Jonathan Edwards Jr.: The Abolitionist Pastor Who Rejected His Father's Slavery Legacy
Jonathan Edwards Jr., the ninth of eleven siblings born in 1745 to theologian Jonathan Edwards Sr., took a stand against slavery, unlike his father, who accepted it. Edwards Sr., a notable preacher and the third president of The College of New Jersey, owned six enslaved people: Venus, Titus, Leah, Rose, Joseph, and Sue. Raised in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Edwards Jr. engaged with Native American cultures, learned Mohican, and authored a book advocating for their language. After attending The College of New Jersey, he wrote anti-slavery pieces under the name "Antidoulios" while in White Haven, Connecticut. He served as Union College's president from 1799 to 1801, with his views anticipating those of future abolitionists, while his father is recognized for Calvinist theology.
Key facts
- Jonathan Edwards Sr. owned at least six enslaved people: Venus, Titus, Leah, Rose, Joseph, and Sue
- Jonathan Edwards Jr. was born in 1745 as the ninth of eleven children
- Edwards Jr. learned Mohican fluently as a child in Stockbridge, Massachusetts
- He published anti-slavery writings under the pseudonym "Antidoulios"
- Edwards Jr. served as president of Union College from 1799 to 1801
- His father was third president of The College of New Jersey (Princeton University)
- Edwards Jr. argued against slavery using theological reasoning and biblical interpretation
- He highlighted hypocrisy between American independence movements and slavery practices
Entities
Artists
- Jonathan Edwards Sr.
- Jonathan Edwards Jr.
- Sarah Edwards
- R. Babson
- J. Andrews
- Daderot
Institutions
- The College of New Jersey
- Princeton University
- First Congregational Church
- Union College
- Library of Congress
- Wikimedia Commons
Locations
- Northampton
- Massachusetts
- United States
- Stockbridge
- Connecticut
- White Haven
- Princeton
- New Jersey
- Schenectady
- New York