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John Spencer Bassett (September 10, 1867 – January 27, 1928) was an American historian. He was a professor at Trinity College (today
Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jame ...
), and is best known today for the "Bassett Affair" in 1903 when he publicly criticized racism among Southern elites, and called
Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American ...
, "all in all the greatest man, save General Lee, born in the South in 100 years." Despite widespread outrage, the college trustees refused to accept Bassett's resignation by a vote of 18 to 7. After Trinity, he became a professor of history at
Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
in Massachusetts.Doherty p 28-29 and was the executive director of the
American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...
for many years.


Early life and education

Bassett was born September 10, 1867 in
Tarboro, North Carolina Tarboro is a town located in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Rocky Mount Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 10,721. It is the county seat of Edgecombe County. T ...
. John Spencer Bassett was the second of seven children of Richard Baxter Bassett (son of Richard and Caroline Spencer Bassett) who was born September 20, 1832 in Williamsburg, Virginia, and died March 25, 1902 in Goldsboro, North Carolina; and Mary Jane Wilson (daughter of John Wilson and Susannah Dunn of Maine), born November 7, 1845 in
Edgecombe County, North Carolina Edgecombe County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,900. Its county seat is Tarboro. Edgecombe County is part of the Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...
, and died September 1, 1903 in
Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County and Wake County. With a population of 283,506 in the 2020 Census, Durham is the 4th- ...
. Both of his parents are buried in Willow Dale Cemetery in Goldsboro,
Wayne County, North Carolina Wayne County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 117,333. Its county seat is Goldsboro and it is home to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. Wayne County comprises the Goldsboro, NC ...
. He entered Trinity College (now Duke University) in 1886, as a junior, graduating with an
A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
. In 1894 he earned a
Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in history from
Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consiste ...
, under the direction of
Herbert Baxter Adams Herbert Baxter Adams (April 16, 1850 – July 30, 1901) was an American educator and historian who brought German rigor to the study of history in America; a founding member of the American History Association; and one of the earliest ed ...
. As one of the first PhD's trained at
Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consiste ...
in Baltimore, he was introduced to a new, research-based higher education.


Career


The Bassett Affair

In 1902 Bassett launched the '' South Atlantic Quarterly,'' a journal whose purpose was to promote the "literary, historical, and social development of the South." It was from this journal that Bassett began to challenge more aggressively the southern press and prevailing sentiments about southern history and issues revolving around race. In October 1903 he published an article in the ''South Atlantic Quarterly'' titled "Stirring Up the Fires of Racial Antipathy" triggering a controversy that nearly cost the young professor his job. In the article, he spoke about improving race relations and gave praise to numerous African Americans. Near the end of the article, he wrote "...
Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American ...
sthe greatest man, save General Lee, born in the South in a hundred years..." This led to an outpouring of anger from powerful
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa * Botswana Democratic Party * Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *De ...
leaders as well as the media and public. The most vociferous of which was the Raleigh ''News and Observer'' and its editor,
Josephus Daniels Josephus Daniels (May 18, 1862 – January 15, 1948) was an American newspaper editor and publisher from the 1880s until his death, who controlled Raleigh's ''News & Observer'', at the time North Carolina's largest newspaper, for decades. A ...
. Many demanded that Bassett be fired and encouraged parents to take their children out of the university. Due to immense public pressure, Bassett offered his resignation if the Board of Trustees requested that he do so. The Board of Trustees then held a meeting to decide; in the end, they voted 18-7 not to accept the resignation citing academic freedom. In their decision, they wrote, "We are particularly unwilling to lend ourselves to any tendency to destroy or limit academic liberty, a tendency which has, within recent years, manifested itself in some conspicuous instances, and which has created a feeling of uneasiness for the welfare of American colleges ..We cannot lend countenance to the degrading notion that professors in American colleges have not an equal liberty of thought and speech with all other Americans." In 1905, President
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
commended Trinity and Bassett's courageous stand for academic freedom while speaking to the university. He told the school, "You stand for
Academic Freedom Academic freedom is a moral and legal concept expressing the conviction that the freedom of inquiry by faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy as well as the principles of academia, and that scholars should have freedom to teach ...
, for the right of private judgment, for a duty more incumbent upon the scholar than upon any other man, to tell the truth as he sees it, to claim for himself and to give to others the largest liberty in seeking after the truth."


Post-affair career

In 1906, he became a professor at
Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
in Massachusetts. After 1919, he was the long-time secretary (Executive Director) of the
American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...
, and helped to stabilize its finances through an endowment. He was elected a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
in 1921. He wrote numerous books on North Carolina, a major biography of Andrew Jackson, several textbooks, and produced carefully edited editions of important primary sources, most notably his seven volume ''Correspondence of Andrew Jackson'' (1926-1935).


Personal life

In Forsyth, North Carolina on August 10, 1892, John Spencer Bassett married Jessie Lewellin. She was born January 31, 1866 in Clarksville, Mecklenburg County, Virginia; died April 3, 1950 in Northampton, Massachusetts. John Spencer Bassett and Jessie Lewellin Bassett are buried in the Bridge Street Cemetery, Northampton, Massachusetts. They had two children: * Richard Horace Bassett (1900-1995) *Margaret Byrd Bassett (1902–1982) Bassett died 27 January 1928 in Washington, DC.


Memorials

* A freshman residence hall on Duke's East Campus is named for Bassett.


Archival materials

*The John Spencer Bassett papers at the Library of Congress include 25,450 items. * Papers regarding to his time at Trinity are located in the Duke University Library.


References


Further reading

* * Doherty, Herbert J. "John Spencer Bassett" in Clyde N. Wilson, ed. Twentieth-century American Historians (Gale Research Company, 1983) pp 19–32 * Stephenson, Wendell H. "John Spencer Bassett as a Historian of the South," ''North Carolina Historical Review'' volume 25 (1948) 289-317 * * *


External links


Bassett's Duke page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bassett, John Spencer 1867 births 1928 deaths 19th-century American historians 19th-century American male writers Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni Duke University faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Johns Hopkins University alumni People from Tarboro, North Carolina Smith College faculty 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters