Harvardinates

Leveretts in the New World, Book 5

John Leverett would refer to Harvard alumni as "Harvardinates" (sons of Harvard) instead of Sons of the Prophets, to emphasize that others besides Divinity School students could and did become Harvard graduates. Cotton Mather and forces of Puritan orthodoxy wanted Harvard to remain primarily a divinity school, but Leverett was part of a general trend toward secular education and the inclusion of arts and sciences.

This book tells the story of a time when society was divided and Harvard was becoming what it is today. It is not an exhaustive biography, but it has family information which puts things in perspective, and tells how he and Mather, who were about the same age, lived through the Salem witch trials. Leverett was busy writing logic textbooks in Latin at the time, but didn't dare speak out against the leader of the colony.

©2023 Thomas Leverett (P)2024 Thomas Leverett