The Heathen School: A Story of Hope and Betrayal in the Age of the Early Republic

by John Demos

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Award-winning historian John Demos tells the astonishing and moving story of a unique missionary project, which probes the very roots of American identity.

Near the start of the nineteenth century, as the United States looked outward to the wider world, a group of eminent Protestant ministers devised a grand scheme for gathering the rest of mankind into the redemptive fold of Christianity and "civiization." Its core element was a special school for "heathen youth" drawn from all parts of the earth, and, especially, the native nations of North America. If all went well, graduates would return to join similiar projects in their respective homelands.

For some years, the school prospered, indeed became quite famous. However, when two Cherokee students courted and married local women public resolve and fundamental ideals were put to a severe test.  

  • ISBN10 0679781129
  • ISBN13 9780679781127
  • Publish Date 2 December 2014 (first published 1 January 2014)
  • Publish Status Active
  • Publish Country US
  • Publisher Random House USA Inc
  • Imprint Vintage Books