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24Results for "1783"
Stories
A Moment in Nassau Hall
by Gary Nash | Colonial & Early National (1746-1820)
In 1783, four somberly dressed men rode into town to petition Congress: End slavery.
James Madison
by Paris Amanda Spies-Gans | Colonial & Early National (1746-1820)
James Madison, Princeton alumnus and fourth President of the United States, held contradictory views on slavery throughout his life—arguing that slavery was incompatible with Revolutionary principles even as he owned over one hundred slaves on his Virginia plantation, brought enslaved people to the White House, and ultimately sold them for personal profit.
Indians, Slavery and Princeton
by Alfred L. Bush | Colonial & Early National (1746-1820), Antebellum (1820-1861), Civil War (1861-1865), Reconstruction to Present (1865-)
Princeton’s history of Indian education, dating back to the 18th century, illustrates white Americans’ ambivalent views of American Indians.
Princeton and the Civil War
by W. Barksdale Maynard | Civil War (1861-1865)
The Civil War divided Princeton as well as the United States along regional lines, complicating the university’s patriotic history of wartime service as students and alumni fought in both the Union and Confederate forces.
The Manumission of Prime
by Izzy Kasdin | Colonial & Early National (1746-1820)
In 1786, an enslaved man named Prime became one of only three enslaved people to be manumitted by act of the New Jersey legislature in exchange for his service during the Revolutionary War.
Primary Sources
Letter from Sarah Gibbes to John Gibbes
1783 | Colonial & Early National (1746-1820), Antebellum (1820-1861)
A letter from Sarah Gibbes to her son John Gibbes (Class of 1784) in which she encourages him to maintain ties to the Boudinots and Stocktons, wealthy New Jersey families.
"To be sold cheap for Cash"
November 11, 1783 | Colonial & Early National (1746-1820)
Newspaper advertisement for the sale of an enslaved woman.
Ashbel Green
| Colonial & Early National (1746-1820), Antebellum (1820-1861)
A portrait of Ashbel Green (Class of 1783), who served as the university's 8th president from 1812-1822.
Prime's Petition for Freedom
1786 | Colonial & Early National (1746-1820)
Petition submitted to the New Jersey state legislature for Prime's manumission.