Campus Rhetoric

Commencement Ceremonies

In the late 18th century, the programs of commencement ceremonies included public debates. Three of the topics for these commencement debates made direct references to slavery.

In 1768, at the College of Philadelphia Commencement Ceremony, students Thomas Hall, Benjamin Duffield, Daniel Kuhn, and George Noarth, engaged in a ‘Forensic Dispute on the Question, whether keeping Slaves be lawful.’

This was the first debate of its kind to take place publicly at a university. The university’s choice to host the debate speaks a little bit to the climate at the school. The fact that the lawfulness of slavery was, quite literally, up for debate proves the existence of substantial pro-slavery beliefs on campus, which implies there was an assumed validity to both sides of the issue.

In July of 1790, the University of Pennsylvania Commencement Ceremony graduate John Brinton delivered an ‘Oration on Slavery.’

In the same year, the College of Philadelphia graduation hosted a debate between graduates Henry Joseph Hutchins, James Coxe, Gerard Clarkson, and William T. Meredith, on the subject of ‘A forensic dispute, on the lawfulness of slavery.’

Another speech delivered by Henry Joseph Hutchins, a participant in the 1790 College debate, provides additional insight into other campus rhetoric. Hutchins was born in Barbados and traveled to Philadelphia to attend the College of Philadelphia. Genealogical records prove the Hutchins family was involved in colonizing Barbados. No specific documentation of the Hutchin’s family papers proves slave ownership. However, family wealth and presence in institutions of higher education suggest the possibility of slave ownership.

Hutchins delivered another speech at the commencement ceremony titled, ‘A Humorous Oration on Noses.’ The speech had previously been published in the Universal Asylum and Columbian Magazine. The ‘humorous’ speech makes damaging racial claims that perpetuate the biological ideas of race-based science researched by several members of the Penn & Slavery Project. He begins the speech with a commentary on the variety of shapes, colors, and sizes of noses among people throughout the world. The most ideal of these noses, he argues, is the Roman or “aquiline” nose of Europeans, which he claims is not only the most aesthetically pleasing but also “imparts genius” he asks:

Universal Asylum & Columbian Magazine, July 1, 1790.

“Did you ever see a man with a fine aquiline nose that was not possessed of superior intellects?” He argues the larger protrusion of the European nose allows for “greater room for the expansion of the brain.”

Hutchins does speak about a few other types of noses, most notably, the “broad flat nose,” which he claims is specific to African Americans. He argues that the broad and flat nose denotes laziness and stupidity. Hutchins even instructs parents of young children to pinch and pull their children’s noses to mold them into the ideal European shape. These instructions not only reinforce negative stereotypes about African Americans, but they also support ideas about the biology of race and racial pseudoscience.

When debates and speeches like these are included in the as a part of Penn’s history and Penn’s traditions, it demonstrates the ways in which the undergraduate students on campus perpetuated ideas of racial difference and black inferiority.

~ Research conducted by Sarah Cronin

Student Societies & Magazines

The members of The Zelosophic Society regularly published two literary magazines: The Zelosophic Review and The Critic. The publications contain letters to and from the editors, plays, poems, and short stories. Once printed, each edition was distributed amongst members of the society, and perhaps through the general population of the school.

The image below is an example of the type of content published in the magazines.

More research will be conducted in future semesters to contextualize the racial overtones in the image. Because many of the entries are based on 19th Century iconic humor, it is difficult to understand these messages from a modern perspective. Nonetheless, even if the exact meaning remains unclear, the images are clearly racialized.

The racial commentary does not exist exclusively in the magazine’s images. The following quote appears in an essay titled “History” in an 1862 edition of the Review:

“In hot countries, Africa for example, the people are indolent and seldom arrive at a high degree of civilization. Man arrives at the highest mental as well as bodily strength perfection in the temperate zone too, we find the great works of men, long canals, railways, telegraphs, and great cities, which are not found in colder or hotter countries.”

The notion that African countries are less civilized due to climate is consistent with the racial pseudo-science found in the official curriculum of the medical school.

~ Research conducted by Hayle Meyerhoff

Student Societies & Debates

In its early years, The Zelosophic Society hosted debates. There are few surviving records of their discussions, thus it unclear if the debaters were allowed a choice in affirming or negating the topic. However, by hosting the debates, the Zelosophic society suggests that both sides there was validity to both sides of the issue. P&SP Researchers were able to locate records from the debates of the following debates directly referencing the issue of slavery:

1848: Whether intemperance or slavery is the greater evil. (No decision recorded)
1850: Are the efforts of abolitionists an advantage to slavery? (decided in the negative)
1850: Whether the fugitive slave law is in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution. (decided in the affirmative)
1853: Is slavery a moral evil? (No decision recorded)

It is important to note that the Zelosophic Society hosted a variety of debates on a number of topics, many of which were unrelated to the institution of slavery. A selection of the debate topics are as follows:

1862: Is card playing beneficial?
1862: Will the new chair of the fine arts be beneficial?
1862: Which exerts the greatest influence on men, women or money?”

These topics suggest that some of the debates were less political and more akin to simple matters of opinion. Additionally, these topics suggest the society was concerned with Penn-centric issues, along with national issues. The final topic provides some insight into the members’ perception of gender and sexuality but also serves as a reminder that the members are young men, and as such, consider questions that revolve around their own identities.

It is also important to note that the separation of debates into the above categories was added by the presenter. The Zelosophic Society made no such distinction in their records, implying that the debates were valued as of equal importance. This emphasizes the fact that the members were privileged enough to discuss slavery in the abstract, with as much concern for the issue as they had for card playing and poetry. The lack of prioritization stems from the fact that it was not their bodies that suffered exploitation and enslavement. The lack of immediacy in the records is a product of the somewhat removed academic space in which these debates took place.

This semester’s research on the Zelosophic Society is merely the beginning of the search for understanding Penn’s 19th Century undergraduate culture around race and slavery. There is more work to be done, and this research will continue, focusing next on individual members to ascertain how their backgrounds might have impacted their presence in the society, and furthermore, their beliefs later in life.

~ Research conducted by Hayle Meyerhoff

Student Societies & Student Military Service

In the 19th Century, the University of Pennsylvania had two knowledge societies: The Zelosophic Society (1820) and The Philomatehon Society (1813). These societies were the important centers of intellectual life on campus, and both societies were part of a larger network of knowledge and debate societies on nearly every college campus in the country. While most of their archives are not located at the University of Pennsylvania, the available records provide information about the members who served in the Civil War. The war began as a violent conflict for the preservation of the Union and eventually was recognized as a war to decide whether the nation would preserve or eradicate the institution of slavery. The following graphs provide statistics about the members during their service between the years of 1862 and 1864. It is worth noting that the Enrollment Act of 1863 federally mandated compulsory enlistment in the Union Forces. Of the 44 members who served in the military, only 2 served in the Confederate Forces.

~ Research conducted by Hyungtae Kim