James Redpath and the Promotion of Social Justice in America

FAIN: FT-54162-06

Susan S. Williams
Ohio State University (Columbus, OH 43210-1349)

This cultural study of James Redpath (1833-91) recovers important details about his career, including his abolitionist work, magazine and newspaper editing, book publishing, formation of a national speakers' bureau, and his work with Haitian emigration. This work of recovery, in turn, locates Redpath at the intersection of three key historical and literary movements in nineteenth-century America: the transition in Civil War memory from emancipation to unification; the continued growth of transatlantic radicalism; and the rise of mass media and literary professionalism. As a self-styled "crusader of freedom," Redpath helps to tell a crucial story about our past: how the emerging tools of mass media could be used to promote social justice.

Associated Products

Authentic Revisions: James Redpath and the Promotion of Social Reform in America, 1850-90 (Book Section)
Title: Authentic Revisions: James Redpath and the Promotion of Social Reform in America, 1850-90
Author: Susan S. Williams
Editor: Caroline F. Sloat
Editor: Sandra M. Gustafson
Abstract: Examines how abolitionist publisher James Redpath used manuscript letters and transcriptions, print, and performance to effect social change, with particular focus on his work with the Haitian colonization movement; his support of authors William Wells Brown and Louisa May Alcott; and his collaboration with Jefferson Davis.
Year: 2010
Primary URL: http://www.worldcat.org/title/cultural-narratives-textuality-and-performance-in-american-culture-before-1900/oclc/468973389&referer=brief_results
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
Book Title: Cultural Narratives: Textuality and Performance in American Culture before 1900

Forwarding Literary Interests: James Redpath and the Authorial Careers of Marion Harland, Louisa May Alcott, and Sherwood Bonner (Article)
Title: Forwarding Literary Interests: James Redpath and the Authorial Careers of Marion Harland, Louisa May Alcott, and Sherwood Bonner
Author: Susan S. Williams
Abstract: Examines abolitionist publisher James Redpath's relationship as literary mentor to two southern writers, Marion Harland and Sherwood Bonner (Katharine Bonner McDowell), and one northern writer, Louisa May Alcott, with a particular attention to how their mentoring relationships negotiated the literary and political realms.
Year: 2008
Primary URL: http://muse.jhu.edu.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/journals/legacy/v025/25.2.williams.html
Access Model: subscription
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Legacy: A Journal of American Women Writers
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press

“Forwarding Your Literary Interests: James Redpath and the Representation of Publishing in Alcott, Harland, and Bonner” (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: “Forwarding Your Literary Interests: James Redpath and the Representation of Publishing in Alcott, Harland, and Bonner”
Author: Susan S. Williams
Abstract: Provides overview of abolitionist publisher and writer James Redpath's relationship to three nineteenth-century women writers, looking at the documentation of their relationship in letters and other manuscripts as well as their fictional representations of Redpath.
Date: 11/11/2006
Primary URL: http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/ssaww/ConferenceProgram2006.pdf
Conference Name: Society for the Study of American Women Writers Third International Conference

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