The Heathen School
Subtitle: a story of hope and betrayal in the age of the early Republic
By: John Demos
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Published: 2014
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 337
ISBN-13: 9780679455103
Subjects: Hawaiians; Race relations; Indians of North America; Home missions; Foreign Mission School (Cornwall, Conn.); Education; Problem youth; History
Description: "The astonishing story of a unique missionary project-- and the America it embodied-- from historian John Demos. Near the start of the nineteenth century, as the newly established United States looked outward toward the wider world, a group of eminent Protestant ministers formed a grand scheme for gathering the rest of mankind into the redemptive fold of Christianity and "civilization." Its core element was a special school for "heathen youth" drawn from all parts of the earth, including the Pacific Islands, China, India, and, increasingly, the native nations of North America. If all went well, graduates would return to join similar projects in their respective homelands. For some years, the school prospered, indeed became quite famous. However, when two Cherokee students courted and married local women, public resolve-- and fundamental ideals-- were put to a severe test. The Heathen School follows the progress, and the demise, of this first true melting pot through the lives of individual students: among them, Henry Obookiah, a young Hawaiian who ran away from home and worked as a seaman in the China Trade before ending up in New England; John Ridge, son of a powerful Cherokee chief and subsequently a leader in the process of Indian "removal"; and Elias Boudinot, editor of the first newspaper published by and for Native Americans. From its birth as a beacon of hope for universal "salvation," the heathen school descends into bitter controversy, as American racial attitudes harden and intensify. Instead of encouraging reconciliation, the school exposes the limits of tolerance and sets off a chain of events that will culminate tragically in the Trail of Tears" --

Contains primary source material
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages [279]-318) and index.
Table of contents: title: Beginnings. American outreach : the China trade ; "Providence unquestionably cast them on our shores"; title: Hawaii; title: Ascent. American mission : the world savers ; "A seminary for the education of heathen youth"; title: Cornwall; title: Crisis. American paradox : the indelible color line ; "So much excitement and disgust throughout our county"; title: The Cherokee Nation; title: Finale. American tragedy : renascence and removal ; "Even the stoutest hearts melt into tears."