Site Search
41Results for "Daily Princetonian"
Stories

Princeton and the Ku Klux Klan
by Gabrielle M. Girard | Reconstruction to Present (1865-)
During the early 1920s, Princeton students came into contact with local members of the Ku Klux Klan. Their interactions with the Klan reveal both curiosity about the organization and anxiety about the following it could develop on university campuses.

William Taylor: Princeton’s Last Independent African American Campus Vendor
by April C. Armstrong | Reconstruction to Present (1865-)
William Taylor, a black entrepreneur in Princeton in the first half of the 20th century, was the third and last in a line of independent African American vendors who sold refreshments to students. The nickname students used for Taylor (a racial slur) reflected the casual racism in Princeton was still very much present during the postbellum era, as in the days of the first campus vendor, former fugitive slave James Collins Johnson.

Princeton and Slavery: Holding the Center
by Martha A. Sandweiss and Craig Hollander | Colonial & Early National (1746-1820), Antebellum (1820-1861), Civil War (1861-1865), Reconstruction to Present (1865-)
Princeton University, founded as the College of New Jersey in 1746, exemplifies the central paradox of American history. From the start, liberty and slavery were intertwined.

John Maclean Jr. and Princeton’s Commitment to Sectional Harmony
by Craig Hollander | Antebellum (1820-1861), Civil War (1861-1865)
John Maclean Jr., Princeton’s tenth president (1854-1868), was a non-slaveholder and held moderate antislavery views. His commitment to attracting southern students to the college and reducing sectional tension on campus, however, contributed to Princeton’s conservatism in the years leading up to the Civil War.

The KKK and Princeton's 1955 Emmett Till Petition
by Ellen Li | Reconstruction to Present (1865-)
When three Princeton students organized a petition protesting the acquittal of Emmett Till’s murderers in 1955, classmates dressed in KKK robes threatened their lives. Though the campus newspaper and Princeton administration characterized the incident as a “prank,” the event revealed deep divisions on campus over issues of racial justice.
Primary Sources

“White Supremacy at Princeton”
September 30, 1942 | Reconstruction to Present (1865-)
One of a series of Daily Princetonian editorials arguing for the integration of Princeton University.

“Reporters View Meeting of Klan from Interior”
March 21, 1924 | Reconstruction to Present (1865-)
Daily Princetonian article describing two students’ visit to a Ku Klux Klan meeting near Princeton.

"What Is Behind the Hood?"
October 31, 1923 | Reconstruction to Present (1865-)
Daily Princetonian editorial condemning the lawlessness of the Ku Klux Klan.

"'Klansmen' Reprimanded"
October 4, 1955 | Reconstruction to Present (1865-)
Daily Princetonian article reporting on an undergraduate "prank" where students dressed in KKK robes threatened classmates petitioning the acquittal of Emmett Till's murderers in 1955.

"Ku Klux Invades Princeton"
October 17, 1924 | Reconstruction to Present (1865-)
Daily Princeton article describing the confrontation between Princeton students and Ku Klux Klan members on Nassau Street.
News

Eric Foner and Danielle Allen Discuss Princeton’s Slavery Legacy
The Daily Princetonian, 11/19/17
Symposium panel discussion with Eric Foner and Danielle Allen examines how the Princeton & Slavery Project changes our understanding of American history and poses a challenge to historical commemoration.

Association of Black Seminarians Demands Reparations
The Daily Princetonian, 4/3/19
A group of students at the Princeton Theological Seminary is demanding that the institution pay reparations in response to a report it published last year, which details its historical connections to slavery.

Reparations Now
The Daily Princetonian, 11/5/20
Princeton owned up to its past with the Princeton and Slavery project. While acknowledging this past, the University should make an effort to help those directly affected by it.

Princeton University Launches Princeton & Slavery Website
The Daily Princetonian, 11/6/17
The Princeton & Slavery Project explores how early University trustees, faculty, and students were connected to the institution of slavery.

Titus Kaphar Talks Art, University Connections to Slavery
The Daily Princetonian, 11/17/17
Titus Kaphar, an African-American painter and sculptor whose works are featured in the Museum of Modern Art, discussed the intersection between racism and Princeton University’s history in a lecture on campus.