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religion and slavery in
colonial new england

Religion and Slavery in Colonial New England
A Zoom Presentation by Dr. Kenneth Minkema
Director of the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University and Editor, The Works of Jonathan Edwards

Thursday, February 16, 2023 at 7 pm
Register for the Zoom link.
Sliding scale admission: $5 to $25.

REGISTER
From 1729 until 1750, Northampton’s minister was Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), an internationally known philosopher, theologian, and leader of the Great Awakening spiritual revival. While in Northampton, he enslaved three people –Venus, Leah, and Rose. After his move to Stockbridge in 1751, he enslaved three others—a married couple named Joseph and Sue, and a boy named Titus.  In his writings and from the pulpit, Edwards defended the practice of slavery. How and why could a minister uphold the ownership of people and deny basic human rights?
 
In this presentation, Dr. Kenneth Minkema will examine some of the theological and religious justifications for, and critiques of, slavery and the slave trade, as they were expressed from the colonial incursion in the early seventeenth century to the eighteenth century when Jonathan Edwards and his followers were active.

Picture
Jonathan Edwards by Joseph Badger
Courtesy of the Yale University Art Gallery


For background on Jonathan Edwards and slavery see:
https://yaleandslavery.yale.edu/jonathan-edwards


Picture
Kenneth P. Minkema is the Editor of The Works of Jonathan Edwards and Director of The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University, with an appointment as a Research Scholar at Yale Divinity School. He is the author of “Jonathan Edwards’s Defense of Slavery” (Massachusetts Historical Review, Vol. 4, 2002) and “Jonathan Edwards on Slavery and the Slave Trade” (William & Mary Quarterly, Vol. 54, no. 4, Oct. 1977). Widely published on American religious history, Dr. Minkema’s PhD is from the University of Connecticut.

With an introduction by Gina Nortonsmith, Historic Northampton Trustee and Slavery Research Project
committee member and Project Archivist, Archives & Special Collections, Northeastern University.

Gina Nortonsmith is an archivist at Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections, serving as Project Archivist for the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project, Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive at Northeastern University School of Law, a digital resource dedicated to identifying, classifying, and providing factual information and documentation about anti-Black killings in the mid-century South. She has been an attorney, professor, and administrator, and has worked on archival projects in the US and Cuba. Gina is a member of the Historic Northampton Board of Trustees and is a member of the Slavery Research Project committee. Gina has a J.D. and an MILS.
Picture

Header image: Artist's conception of Northampton in 1786 by Maitland de Gogorza, 1936.  At center is the third meetinghouse built in 1737 during Edwards' ministry.  Collection of the Forbes Library, Northampton, Massachusetts.
HISTORIC
​NORTHAMPTON
46 Bridge Street
Northampton
​Massachusetts 01060
[email protected]
​413-584-6011
Museum Hours

Historic Northampton is temporarily closed in May and June 2025. Stay tuned for the next exhibit:
Slavery and Freedom in Northampton, 1654 to 1783.


For upcoming events and programs, see the  Events Calendar.
​

Hours and Directions
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  • About
    • About Historic Northampton
    • Hours and Directions
    • Volunteer
    • Board-Staff
    • Legal/Financial
  • Programs
    • Upcoming Programs
    • Past Events at Historic Northampton >
      • Past Programs 2025
      • Past Programs 2024
      • Mill River Flood 150 Commemoration >
        • Mill River Flood 150 Commemoration Events
        • Mill River Flood Introduction
        • Mill River Flood Lives Lost
        • Mill River Flood Commemoration Markers >
          • \\\\Williamsburg Mill River Flood Markers
          • Skinnerville Mill River Flood Markers
          • Haydenville Mill River Flood Markers
          • Leeds Mill River Markers
          • Florence Mill River Markers
          • Northampton Mill River Markers
        • Mill River Flood Who Was Responsible
        • Mill River Flood Guided Walks to the Dam Ruins
        • Mill River Flood Memorial Tree Project
      • Past Programs 2023
      • Past Programs 2022
      • Past Programs 2021
      • Past Programs 2020
      • Past Programs 2019
    • MCC Card to Culture at Historic Northampton
    • Help I am not receiving email announcements
  • Explore
    • Collections & Research
    • History at Home >
      • Videos
      • Interactive Witch Trial
      • Paper Dolls
      • Hidden Histories
      • Scavenger Hunts
      • Coloring Pages
      • Brain Teasers
      • Peg Doll Hunts
      • Jonathan Edwards Prayer Requests
    • Properties >
      • Parsons House
      • Damon House
      • Shepherd House
      • Shepherd Barn 2020
      • The Bridge Street School Sprouts
    • Educational Websites
    • Historic Highlights
    • COVID-19 Stories >
      • Vaccination Photos
      • Submit Your COVID Story
      • Children React
      • Family and Neighborhood Fun
      • It's a New World
      • Hope and Togetherness
      • Images
      • How Illness Feels
      • Brings Forth Memory
      • Blessings and the New Busy
      • Fear and Worry
  • Indigenous Native History
    • Native Histories in Nonotuck
    • Nonotuck Histories Essay by Margaret M. Bruchac
    • Recovering Nonotuck Histories Photo Essay
    • Profiles of Native People
    • Extended Biographies of Native People
    • Nonotuck to Northampton Maps
    • Native LIves Bibliography
  • History of Slavery
    • About the Slavery Research Project
    • Black Enslaved People
    • Free Black People
    • Native Enslaved People
    • Enslavers of People
    • Relationship Map >
      • Relationship Map Family Groups
      • Relationship Map Enslavement
      • Relationship Map Indenture
      • Relationship Map Legal
      • Relationship Map Commerce
      • Relationship Map Foster or Guardian
      • Relationship Map Social Connections
    • Timeline of Slavery in Northampton
  • DONATE
    • Donate to the Spring Appeal
    • Donate to the exhibit Slavery and Freedom in Northampton
    • WAYS TO GIVE >
      • Monthly Donation
      • IRA Giving
      • Stock Giving
    • Join the Email List
    • Donate to the Collection