Inventory of the Bassett Affair Collection, 1903 - 2003

Bassett Affair Collection, 1903 - 2003.

Duke University. University Archives.

2.0 Linear Feet,
300 Items

University Archives, Duke University

The Bassett Affair is a celebrated case that helped establish the concept of academic freedom in higher education in the United States and is a benchmark incident in race relations in the South. John Spencer Bassett, a Trinity College professor, published a series of articles in the South Atlantic Quarterly (1903) that praised the accomplishments of African Americans and offered views on how to improve race relations. A campaign to remove Bassett from the faculty was thwarted by a vote of support for Bassett from the University's Board of Trustees on Dec. 2, 1903. The collection contains essays, articles, clippings, correspondence, reminiscences, and other published and unpublished matter including Bassett's article, "Stirring Up the Fires of Race Antipathy " (1903); a scrapbook, 1903-1904, kept by Trinity College officials with newspaper clippings documenting national coverage the case received; copies of letters by Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister (1906) commenting on the case and on Trinity; manuscripts of "My Recollections of the Bassett Trial," by Robert Lee Durham (1936), "The Bassett Affair: A Play in Six Acts," by Baird Straughan (1975), and "Crisis at Trinity" a play by John Merritt (1989); lists of related materials in other collections; various shorter articles and speeches including comments by Richard L. Watson and an address to the Academic Council by Terry Sanford; and materials from the centennial celebration of the Bassett Affair, collected by University Archives staff.

English.

Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.

No 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.

[Identification of item], Bassett Affair Collection, University Archives, Duke University.

The Bassett Affair Collection was received by the University Archives as a transfer in 1979 (A79-39), 1996 (A96-2). University Archives staff added material about the centennial celebration of the Bassett Affair in 2003.

Processed by Linda Daniel

Completed July 21, 2003

Encoded by Linda Daniel, July 21, 2003

This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.

The collection contains essays, articles, clippings, correspondence, reminiscences, and other published and unpublished matter including Bassett's article, "Stirring Up the Fires of Race Antipathy" (1903); a scrapbook, 1903-1904, kept by Trinity College officials with newspaper clippings documenting national coverage the case received; copies of letters by Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister (1906) commenting on the case and on Trinity; manuscripts of "My Recollections of the Bassett Trial," by Robert Lee Durham (1936), "The Bassett Affair: A Play in Six Acts," by Baird Straughan (1975), and "Crisis at Trinity" a play by John Merritt (1989); lists of related materials in other collections; various shorter articles and speeches including comments by Richard L. Watson and an address to the Academic Council by Terry Sanford; and materials from the centennial celebration of the Bassett Affair, collected by University Archives staff.

These and related materials may be accessed under the following subject headings in the Duke University Libraries online catalog.