Remaking the Republic of Letters: James McCune Smith and the Classical Tradition
Remaking the Republic of Letters: James McCune Smith and the Classical Tradition
James McCune Smith, a leading black abolitionist, physician, and intellectual in nineteenth-century America, believed that classical literature could help Americans abolish slavery. Fluent in Greek and Latin, McCune Smith believed that the ancients offered cautionary tales for Americans. Their writings emphasized the urgency of abolishing slavery in America and establishing a “pure Republic” rather than another slave republic. With inspiration from the classical tradition, the U.S. could create a new “republic of letters” defined by a new vision of freedom and democracy. McCune Smith articulated this vision in the abolitionist press, most notably in Frederick Douglass’s Paper, in which he drew heavily from Anacreon, Terence, Virgil, Demosthenes, and Aristotle. The classical tradition could empower blacks and women as much as senators and statesmen.
Keywords: James McCune Smith, slavery, republic of letters, abolition, Anacreon, Terence, Virgil, Demosthenes, Aristotle, Frederick Douglass
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