Document 6: 5 July 1861, Independence Day – Digitizing American Feminisms

Author: Emilie E. Palmer

Date: 5 July 1861

Location: Emilie E. Palmer 1859 Diary, Record Group 19/2, Oberlin College Archives

Document Type: Autograph Document

Introduction:

Palmer describes the Independence Day celebration she anticipated in her previous 3 July 1861 entry. She also mentions a lecture by James Fairchild, a significant figure in the history of Oberlin College. Her appreciation for his words provides an example of the way in which Palmer often sought solace in religion. These particular musings suggest that Palmer struggled with finding her religious identity, and engaged with her own concept of “worthiness” under God. This thinking reflects the religious nature of Oberlin College during this time, and the ways in which the Civil War led many to look to God as a form of reckoning with the violence occurring around them.

Document Text:

5th

Yesterday I went to Lagrange [sic] with Augustine. I was disappointed—didn’t see any thing but dancing and what I saw and heard sickened me. I am so thankful that I was not brought up to do such things.¹

I attended the [illegible] lecture this afternoon. Mr. Fairchild² spoke from the words “Give none occasion to the adversary, to speak reproachfully.”³ It was what I needed. God grant that it be profitable to me. I know that the only way to be a true Christian is to live in constant communion with the Savior. Thus we shall be prepared to work for God and to see the way when he points it out. I feel not in any way worthy to go to the table of the Lord. My heart must be made right.

Transcribed by Frances Casey

¹Palmer was in LaGrange, Ohio for the July 4 celebration because all the military companies were there. It is likely that she was scandalized by the dancing she saw. This is not surprising given that the town of Oberlin and Oberlin College were founded simultaneously to “renounce bad habits” and exclude “worldly influences.” (James Fairchild, Oberlin: The Colony and The College, 1833-1883 (Oberlin: E. J. Goodrich, 1883), pp. 26 and 16.)

²In 1861, James Harris Fairchild (1817-1902) was the chair of Systematic Theology and Moral Philosophy at Oberlin College. Fairchild was also instrumental in the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue, as he housed John Price in September 1858. He would later serve as the Oberlin College’s third President from 1866-1889. (“James Harris Fairchild (1817-1902)” Oberlin College Archives, Web address, accessed 11 March 2015.).

³This is an excerpt from 1 Timothy 5:14, which in its entirety states: “I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.” Timothy, Chapter 5, discusses conduct for widows.

The projects on this site all began as class assignments. Students work together in teams of two or three work together to create a “mini-edition” based on documents in the Oberlin College Archives identified by Professor Lasser and Archivist Ken Grossi for their potential to illuminate aspects of feminisms. Each student individually selects a document from the team’s collection, transcribes and annotates it, and produces a headnote for it. Together, the members of the team cooperate to write an introduction to the project identifying how the contents contribute to understanding the history of American feminisms.

Before posting on this site, all projects received editorial attention from Professor Lasser. Jen Graham OC 2013 assisted with mini-editions completed in Spring 2013. Hanna Van Reed OC 2015 assisted the Spring 2015 class, and Summer 2015 Student Editors, Rebecca Debus, Natalia Shevin and Joanna Wiley-- all OC 2017--edited and extended projects completed in Spring 2015.

See the projects here...

Oberlin College History Professor Carol Lasser teaches “First Wave American Feminisms” and “Second Wave American Feminisms.” Each of these courses investigates the social movements, political thought, and the changing trajectories of power for women, situating female gendered persons in changing intersectional contexts, including race, religion, region, class, sexuality, household status and citizenship. Students in the class work with primary documents in order to better understand how race, class, gender, sexuality, and historical moment shape notions of gender justice, and to experience first-hand how historians make sense of evidence.