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Caught Between Tradition and Transformation: Princeton University’s Black Athletes in 1985
Princeton University is an institution self-consciously steeped in tradition, sometimes to an extent that even relatively recent innovations can feel like they’ve been going on for centuries. Yet it has also tried to break free of traditions that have not served it well, like discriminatory admissions policies. Holding these things in tension with one another…
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This Week in Princeton History for October 11-17
In this week’s installment of our recurring series, an alum makes an influential argument in favor of segregation, a controversial article about Jimmy Stewart ’32 appears, and more. October 13, 1958—Carleton B. Putnam ’24 writes his infamous “Putnam Letter” to Dwight D. Eisenhower. He argues that segregation is so important that it must be preserved,…
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Five Princeton Alumni Minority Rights Activists from the 18th and 19th Centuries
There are Princeton alumni who were involved with advancing minority rights in the 20th and 21st centuries who are known better today, but Princeton graduates engaged in these activities well before then. Here are five alumni who advocated for Native American, Black, Jewish, and immigrant rights after earning a Princeton degree in the 18th and 19th…
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West Meets East: Japanese Themes in Princeton’s Graphic Arts of the Late 19th Century
If you spend as much time immersed in the University Archives as I do, at times you will see intriguing patterns emerge. I have seen repeated examples of an unusual theme in the graphic arts associated with the College of New Jersey (as Princeton University was named until 1896) in the late 19th century and…
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This Week in Princeton History for August 2-8
In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, Morrison Hall is under construction, James Carnahan takes the helm as president, and more. August 2, 1836–The Boston Traveler reports: “Princeton, N. J.—This is now one of the most flourishing places in our sister…
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A Brief History of Asian and Asian American Students at Princeton
Although we can expect our understanding to change as new discoveries shape what we know, we currently have enough information to provide this brief overview of the history of Asian and Asian American students at Princeton accessible through our collections. Please look for more as research into Princeton’s past continues. The earliest records of ethnically Asian…
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This Week in Princeton History for May 10-16
In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, the debate team loses to Harvard on immigration restrictions, the grading system is radically changed, and more. May 10, 1947—In the Chicago Defender, W. E. B. Du Bois reports that Princeton University had written…
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This Week in Princeton History for March 15-21
In this week’s installment of our recurring series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, 100 Princetonians picket a local bank for ties to apartheid, an unexpected loss of housing causes financial stress, and more. March 16, 1816—A trunk is discovered open on the lawn of Nassau Hall with…
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Yellowface in Princeton University’s 20th-Century Triangle Club
Recently, we’ve been getting a lot of questions about the history of racism at Princeton University. As we’ve worked to help those trying to research this topic, we realized that we’ve highlighted some types of racism more than others on this blog. In order to help researchers locate materials that may assist them in constructing…
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The “Down South Kitchen” and Family Life in Princeton University’s Isabella McCosh Infirmary
When I wrote about the myth of slave quarters in Princeton University dormitories, there wasn’t room to tell you about the service workers who did sleep under the same roof as Princeton students for half a century. Today’s post considers the home one Black family made at Isabella McCosh Infirmary while they cooked and cleaned…