A vivid and disquieting narrative of Jesuit slaveholding and its historical relationship with Jesuit universities in the United States
The Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits, is renowned for the quality of the order’s impact on higher education. Less well known, however, is the relationship between Jesuit higher education and slavery. For more than two hundred years, Jesuit colleges and seminaries in the United States supported themselves on the labor of the enslaved.
“Let Us Go Free” tells the complex stories of the free and enslaved people associated with these Catholic institutions. Walker Gollar shows that, in spite of their Catholic faith, Jesuits were in most respects very typical slaveholders. At times, they may have been concerned with the spiritual and physical well-being of the enslaved, but mostly they were concerned with the finances of their plantations and farms. Gollar traces the legacies of the Jesuits’ participation in the slaveholding economy, portrays the experiences of those enslaved by the Jesuits, and shares the Jesuits’ attempts to come to terms with their history.
Deeply based on original research in Jesuit archives, “Let Us Go Free” provides a vivid and disquieting narrative of Jesuit slaveholding for the general reader interested in the historical relationship between slavery and universities in the United States.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Preface: Molly and Thomas Brown
Introduction
Part 1 Colonization
Chapter 1 The Americas, 1492–1619
Chapter 2 Central and South America, 1572–1760
Chapter 3 Jamestown, 1564–1622
Chapter 4 Maryland Adventurers, 1634–1638
Chapter 5 Early Colonists, 1634–1641
Chapter 6 Jesuit Farmers, 1638–1668
Chapter 7 The "New Negroes," 1660–1700
Part 2 Georgetown
Chapter 8 Jesuit Slaveholders, 1688–1740
Chapter 9 Enslaved Catholics, 1730–1770
Chapter 10 Revolution and War, 1770–1789
Chapter 11 Georgetown College, 1788–1811
Chapter 12 Self-Emancipated People, 1787–1815
Chapter 13 Free African Americans, 1800–1815
Chapter 14 Maryland Plantations in Decline, 1815–1830
Chapter 15 Abandoned People, 1830–1861
Part 3 The Catholic Frontier
Chapter 16 The Frontier, 1760–1825
Chapter 17 St. Louis, 1825–1863
Chapter 18 Kentucky, 1832–1868
Chapter 19 Grand Coteau, Louisiana, 1838–1848
Chapter 20 Spring Hill, Alabama, 1830–1847
Chapter 21 Dominicans in Kentucky, 1768–1832
Chapter 22 St. Xavier College, Ohio, 1833–1854
Part 4 Descendants
Chapter 23 Maryland, 1865–1923
Chapter 24 Emancipatory Educators, 1924–2003
Chapter 25 Descendants Reunited, 2004–2020
Conclusion: Regret, Gratitude, and Reconciliation
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
Reviews
"‘Let Us Go Free’ does an excellent job putting slavery at Georgetown University into its larger context. Gollar’s book is an important reminder that the connections between Catholic universities and slavery extended far beyond Maryland. ‘Let Us Go Free’ is necessary reading for all who wish to better understand the tangled alliance of religion, education, and slavery in early America."—Jennifer Oast, professor of history, Bloomsburg University, author of Institutional Slavery: Slaveholding Churches, Schools, Colleges, and Businesses in Virginia, 1680–1860,
"C. Walker Gollar’s skill and care as a historian is evident on every page of 'Let Us Go Free': Slavery and Jesuit Universities in America. He documents the lives of those whose labor made possible the American Jesuit educational system that serves so many today. The work is a ticket to the past for those who are ready to begin a sober journey of understanding that past and its legacy."—Cecilia A. Moore, associate professor, Department of Religious Studies, University of Dayton
"Through meticulous research, expert detail, and insightful analysis, Gollar unravels this complex history, never losing sight of the humanity and resilience of the enslaved individuals involved....Essential reading for scholars and others interested in the history of US Catholicism and slavery."—CHOICE connect
About the Author
C. Walker Gollar is professor of church history in the Department of Theology at Xavier University in Cincinnati. He specializes in the history of American Catholicism. He is the author of American and Catholic: Stories of the People who Built the Church (2015).
