The American Missionary Association (AMA) proved to be the largest and most enduring of the benevolent societies which sponsored teachers in the South. Local affiliates of the society were organized throughout the East and Midwest to raise funds, gather donations, and enlist teachers. Many of those who went South as teachers were recruited from colleges, theological seminaries, female seminaries, and normal schools in these areas. Not surprisingly, a significant group of individuals who were sent South by the AMA was recruited from Oberlin College. Most of those who came from Oberlin College, as was true of the missionary teachers on the whole, were women.
This paper explores this particular group of evangelical Oberlin women who became teachers and missionaries to the freed-people. It looks at how their experience in the Southern work brought together both the larger historical cycle of post-Civil War reform and their own life cycle patterns as evangelical women. These two cycles would be important in shaping the motivations of the women, their perceptions of the work, and their conceptions of reform.
","abstract_html":"<p>The American Missionary Association (AMA) proved to be the largest and most enduring of the benevolent societies which sponsored teachers in the South. Local affiliates of the society were organized throughout the East and Midwest to raise funds, gather donations, and enlist teachers. Many of those who went South as teachers were recruited from colleges, theological seminaries, female seminaries, and normal schools in these areas. Not surprisingly, a significant group of individuals who were sent South by the AMA was recruited from Oberlin College. Most of those who came from Oberlin College, as was true of the missionary teachers on the whole, were women.</p><p>This paper explores this particular group of evangelical Oberlin women who became teachers and missionaries to the freed-people. It looks at how their experience in the Southern work brought together both the larger historical cycle of post-Civil War reform and their own life cycle patterns as evangelical women. These two cycles would be important in shaping the motivations of the women, their perceptions of the work, and their conceptions of reform.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Spielberg, Anne"],"institution":"Oberlin College Honors Theses","degree_name":"BA","degree_level":"bachelors","degree_discipline":"History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Lasser, Carol"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1981,"date_issued":"1981","date_published":"1981","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:36:39Z","subjects":["American History","Education History","History","Religious History","Post-Civil War","American Missionary Association","AMA","teacher","Oberlin College","female","South"],"languages":["English"],"rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=oberlin1363351652","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Lasser, Carol"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Spielberg, Anne"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["1981"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Oberlin College Honors Theses / OhioLINK"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["bachelors"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["BA"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Oberlin College Honors Theses"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["American History","Education History","History","Religious History","Post-Civil War","American Missionary Association","AMA","teacher","Oberlin College","female","South"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=oberlin1363351652"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["The American Missionary Association (AMA) proved to be the largest and most enduring of the benevolent societies which sponsored teachers in the South. Local affiliates of the society were organized throughout the East and Midwest to raise funds, gather donations, and enlist teachers. Many of those who went South as teachers were recruited from colleges, theological seminaries, female seminaries, and normal schools in these areas. Not surprisingly, a significant group of individuals who were sent South by the AMA was recruited from Oberlin College. Most of those who came from Oberlin College, as was true of the missionary teachers on the whole, were women.
This paper explores this particular group of evangelical Oberlin women who became teachers and missionaries to the freed-people. It looks at how their experience in the Southern work brought together both the larger historical cycle of post-Civil War reform and their own life cycle patterns as evangelical women. These two cycles would be important in shaping the motivations of the women, their perceptions of the work, and their conceptions of reform.
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This paper explores this particular group of evangelical Oberlin women who became teachers and missionaries to the freed-people. It looks at how their experience in the Southern work brought together both the larger historical cycle of post-Civil War reform and their own life cycle patterns as evangelical women. These two cycles would be important in shaping the motivations of the women, their perceptions of the work, and their conceptions of reform.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf","p.109","38.08 MB"],"dc:identifier":["http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=oberlin1363351652"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:publisher":["Oberlin College Honors Theses / OhioLINK"],"dc:rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."],"dc:subject":["American History","Education History","History","Religious History","Post-Civil War","American Missionary Association","AMA","teacher","Oberlin College","female","South"],"dc:title":["Sowing the Seed: Oberlin Female Missionary Teachers of Southern Blacks, 1863-1875"],"dc:type":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["History"],"thesis:degree_level":["bachelors"],"thesis:degree_name":["BA"],"thesis:institution_name":["Oberlin College Honors Theses"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:36:39Z"}