Missionary Traitor: A Roycean Analysis of Samuel Austin Worcester and Loyalty to the Beloved Community

Abstract: In 1829, Samuel Worcester was sentenced to four years of hard labor for his stance against the U.S government and the state of Georgia for their treatment of the Cherokee people. As a missionary who was sent to “civilize and Christianize”, Worcester’s political actions in siding with the Cherokee labeled him a traitor, not just to the United States, but more importantly to the advancement of settler colonialism in the Southeast. By looking at the example of Samuel Worcester, this paper explores Josiah Royce’s idea of loyalty and what it means to become a traitor out of loyalty to the beloved community. The paper is divided into three main sections. The first is a historical analysis of Worcester in the context of mission work in the 1800’s and the ethnic cleansing of the Cherokee. The body of the paper looks at the philosophy of Josiah Royce and his notions of loyalty and betrayal. I argue that Worcester exemplified Royce’s notions of Christian commitment to the beloved community, even when it came at great personal cost. I conclude with the ongoing relevance of Royce’s philosophy as a tool of resistance.