Thomas Roderick Dew
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Thomas Roderick Dew (1802 – 1846) was an American educator and writer. He was born in King and Queen Co., Virginia, and graduated in 1820 at the College of William and Mary. He was professor of history, metaphysics, and political economy at William and Mary from 1827 to 1836 and served as president from 1836 until his death.[1]
In 1832 he published a review of the celebrated slavery debate of 1831–32 in the Virginia legislature, under the title An Essay in Favor of Slavery, which went far towards putting a stop to a movement, then assuming considerable proportions, to proclaim the end of slavery in Virginia. His largest work is Digest of the Laws, Customs, Manners, and Institutions of Ancient and Modern Nations (1853).
Dew was well respected in the South; his widely distributed writings helped to confirm pro-slavery public opinion. His work has been compared to that of the southern surgeon and medical authority Samuel A. Cartwright, who defended slavery and advocated the beating of slaves who absconded from their duties or became idle.
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- This article incorporates text from an edition of the New International Encyclopedia that is in the public domain.
