Mather used a Black religious society to police enslaved people’s behavior.

Evidence

In 1693, Cotton Mather drew up the society’s list of rules, prefaced by a covenant: “Wee, the miserable children of Adam and Noah … freely resolve … to become the Servants of that Glorious Lord.” Two of Mather’s rules were instructive: members were to be counseled by someone “wise and of English” descent, and they were not to “afford” any “Shelter” to anyone who had “Run away from their Masters.” — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning, 158

Categorization

• DEFINE: A concrete early instance of assimilationist control: a founder of an enslaved African organization imposing English counsel and anti-runaway rules — useful catalog example of assimilationist ‘uplift’ that serves the master’s policy.
• XREF: Fits the reader’s scheme directly: Mather’s rules are classic assimilationism — civilize/police the Black body to fit white norms while reinforcing slavery.