Inventory of
the John Spencer Bassett Collection,
1802 - 1998(bulk
1893-1911),
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Descriptive Summary
Title
John
Spencer Bassett Collection,
1802 - 1998 (bulk 1893-1911)
Creator
Bassett, John
Spencer, 1867-1928.
Extent
1.0 Linear Feet,
250
Items
Repository
University Archives, Duke
University
Abstract
John Spencer Bassett, a professor in the History Department
of Trinity College from 1893-1906, was a renowned educator
and advocate of freedom of expression. A native of North
Carolina, Bassett received his A.B. from Trinity College in
1888 and his doctorate at Johns Hopkins University in 1894.
He returned to Trinity College to teach and was active in
teaching, writing and collecting southern Americana.
Bassett began publication of an annual series of
Historical Papers of
the Trinity College Historical Society; founded the
honorary society 9019, a precursor to Phi Beta Kappa;
founded and edited the scholarly journal, the
South Atlantic
Quarterly; and encouraged his students to publish
and fostered their interests in Southern history. In 1903,
Bassett published an article,
"Stirring Up the Fires of
Race Antipathy"
in the
South Atlantic
Quarterly, that praised the accomplishments of
African Americans and offered views on how to improve race
relations. Bassett's views brought on a controversy that
became known as the
"Bassett Affair"
that
helped to establish the concept of academic freedom in
higher education in the United States. The collection
contains personal and professional papers related to the
life and work of John Spencer Bassett. Materials range in
date from 1802 to 1998 (bulk 1893-1911) and include
biographical information, correspondence, printed material,
newspaper clippings, manuscripts, and souvenirs.
Language
English.
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Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
The collection is open for research. The Jessie
Lewellin Bassett autobiography is open for research but not
for publication, upon donor request.
Use Restrictions
Copyright for Official University records is
held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by
the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants,
as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], John Spencer Bassett
Collection, University Archives, Duke University.
Provenance
The John Spencer Bassett Collection was received
by the University Archives as a gift in 1960 (A60-233),
1966 (A66-34), 1967 (A67-10), 1972 (A72-32), 1998 (A98-16);
as a purchase in 1939 (A39-3130); and as a transfer in 1964
(A64-68).
Processing Information
Processed by Linda Daniel
Completed July 2003
Encoded by Linda Daniel, July 2003
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
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Biographical Note
John Spencer Bassett, a professor in the History
Department of Trinity College from 1893-1906, was a
renowned educator and advocate of freedom of expression. A
native of North Carolina, Bassett received his A.B. from
Trinity College in 1888 and his doctorate at Johns Hopkins
University in 1894. He returned to Trinity College to teach
and was active in teaching, writing and collecting southern
Americana. Bassett began publication of an annual series of
Historical Papers of
the Trinity College Historical Society; founded the
honorary society 9019, a precursor to Phi Beta Kappa;
founded and edited the scholarly journal, the
South Atlantic
Quarterly; and encouraged his students to publish
and fostered their interests in Southern history.
In 1903, Bassett published an article,
"Stirring Up the Fires of Race
Antipathy"
in the
South Atlantic
Quarterly, that praised the accomplishments of
African Americans and offered views on how to improve race
relations. Bassett's views brought on a controversy that
became known as the
"Bassett Affair"
that
helped to establish the concept of academic freedom in
higher education in the United States.
Bassett was named Professor of History at Smith
College in 1906. Bassett continued his career as a noted
historiographer and became the acknowledged authority on
Andrew Jackson. He also served as secretary of the American
Historical Association from 1919 to 1928. John Spencer
Bassett died in Washington, DC, in 1928.
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Collection Overview
The collection contains personal and professional
papers related to the life and work of John Spencer
Bassett. Materials range in date from 1802 to 1998 (bulk
1893-1911) and include biographical information,
correspondence, printed material, newspaper clippings,
manuscripts, and souvenirs. The correspondence (1893-1917)
includes a copy of a 1911 letter to Charles Frances Adams
in which Bassett gives his account of the Bassett Affair.
Other correspondents include Oswald G. Villard, William
Kenneth Boyd, Edwin Mims, and William E. Dodd. Much of the
original correspondence concerns affairs of the Roanoke
Colony Memorial Association. Clippings ([1802]-1896)
include articles about North Carolina politics, Civil War
history, the Bassett Affair, Trinity College matters, race
relations, the media, and education. The manuscripts
include the autobiography of Jessie Lewellin Bassett, wife
of John Spencer Bassett, in which she describes her life
from 1866 until her marriage to Bassett in 1892; a copy of
the paper,
"How to Collect and Preserve
Historical Material,"
that Bassett presented to the
State Historical Association on Oct. 23, 1900; and John L.
Woodward's Ph.B. thesis,
"Causes and Progress of the
Revolutionary Movement in North Carolina,"
(1894).
The bulk of John Spencer Bassett's personal papers
can be found in the Manuscript Division of the Library of
Congress.
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Subject Headings
These and related materials may be accessed under
the following subject headings in the Duke University
Libraries online catalog.
-
Academic
freedom.
-
Bassett, Jessie
Lewellin.
-
Bassett, John
Spencer, 1867-1928.
-
College teachers--North Carolina.
-
Duke
University.
-
Freedom of speech--North Carolina.
-
Racism--North
Carolina.
-
Roanoke Colony
Memorial Association.
-
Southern states--Race relations.
-
Trinity College
(Durham, N.C.)
- Bassett, Jessie
Lewellin.
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John Spencer Bassett Papers.
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress.
Bassett Affair Collection.
University Archives, Duke University.
B.N. Duke Papers.
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special
Collections Library, Duke University.
John C. Kilgo Papers.
University Archives, Duke University.
James Southgate Papers.
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special
Collections Library, Duke University.
Ninety Nineteen (9019) Records.
University Archives, Duke University.
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Detailed Description of the Collection
Container List
Box 1
Folder 1
Biographical information on John
Spencer Bassett,
1943-1976
Folder 2-9
Correspondence,
[1893]-1917
Folder 10
John Spencer Bassett, "How to
Collect and Preserve Historical Material," a paper read
before the State Historical Association,
Nov. 25,
1900
Folder 11
John L. Woodward, Ph.B. thesis,
"Causes and Progress of the Revolutionary Movement in North
Carolina,"
1894
Folder 12
Research papers collected by John
Spencer Bassett,
1856-1869
Folder 13
Catalog of manuscript holdings of
the Trinity College Historical Society,
[1905]
Folder 14-17
Clippings,
[1806]-1902
Folder 18
Trinity College memorabilia,
1899-1918
Folder 19
Roanoke Colony Memorial Association,
1893-1894. Includes copies of
the Articles of Incorporation and bylaws, clippings, and
printed material.
Folder 20
Souvenirs collected by John Spencer
Bassett
Folder 21
Photographs,
1884-1906
(photocopies)
Box 2
Folder 22-25
Jessie Lewellin Bassett,
Autobiography,
[ca. 1940]
Open for research but not for
publication.
Folder 26-29
Jessie Lewellin Bassett,
Autobiography,
[ca.
1940], (photocopy)
Open for research but not for
publication.
