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Bishop Levi Scott

Date1843

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions30 × 25 in. (76.2 × 63.5 cm)
frame: 37 3/4 × 25 5/8 in. (95.9 × 65.1 cm)

Credit LineBequest of Peter Yerkes, 2020

Object number2020-10

On View

On view

Label TextLevi Scott (1802-1882) was the first Methodist bishop from Delaware. Born near Odessa, Delaware, Scott’s fascinating background provides a window into religion and anti-slavery sentiment in Delaware before the Civil War. Scott joined the Methodist Episcopal Church after worshipping with local couple, Isaac and Betty Carter, who were free African Americans, and he was known for his support of African and African American congregations and ministers.

Before the Civil War, like many Methodists, Scott believed slavery was sinful. However, he stopped short of demanding an immediate end to enslavement. Instead he believed that enslavers could be spiritually saved and convinced to free the enslaved. He also backed the problematic American Colonization Movement, which encouraged free African Americans to relocate to Liberia. He traveled to Liberia in 1852 and became a staunch supporter of Black ministers there. His complex stance toward enslavement and African American congregations was actually quite typical in the Mid-Atlantic during the years around the Civil War.