Select Publications
Books
Happy Dreams of Liberty: An American Family in Slavery and Freedom (Oxford University Press, 2022)
Long-Form
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Jonathan Edwards Jr. | The Princeton & Slavery Project
Jonathan Edwards Jr. (1746-1801), the son of early America’s preeminent theologian and Princeton’s third president, strongly opposed slavery throughout his life and career as a minister—becoming a leading antislavery activist of the 18th century and one of the few abolitionists Princeton ever produced. |
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"The Celebrated Alexander Dumas Watkins": Princeton's First Black Instructor | The Princeton & Slavery Project
Alexander Dumas Watkins (1855-1903), a self-taught biologist, conducted significant scientific research alongside Princeton University professors from the 1880s until his death in 1903. Despite holding no formal academic position, Watkins worked in Princeton’s laboratories and taught courses as the University’s first Black instructor—and the last until the 1950s. |
The Riot of 1846 | The Princeton & Slavery Project
In June 1846, more than a dozen southern students mobbed, whipped, and nearly killed an African American man in Princeton, but only after fighting off another group of classmates who opposed them. This brief flashpoint of violence, in which Princeton students came to blows after dividing along regional lines, revealed the tensions over race and slavery present even at a college known for its moderate conservatism.
In June 1846, more than a dozen southern students mobbed, whipped, and nearly killed an African American man in Princeton, but only after fighting off another group of classmates who opposed them. This brief flashpoint of violence, in which Princeton students came to blows after dividing along regional lines, revealed the tensions over race and slavery present even at a college known for its moderate conservatism.
Marcus Marsh and Benjamin Rush in Philadelphia | The Princeton & Slavery Project
When a yellow fever epidemic devastated Philadelphia in 1793, former slave Marcus Marsh—born in Princeton in 1765—remained in the city to treat the sick alongside physician and founding father Benjamin Rush.
When a yellow fever epidemic devastated Philadelphia in 1793, former slave Marcus Marsh—born in Princeton in 1765—remained in the city to treat the sick alongside physician and founding father Benjamin Rush.
Slavery at the President's House | The Princeton & Slavery Project
At least five Princeton presidents who served between 1756 and 1822 owned enslaved people who lived, worked—and on one occasion were auctioned off—at the President’s House on campus. During this period, the President’s House was the center of slavery at Princeton.
At least five Princeton presidents who served between 1756 and 1822 owned enslaved people who lived, worked—and on one occasion were auctioned off—at the President’s House on campus. During this period, the President’s House was the center of slavery at Princeton.
Princeton's Slaveholding Presidents | The Princeton & Slavery Project
Princeton’s first nine presidents all owned slaves at some point in their lives. Though widely considered to be forward-thinking religious, intellectual, and political leaders in the 18th and 19th centuries, they failed to align their practices with their ideals—embodying the tensions between liberty and slavery that characterized American life from the colonial period to the Civil War.
Princeton’s first nine presidents all owned slaves at some point in their lives. Though widely considered to be forward-thinking religious, intellectual, and political leaders in the 18th and 19th centuries, they failed to align their practices with their ideals—embodying the tensions between liberty and slavery that characterized American life from the colonial period to the Civil War.
Short-Form
An enslaved Alabama family and the question of generational wealth in the United States, OUPblog, Oxford University Press, 15 June 2022.
100-Year-Old Love Story Uncovered in a Central Jersey Attic, Giving Voice, Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum, May 2022.
Remembering March 2, 2001: The Destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas, Memo Blog, 9/11 Memorial & Museum, 2 March 2021
100-Year-Old Love Story Uncovered in a Central Jersey Attic, Giving Voice, Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum, May 2022.
Remembering March 2, 2001: The Destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas, Memo Blog, 9/11 Memorial & Museum, 2 March 2021
"Dr. Artie" Helps New York City Get Back On Its Feet, Memo Blog, 9/11 Memorial & Museum, 29 May 2020
Food for the Soul: The Restaurants of Ground Zero, Memo Blog, 9/11 Memorial & Museum, 5 May 2020
Benjamin Rush 1760: A Great Physician Had Help from a Freed Slave, Princeton Alumni Weekly, 10 April 2019
Ordinary Student, Extraordinary Event: Edward Shippen 1845, Princeton Alumni Weekly, 6 February 2019
Iconoclastic Son of an Iconic Father: Jonathan Edwards Jr. 1765, Princeton Alumni Weekly, 3 October 2018
