Johns Hopkins: A Quaker in a Slave State

Who was Johns Hopkins? And how should we understand his life in the context of slavery and freedom in nineteenth-century America? This six-week course explores the life and legacy of the Maryland merchant, banker, and philanthropist who founded the world-renowned university and hospital that bear his name. Drawing on newly published research, the course reexamines long-standing assumptions about Hopkins' relationship to slavery, his Quaker upbringing, and his evolving support for abolition. Through close engagement with primary sources-including census records, letters, and business documents-we will reconstruct Hopkins' world: his family, his career, his diverse circle of associates, and the sources of his remarkable philanthropic vision.