Student Enslavers

This section centers the financial ties between slavery and Miami University by examining how student tuition contributed to the institution’s early stability. A ledger from 1838 to 1851 records these payments in detail, illustrating how dependent the university was on consistent student income. Among the 1842 freshman entries is Richard Rivers, who census records from 1850 identify as a slave owner and as someone descended from enslavers. His presence in this financial record highlights how money flowing into the university could originate from wealth produced through enslaved labor. Rather than viewing tuition as separate from broader economic systems, this document reveals how the institution was materially supported by individuals whose financial resources were shaped by slavery. Students like Rivers were not only participants in higher education but also contributors to its funding, meaning the university’s growth was directly tied to these sources of income. Institutional histories often emphasize development and progress without addressing the origins of financial support, leaving out how deeply connected that support was to systems of exploitation. By placing this ledger in conversation with census data, the exhibit makes clear that the university’s early finances cannot be separated from slavery, showing how its economic foundation was built, in part, through money derived from the labor and lives of enslaved African Americans.