colorphobia And The Politics Of Reform, April J. Gemeinhardt Jan 2016

“The Most Poisonous Of All Diseases Of Mind Or Body”: Colorphobia And The Politics Of Reform, April J. Gemeinhardt

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Focusing on the mid-1830s through 1865, this thesis explores colorphobia—the irrational fear and hatred of black people otherwise known as racial prejudice—as a reform tactic adopted by abolitionists. It argues that colorphobia played a pivotal role in the radical abolitionist reform agenda for promoting anti-slavery, immediate emancipation, equal rights, and black advancement. By framing racial prejudice as a disease, abolitionists believed connotations, stigmas, and fears of illness would elicit more attention to the rapidly increasing racial prejudice in the free North and persuade prejudiced white Americans into changing their ways. Abolitionists used parallels to cholera, choleraphobia (fear of cholera), and …