The Heathen School

John Demos' new book, The Heathen School: A Story of Hope and Betrayal in the Early Republic, reviewed here by Maureen Corrigan, tells the story of the Foreign Mission School, founded in Cornwall, Connecticut in 1816:

"Known familiarly as the 'Heathen School,' it brought together young men from Hawaii, China, India and the Native American nations for the purpose of converting them to Christianity and then sending them back as missionaries to their home countries. The constitution of the Heathen School boasted that its students would be 'employed as instruments of salvation to their benighted countrymen.'"

The school created an opportunity for local, white women to meet (and marry) men of color - a result not expected by the school's founders and protested by some in the Cornwall community. Their stories are an interesting window into 19th century racial experiences. For example:

"In 1824, a young white woman named Sarah Northrup, who hailed from one of the most prominent families in town, married a student named John Ridge and moved with him to the Cherokee Nation in the state of Georgia... The home of John Ridge, his wife, Sarah, and their mixed-race children was a plantation. Ridge was a slave owner."

In her review, Maureen Corrigan says, "The Heathen School is a provocative addition to recent narrative histories that explore how racial categories and attitudes have changed over time in America."

Read or Listen to Maureen Corrigan's review of The Heathen School here.