I do not say that blacks are a distinct species; but I have not the slightest doubt of their being an inferior variety of the human species; and not capable of the same improvement as the whites.”
-Thomas Cooper Mar. 16, 1826 Letter. (1)
At Dickinson College
Cooper accepted a position as a professor at Dickinson College and also became the Natural Philosophy and Chemistry Chair of the college.[1] He began his professorship at Dickinson just months after he was removed from his office as a judge. However, it was not this controversy but rather Cooper’s upbringing in the English eighteenth century Enlightenment that sparked a fierce debate between him and President Atwater.[2] Upon Atwater’s arrival to Dickinson College just a few years before Cooper’s, Atwater exclaimed that Carlisle “‘has literally & emphatically long been Satan’s seat. There pride & ir-religion have long been enthroned & enjoyed undisputed dominion.’” He was especially surprised that especially Southerners acted as “‘their own masters, doing what was right in their own eyes’” with little regard for others or morals.[3] In only a few short years, Atwater instilled religious beliefs and morals into the students at Dickinson, so Cooper’s deism and importance on reason over religion was the source of many debates between the pair, especially because “Cooper was in everything critical, contentious, and outspoken.”[4] Atwater even went so far as to claim “‘infidelity is determined to rule this College & carry things with a high hand,’” and Cooper was the infidels’ “‘idol.’”[5] While Atwater despised him, the board of trustees viewed him favorably.[6]
Outside of his debates with Atwater, much of Cooper’s life at Dickinson revolved around science. For his classroom, he created experiments and added notes to some prominent textbooks on chemistry. At the same time, he was also politically motivated. He worked as an adviser to James Madison during his presidency. His particular focus in this endeavor was as a military scientist. He encouraged Madison to have scientists study Congreve rockets and promoted a new shell for the weapon, while also analyzing and studying fragments of the rockets himself.[7] These rockets, or missiles, were being used throughout the beginning of the 1800s by England against both the French and the Americans. Cooper’s study into these rockets was important because they were a new technology employed by the British internationally. In fact, the Congreve rockets were even memorialized in their inspiration to the lines “And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air” in Francis Scott Key’s 1814 poem “The Star-Spangled Banner.”[8]
In 1815, almost the entirety of Dickinson College’s faculty resigned, including Cooper and Atwater.[9] In response to his decision to resign from Dickinson College, the trustees of the college drafted a letter opened with the trustees expressing “extreme regret.” The letter which was written on September 29, 1815, thanked Cooper for his service to the school and acknowledged that “the institution, in losing your services, loses much.” They signed the letter “with all sentiments of attachment and respect, we are, dear Sir, very affectionately yours.”[10] This favorable send-off revealed both Cooper’s character and prominence during his time at the college.
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Sources
[1] John Osborne. “About the Author Thomas Cooper (1759-1839).” 1-2. [WEB]
[2] Whitfield J. Bell. “Thomas Cooper as Professor of Chemistry at Dickinson College 1811-1815.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences vol. 8, no. 1 (1953): 73. [JSTOR]
[3] Whitfield J. Bell. “Thomas Cooper as Professor of Chemistry at Dickinson College 1811-1815.” 71.
[4] Ibid, 74.
[5] Ibid, 76.
[6] Ibid, 70-87.
[7] Penn Biographies, “Thomas Cooper (1759-1841).” [WEB]
[8] Frank Winter. “The Rockets That Inspired Francis Scott Key.” Air & Space Magazine, September 2014. [Air & Space Smithsonian]
[9] Derek A. Davenport. “Reason and Relevance: The 1811-13 Lectures of Professor Thomas Cooper.” Journal of Chemical Education, vol. 53, 422. [JSTOR]
[10] Dickinson College Trustees. “Response to Resignation Letter.” Dickinson College Archives: D.F. Bio Cooper, Thomas 1759-1840: Faculty 1811-15, (Carlisle: Sept 29, 1815).
[2] Whitfield J. Bell. “Thomas Cooper as Professor of Chemistry at Dickinson College 1811-1815.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences vol. 8, no. 1 (1953): 73. [JSTOR]
[3] Whitfield J. Bell. “Thomas Cooper as Professor of Chemistry at Dickinson College 1811-1815.” 71.
[4] Ibid, 74.
[5] Ibid, 76.
[6] Ibid, 70-87.
[7] Penn Biographies, “Thomas Cooper (1759-1841).” [WEB]
[8] Frank Winter. “The Rockets That Inspired Francis Scott Key.” Air & Space Magazine, September 2014. [Air & Space Smithsonian]
[9] Derek A. Davenport. “Reason and Relevance: The 1811-13 Lectures of Professor Thomas Cooper.” Journal of Chemical Education, vol. 53, 422. [JSTOR]
[10] Dickinson College Trustees. “Response to Resignation Letter.” Dickinson College Archives: D.F. Bio Cooper, Thomas 1759-1840: Faculty 1811-15, (Carlisle: Sept 29, 1815).
Timeline Sources
[1] John Osborne and James Gerencser, “About the Author Thomas Cooper (1759-1839).” 1-2. [Dickinson College Archives and Special Collections]
[2] Penn Biographies, “Thomas Cooper (1759-1841),”(1995). [University of Pennsylvania University Archives and Records Center]
[3] “Slavery at South Carolina College, 1801-1865: The Foundations of the University of South Carolina,” Names on the Landscape. [Library of South Carolina]
[2] Penn Biographies, “Thomas Cooper (1759-1841),”(1995). [University of Pennsylvania University Archives and Records Center]
[3] “Slavery at South Carolina College, 1801-1865: The Foundations of the University of South Carolina,” Names on the Landscape. [Library of South Carolina]
Quote Source
Quote: Thomas Cooper, "Letters of Dr. Thomas Cooper, 1825-1832," American Historical Review vol. 6, no. 4 (1901), 729. [JSTOR]