Ohio History Journal

THREE ANTI-SLAVERY NEWSPAPERS*

 

Published in Ohio Prior to 1823.

 

BY ANNETTA C. WALSH

 

The names of three editors of newspapers published

in Ohio during the first quarter of the nineteenth cen-

tury are closely associated with the growth of the aboli-

tion movement in the United States.        The names of

these editors are Charles Osborn, Elisha Bates and Ben-

jamin Lundy; and to two of them, at least, Osborn¹ and

Lundy,² is attributed the honor of having been the origi-

nator of the anti-slavery movement in this country.

These three men were Quakers and their work as

editors is clearly influenced by their religious principles.

Mount Pleasant, at that time a thriving industrial town

in the eastern part of the state,³ was the site chosen by

each of them as the place best suited to his publication.

This town was the center of a high degree of culture;

it was here that the first Abolition Society of Ohio was

founded of which Charles Hammond, a well-known

lawyer and later editor of the Cincinnati Gazette, was

a member,⁴ as was also William        C. Howells5 whose

 

*Read at the joint meeting of the Ohio Valley Historical Associa-

tion and the Ohio History Teachers' Association, Columbus, Ohio,

November 11, 1921.

1Julian, George W., Charles Osborn, in Indiana Historical Society

Publications. Vol. II, pp. 247-248.

2Von Hoist, Constitutional History of the United States, Vol. II,

p. 81.

4Randall and Ryan, History of Ohio. Vol. IV, p. 124.

3Ibid., Vol. IV, p. 127.

5Father of Wm. Dean Howells and editor of Ashtabula Sentinel.

(172)

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Three Anti-Slavery Newspapers     173

name is closely associated with the early history of the

newspaper in Ohio.

 

The Philanthropist - Published and Edited by Charles

Osborn at Mount Pleasant, Ohio. September,

1817 - October, 1818

The earliest of the above-mentioned papers was the

Philanthropist established by Charles Osborn, Septem-

ber, 1817, and by him edited and published till October

8, 1818, when it became the property of Elisha Bates.

Charles Osborn was born 17956 in North Carolina;

at the age of nineteen he removed to Tennessee. As a

preaching member of the Society of Friends, he traveled

extensively in the South, advocating the abolition of

slavery. In 1814 he took a leading part in the forma-

tion of the Tennessee Manumission Society which pro-

claimed the doctrine of immediate emancipation.  He

came to Ohio in 1816, and in the same year declared his

intention of establishing a paper, the columns of which

would be opened to the discussion of slavery.

Accordingly, the first number of the Philanthropist

was issued the next year.   Benjamin Lundy,⁷ who

lived at St. Clairsville, Ohio, became interested in the

new paper and acted as agent; later he began to con-

tribute articles to its columns. In a short time Osborn

invited him to become assistant editor; Lundy con-

sented but he never joined in the publication of the

Philanthropist, for, while he was making the arrange-

ments necessary to entering this new field of work, Os-

⁶Julian, George W., Charles Osborn, in Indiana Historical Society

Publications. Vol. II, pp. 232-267.

7Life of Benjamin Lundy. Compiled by Thomas Earle, 1847.

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174      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

born seems to have become discouraged⁸ and sold out

his paper to Bates,⁹ 1818, who continued to publish it

till April, 1822, when its publication was permanently

suspended.

After giving up his newspaper, Osborn went to

Indiana to live where as a minister he continued to

work for the freedom of the slave. In the year 1837,

when the anti-slavery feeling was growing under Gar-

rison's influence, he was very active in the cause.  He

went to England that same year, and while there he used

his influence to prevent the agents of the American

Colonization Society from securing funds for their

project.

On returning to this country he delivered sermons

in the eastern states, some of which were published in

anti-slavery  newspapers.     During   his absence the

Friends at their yearly meeting had taken a decided

stand against abolition; they had also espoused the

cause of colonization, and had forbidden members of

their sect to publish anti-slavery writings which had

not been submitted to a committee of the society. Os-

born refused to obey these rulings, and he and a num-

ber of others decided to form a society of their own

to be called the Society of Anti-slavery Friends.    Os-

born died in 1850, counted by the society of which he

had been a leader for a third of a century as "gone,

fallen, and out of the life" for his fidelity to the slave.

 

Julian says that Osborn felt that the influence of his paper was

seriously thwarted by the mischievous and unmanageable scheme of

colonization, while William Birney asserts that Osborn was always more

interested in the work of the ministry than in his editorial work: Indiana

Historical Society Publications, Vol. II, pp. 232-267.

9Not to Elihu Embree as Horace Greeley states in the American

Conflict, Vol. I, p. 112.

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Three Anti-Slavery Newspapers     175

The Philanthropist was published weekly; each num-

ber consisted of but four pages; the pages were nine

and one-half by twelve inches and were divided into

three columns; there were very few advertisements in

the paper.  The following quotation from Dr. John-

son appeared in the heading of each number: " I shall

never envy the honors which wit and learning obtain in

any other cause, if I can be numbered among those who

have given ardour to virtue and confidence to truth."

The tone of the paper was earnestly religious and

moral, and although its columns were devoted in a great

degree to the interests of peace and temperance, yet it

was a paper of decided anti-slavery character, and is

said to be the first abolition newspaper in the United

States.  G. W. Julian says of it:  "Its anti-slavery

character is quite as clearly defined and as uncom-

promising in tone as Lundy's Genius or Birney's Philan-

thropist. It was just such a paper as Elijah P. Love-

joy was murdered for publishing in Illinois twenty

years later."¹⁰

The editor's attitude on slavery was made clear in

the first number when he declared that the time was

fast approaching when the United States would "no

longer be stained with that foul pollution." In the year

during which he acted as editor the subject of slavery

was discussed between eighty and ninety times or on

an average of nearly twice in each weekly number. The

subjects most frequently discussed were the doctrine of

immediate, as opposed to gradual, emancipation, the

Colonization scheme for abolition, and the slave trade.

 

10Indiana Historical Society Publications.  Vol. II, p. 248.

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176     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

In an able article11 on the subject of slave trade, the

editor speaks of the progress made toward its abolish-

ment by England and France and concludes with these

words:   "But much remains to be done. The system

of slavery is acknowledged on all hands to be an evil

of the greatest magnitude.  Now is the time for the

advocates of freedom to assert themselves to overthrow

the colossal fabric of Despotism." An article12 copied

from a Liverpool paper endeavors to show the origin

of the negro trade in the West Indies. The action of

the Congress of the United States with regard to this

matter is noted.  We read¹² that a resolution was in-

troduced in the United States Senate (Dec. 31, 1818)

that a committee be instructed to inquire into the ex-

pediency of so amending the laws of the United States

on the subject of African slave trade as more effectually

to prevent the trade from being carried on by citizens

of the United States under foreign flags, and into the

expediency of the United States taking measures in con-

cert while other nations for the abolition of said trade.

About the same time that the Philanthropist was

established, the American Colonization Society became

a national organization with headquarters at Washing-

ton, and several anti-slavery societies in Ohio favored

the society's plan as a way leading to gradual emanci-

pation.  Osborn expressed grave doubts as to the jus-

tice of the society's plan, but he allowed both sides of

the question to be discussed; various articles were

printed favoring gradual abolition and colonization but

they never received any word of approval from the edi-

 

¹¹Philanthropist. Vol. II, p. 69.

12Ibid.  Vol. I, No. 21.

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Three Anti-Slavery Newspapers        177

tor. A long article was printed¹³ giving a brief sketch

of the history of the society, of its purpose and its

needs, and of the steps being taken to secure a place

suitable to colonization and of efforts being made to

secure the support of Congress.   The officers of the

society felt very hopeful in the matter of obtaining both

the support of the National Government and the finan-

cial aid of the public. The work of Thomas Clarkson,

the well-known English philanthropist, in trying to find

a desirable location near Sierra Leone, was spoken of.

Osborn expressed his views on the subject in fre-

quent editorials.  He opposed slavery on religious

grounds; he preached the doctrine of immediate re-

pentance of sin, and believed that the slave-holder had

no right to put off this repentance by favoring any plan

of gradual emancipation. Julian says of him,14 "While

leading abolitionists were caught in the snare of African

Colonization, he was not deceived." To him the plan of

the society only appeared to rivet closer the chains of the

slave and to secure to him a perpetuity of bondage.¹⁵

He printed statements to show that some "free per-

sons of color" had protested against being sent back to

Africa.   He also printed¹⁶ a letter from   a corre-

spondent who wished to inquire who were the greater

criminals - those who had robbed the coast of Africa

of its natives, or those who, by way of reparation,

would force the descendants of those who had been

thus wronged to leave this country against their will?

The editor continues17 the discussion of the subject

 

13Philanthropist. Vol. I, No. 2.

14Indiana Historical Society Papers, Vol. II, pp. 243-245.

Philanthropist. Vol. I, p. 44.

16 Ibid. Vol. I, p. 37.

17Ibid.  Vol. II, p. 181.

Vol. XXXI-12.

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178      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

in these words:   "The great object is still to devise

some system by which slavery may ultimately be ter-

minated.   If African Colonization is not directed to

that object or capable of effecting it, we are still left

to find some other way."  The article proceeds to show

by facts and figures the utter impracticability of the

colonization scheme and concludes:    "My mind is

forcibly struck with the sentiments of one of our

greatest men18 - 'When I reflect that God is just and

that his justice cannot sleep forever, I tremble for the

fate of my country.' "

The communications and selected matter are an in-

dication of the editor's views on the subject of slavery.

In the first number we read that "an intelligent Turk"

expressed surprise at the United States in sending a

fleet to compel the surrender of slaves in Turkey's pos-

session while in the United States there were thousands

of Africans in bondage.   In another place is printed

an address by a member of the North Carolina Manu-

mission Society of a most radical anti-slavery type.

There is an interesting article19 contributed by a Vir-

ginian declaring that slavery is unconstitutional and

that slaves are not property.

Among the communications there is a strong anti-

slavery article signed "Philo Justitia" probably written

by Benjamin Lundy; also a long article²⁰ by an intelli-

gent colored man who discussed the question with great

ability.  Many articles and items were printed also

to tell the story of the sufferings and misery of the

slaves.

 

18Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia.

19Philanthropist. Vol. II, p. 169.

20 Ibid, p. 76.

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Three Anti-Slavery Newspapers       179

Scattered through the pages of the Philanthropist

are frequent selections of anti-slavery poems from

Cowper, Shenstone, Montgomery and others. An ora-

tion on slavery delivered at Mount Pleasant by Mr.

Thomas H. Genin is printed²¹ which Julian thinks de-

serves to be preserved as a choice relic of the literature

of abolitionism in its pioneer days.²²

The Philanthropist contained articles copied from

the following papers: the Chester and Delaware Fed-

eralist, the Federal Republican Baltimore Telegraph,

the Gazette of Alexandria, Va., the Providence Gazette,

the Westchester Recorder, the National Intelligencer,

and the Freeman's Journal.

It is difficult to obtain facts concerning the circula-

tion of Osborn's paper; but in the second number is

published a list of the agents which gives a good idea

of the extent of its circulation at the beginning of its

history. There were eleven agents in Ohio alone, located

for the most part in the southern and southeastern

counties of the state; Cincinnati was the farthest point

west having an agent. There were eleven agents also

in Pennsylvania--one of whom was in Philadelphia;

there was one at Wilmington, Delaware, and one also at

Greensboro, North Carolina.

As one would naturally expect, Osborn had difficulty

in having his papers delivered and he complained of

this frequently.  To use his own words:   "The diffi-

culties respecting the mail still continue - the last post

due passed through the town but left neither letters nor

 

21Philanthropist, p. 77. Mr. Genin was an intimate friend of Osborn,

Charles Hammond, Benjamin Lundy and De Witt Clinton; he was a

correspondent of Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams.

22Ibid. Indiana Historical Society Publications, Vol. II, p. 256.

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180     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

papers. We hope that a new route will soon be estab-

lished on such a footing as to obviate the difficulties

from accruing under which we now labour."²³

 

The Philanthropist -Published and Edited by Elisha

Bates at Mount Pleasant, Ohio.  December,

1818 - April, 1822.

In the opinion of the ardent abolitionist, the Philan-

thropist as edited by Bates did not reach the same high

standard of anti-slavery views that was maintained

by its founder, Osborn.  It was on this account that

Lundy, who acted as agent for Osborn and had con-

templated becoming associate editor with him, decided

to establish an anti-slavery periodical of his own. The

first number issued by Bates (Dec. 11, 1818) was desig-

nated as Volume One, Number One; this shows that he

himself did not regard his paper as a continuation of

Osborn's.

This paper was smaller than the original Philan-

thropist, the pages being only five and one-half by seven

and three-fourths inches. The editor chose the smaller

size because it was suitable for binding, and he intended

the Philanthropist to contain articles of permanent

value; it was to be no ordinary newspaper. It was a

weekly periodical; each number contained sixteen pages;

twenty-six numbers with an index were to constitute a

volume. Bates was printer as well as editor, and it

was his aim to make his paper attractive in appearance.

It was printed on good paper, and a large proportion

of small type was used for the purpose, as the editor

explained, of introducing a greater variety and of mak-

 

23Philanthropist, January 31, 1818.

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Three Anti-Slavery Newspapers         181

ing the Philanthropist more interesting.      A  bound

volume of four hundred and sixteen pages resembles

very closely in appearance a monthly magazine of the

present day.   It contained few advertisements; accord-

ing to the editor's statement fewer than any other paper

of the West.²⁴ The subscription price was at first three

dollars a year, but later it was reduced to two dollars

in an effort to increase the number of subscriptions.

With few exceptions,²⁵ it was issued every week punc-

tually, although there were frequent complaints that

subscribers did not receive their paper promptly; but

the delay in this matter was attributed by the editor to

the neglect and mismanagement on the part of the post

office department.26

The purpose and aim of the editor are set forth in

the first number, in which he describes his paper as a

"journal containing essays on moral and religious sub-

jects, domestic economy, agriculture and mechanical

arts, together with a brief notice of the events of the

times." The editor believed that the times called for an

improvement in all these things, and above all in

morality and religion.    Frequently he reminded his

readers that improvement in public sentiment would

be the regulating principle by which he would endeavor

to be governed.   It was clear then, from the first, that

the Philanthropist was not to be exclusively an anti-

slavery paper, and throughout the time of its publica-

tion the editor showed himself to be as much interested

in the abolition of war, duelling and capital punishment

 

24 Philanthropist, October 30, 1819.

25 September, 1819, the editor announced that one number would not

be issued on account of the yearly meeting of the Friends.

26 Frequent complaints made by the editor may be found in Philan-

thropist, January, 1819, May, 1819, May 27, 1820, and January, 1821.

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182     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

as in the abolition of slavery; he wrote to awaken a

sympathy for the Indian as well as for the slave.

Subjects that were much more prominent in the

minds of the people at that time than slavery were fully

discussed. The Ohio Canal, the protection of domestic

manufacturers, the disposal of public lands, state banks,

new inventions and progress in science were some of the

subjects frequently dealt with.  The following state-

ment of the editor gives a good idea of his opinion as

to what were the matters of greatest interest at that

time: - "The present is an interesting period, - the

question of peace or war with Spain, the protection of

domestic manufacturers, the Missouri question and

many other subjects equally important are to come be-

fore the approaching Congress."²⁷

However, the subject of slavery received a large

share of the editor's attention, and during the three and

one-half years of his publication of the paper the ques-

tions of colonization, the Missouri Compromise, exten-

sion of slavery, and slave trade were frequently and

fully discussed; and on the whole the opinions held by

Bates in these matters were those of his contemporaries,

Osborn and Lundy.

The question of the Missouri Compromise was

closely followed and discussed.  The editor declared²⁸

that he believed the decision as to the prohibition of

slavery in the projected state of Missouri was the most

important matter that could be submitted to the Na-

tional Legislature since "the principle thereby to be

established is to spread an acknowledged evil over a

 

27December 4, 1819.

28 December 11, 1819.

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Three Anti-Slavery Newspapers      183

larger part of our country," and in conclusion of this

remark he said, "Every person whose business it is to

act on this occasion should feel himself awfully im-

pressed with the high responsibility that belongs to his

conduct therein."

Again the editor gave it as his opinion that if Con-

gress should admit the new state without restrictions,

an extensive market for slaves would be opened and in

this way a new impulse would be given at once "to a

traffic the most destructive of human happiness and the

most irreconcilable to our political profession, to reason

and religion."

The actions of the several state legislatures in re-

gard to this question were printed, as was also the sub-

stance of the most important speeches in Congress either

for or against restriction. The substance of the speech

of Tallmadge was given, with this quotation, "If the

West cannot be settled without slavery, gladly would I

prevent its settlement till time shall be no more;" two

speeches of Rufus King in the United States Senate on

the Missouri Bill which the editor considered the best

and clearest on the subject were quoted from at great

length.

A long editorial²⁹ was devoted to an account of the

commencement of the debate in the House; and later a

full page was given to the passage of the Missouri Com-

promise with "facts, calculations and speculations for

the use of those interested."  When Congress finally

reached the decision that Missouri could be admitted

without restriction in regard to slavery, the Philan-

thropist declared that it was a decision that "any man

 

February 12, 1820.

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184     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

who regarded the prosperity of his country would al-

ways have occasion to regret."

In frequent editorials Bates opposed the colonization

plan of abolition, and he advised that it be abandoned

as an impracticable and harsh measure.  He regarded

it as harsh because it proposed moving the colored

people from their own country and from all that they

loved.30 He believed the plan to be impracticable be-

cause in order to carry it out it would be necessary for

the Government to move more than ninety thousand per-

sons annually for one hundred years and to supply them

with land and the necessities of life.

Although Bates did disapprove of the society's plan,

still he published a letter written by the regent of the

society telling of the good work being accomplished,

asking for contributions, and appealing to the people

in the name of patriotism to support the cause. The

first annual report of the society (July 15, 1819) was

published³¹ in the Philanthropist.  The history of this

movement was followed with care by the editor; letters

detailing facts concerning it, - the number of slaves

that were freed through this agency as well as the num-

bers that died after they had been transported to Africa,

calculations as to the number of ships that would be

necessary to transport the entire colored population of

this country, - these were some of the items published

in order to aid the people to form some idea of what

could be expected from  a movement that was sup-

ported by many people whose opinions were held in

esteem. The editor's own belief was that the object of

 

30 April 17, 1819.

31 August 8, 1820.

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Three Anti-Slavery Newspapers      185

the society was entirely unattainable, and he declared

that some other expedient as a remedy for slavery must

be found. He did not agree with the principles main-

tained by some of the anti-slavery papers of that time

that slaves could not be emancipated unless colonized,

and he concluded his remarks upon this subject with

these words:32  "We may amuse ourselves with this

project but it furnishes no solution."

Some intertsing facts about the slave trade and

the efforts being made in this country and in Europe

to abolish the traffic may be read in the pages of the

Philanthropist.  An account of a bill introduced into

Congress to prohibit importation and the substance of

President Monroe's message upon the subject were pub-

lished. The United States law was criticized³³ for its

looseness and inadequacy, since it imposed heavy penal-

ties upon the importer of slaves but made it possible for

state legislatures so to evade the laws as to make the

traffic profitable, and facts were quoted from a Southern

paper to show that this evasion was being practiced.

Facts about the conferences on the slave trade held at

London and at Aix la Chapelle were published,³⁴ as was

also the report of George Collier on the subject in

the British House of Commons.

But lest anyone should think that the slave traffic was

expiring, the editor printed an account of the capture

(July, 1820) of a schooner of only eleven tons carrying

a cargo of seventy-one slaves in chains.

The Philanthropist upheld the doctrine that the

Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were

 

32 January 6, 1821.

33 December 18, 1818.

34 April 17, 1819.

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186     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

anti-slavery documents, and quotations were given³⁵

from writings and speeches of noted men to show the

discrepency between the theory and practice of our Gov-

ernment.

One of the most interesting subjects discussed in

the paper36 was the proposed new Constitution of Ohio,

which the editor strongly opposed in long and frequent

editorials, principally on the ground that those who ad-

vocated and supported it did so with the intention and

hope of introducing the privilege of slave-holding into

Ohio. Bates published not only his own views on this

subject but also gave the arguments of his opponents.

He did not believe that the Ohio River formed a

"natural boundary of moral turpitude," but held rather

that human nature was very much the same in every

portion of the globe; and when he saw the efforts being

made to extend slavery into Missouri and other parts

of the country, he did not believe that his view of the

motive of those who advocated the calling of a Constitu-

tional Convention should be treated with such contempt

as it had aroused.

"The public sentiment should be improved till man,

in every situation, becomes the friend of man." These

words appearing as a motto in each number give a clue

to the editor's idea as to the best method to be employed

in bringing about the reforms that he felt were de-

manded.

He declared that "liberality and religious toleration

were extending their influence more widely than in any

former age and that the people of the United States

were learning to regard the rights and happiness of

 

35 April 17, 1819, and June 19, 1819.

36 July 3, 1819.

• 15
 

Three Anti-Slavery Newspapers     187

others by learning to appreciate their own blessings."

But he was to discover that his policy of moderateness

was not pleasing to the ardent abolitionist, who regarded

moderateness in so important a question as slavery as

lukewarmness and lukewarmness as a sin.

From many editorials we learn that the Philan-

thropist from the first was not popular and that it came

to be a financial burden to its owner. A list of agents

published in the first number gives some idea of its cir-

culation at that time (December, 1818). There were

nine agents in Ohio, chiefly in the southern and south-

eastern parts of the state; six towns in Virginia,

one in North Carolina, two in Maryland and ten in

Pennsylvania had agents; later there was an agency in

Richmond, Indiana. On April 7, 1821, the editor made

this announcement: "Debts due me for printing are scat-

tered in the hands of individuals from Indiana to Massa-

chusetts and from Tennessee to the northern part of

New York," and six months later he stated that his

patronage was not large but widely spread.  We find

many appeals to subscribers to pay, for the editor stated

that the Philanthropist was entirely dependent upon its

subscriptions for support since it contained fewer ad-

vertisements than any other paper in the Western coun-

try. In November, 1821, Bates informed his readers

that he had thought of discontinuing the publication

of his paper; but did not feel that he should, for al-

though he believed that the cause of the slave was

gaining ground and that the number of those yielding

to conviction was increasing, he did not believe "that

the triumph of abolition was as yet complete."

From frequent editorials we learn also that the

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188     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

editor was aware of the fact that his mild manner of

attack on slavery was not popular.  At one time he

wrote, "My views on the subject of slavery are my own;

I write for no party, but I look at the subject only from

the standpoint of humanity. I seek the release of both

master and slave. It is not popularity but the relief of

suffering humanity and the harmony and happiness of

my country that I seek."

After continued discouragement, Bates decided to

give up his enterprise, and on April 20, 1822, the last

number of the Philanthropist was issued.  In a long

editorial the reasons for its discontinuance were given,

which may be summed up as follows:

1. The editor recognized the fact that "two power-

ful stimulants" to reading had been lacking in his paper

-local news and tales of diversion. 2. He realized

that his methods of dealing with the question of slavery

had been too mild to please the zealous friends of aboli-

tion. He had always endeavored to address himself to

the slave-holder "by reason rather than by epithet" and

his aim had been to avoid exciting passions and feelings

incompatible with Christian philanthropy, since it was

easy to enlist wrong feelings in a good cause and to

adopt wrong measures to effect valuable ends. Yet in

spite of his caution in speaking, he felt sure that he had

said sufficient to prove his sympathy with the slave and

that he believed his release would come.  3. He had

discovered that the slave-holders were too generally dis-

posed to reject without discrimination every appeal to

their feelings, and he believed with many others ac-

quainted with the subject that the views of the slave-

holders had retrograded since the discussion of the

Missouri question.

• 17
 

Three Anti-Slavery Newspapers     189

The newspapers from which Bates copied articles

were the Philadelphia Democratic Press, the National

Intelligencer, Niles Register, the Western Herald, and

the New York Daily Advertiser. With regard to the

newspapers of the country at that time, the editor wrote

the following article in the Philanthropist (June, 1821):

"The increase of newspapers in the United States has

been mentioned as an evidence of the intelligence of the

people; there probably is no parallel in any other country.

The pretensions of Ohio to intelligence may be put in

comparison with those of any other state in the Union.

I shall not pretend to state the number exactly but I

know of forty-five." The greater number of these were

weekly periodicals, some were semi-weekly and one was

a monthly.

During the time that Bates acted as editor of the

Philanthropist he did not confine himself to that work

alone. He was very ambitious as a publisher, printer,

and book-binder. He announced, April 29, 1820, in the

columns of his newspaper the publication of a quarterly

magazine to be called the Medical and Botanical Re-

pository, and in August of the same year he issued

proposals for a monthly paper, the Moral Advocate, to

deal exclusively with war, duelling and capital pun-

ishment.  Both of these periodicals were continued

after the suspension of the Philanthropist.

William C. Howells³⁷ says that he went to work for

Bates as a printer on the Repository in 1831. In speak-

ing of that kind of periodical he says that it was the

favorite custom at that time for a man with a hobby to

set up a monthly sheet or little magazine.

 

37Life in Ohio, 1813-1840, by William Cooper Howells.

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190      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

The printing offices of that period, according to

Howells, were small and employed but a few men. The

owner of the paper was usually, like Bates, printer, edi-

tor, and chief workman. The office consisted of a press

and a small quantity of type. The presses were hand-

made, largely of wood, and the type was inked with a

ball of buckskin stuffed with wool. One of these offices

near Steubenville, Ohio, was built on the bank of a

stream so near the water's edge that the pressman,

standing by the stream, could wet the paper by dipping

it in the water.

The wages were very small; a foreman received less

than $300 a year, and a dollar a day was considered

excellent pay for a printer.  The expense involved in

setting up such a paper was not great.³⁸ "The prelimi-

nary steps were issuing the prospectus, soliciting sub-

scribers, appointing agents in different places, and au-

thorizing all postmasters to act as agents."

Bates allowed his agents ten per cent commission

for receiving subscriptions and collecting and transmit-

ting the money. He announced that he would receive

as payment the following articles at the highest current

price: wheat, corn, pork, beef, tallow, sugar, butter,

wool, flax, linsey-cloth, and clean linen and cotton rags.

To accommodate his western patrons he arranged to

have them pay an agent designated in that part of the

country, "since the money of what are considered good

western banks can not be received by me."

As has been said, Bates was a Quaker, and after he

had given up the Philanthropist he became involved in

 

38Howells makes this statement, but Bates frequently declared that

the cost of publishing his paper was very great. See Philanthropist,

April 7, 1821, and June 6, 1821.

• 19
 

 

• 20
 

(192)

• 21
 

Three Anti-Slavery Newspapers     193

the controversy that arose between the orthodox mem-

bers of that sect and the followers of Elias Hicks. In

1831 he went to England on a religious mission and

suspended the Repository, which was never resumed.

We read of him later in a radical anti-slavery

paper³⁹ of Salem, Ohio, that he had left the religious

sect of the Quakers and had become a minister in the

Methodist Episcopal Church. The editor of this paper

questions the sincerity of Bates' anti-slavery sentiments

on account of certain statements made by him in which

he opposed the American Anti-Slavery Society, saying

that it would destroy "our country, our churches, and

our civil and religious liberty."

The same paper printed a condemnation of him as

a friend of the slave-holder, since he upheld the Union

and the Church.

 

The Genius of Universal Emancipation - Published

and Edited by Benjamin Lundy, at Mount Pleasant,

Ohio. July, 1821 - March, 1822

Of the three editors mentioned at the beginning of

this study, no one is better known than Benjamin

Lundy. This is due to the fact that he did not confine

his work for the cause of emancipation to one place;

the newspaper that he founded in Ohio he transferred to

the eastern states and through his influence on Wil-

liam Lloyd Garrison, who was to become the editor of

the famous Liberator, the national anti-slavery organ,

Lundy may be said to have played the part of a national

character in the anti-slavery movement in this country.

39 The Anti-Slavery Bugle, a radical paper advocating disunion, pub-

lished at Salem, O., 1845-1864.

Vol. XXXI-13.

• 22
 

194      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

Horace Greely says of him:⁴⁰ "He is the first of our

countrymen who devoted his life and all his powers to

the cause of the slaves.  He gave the cause of emanci-

pation neither wealth, nor eloquence, nor lofty abilities,

for he had them not, but his courage, perseverance and

devotion were unsurpassed."

Von Holst⁴¹ calls Lundy the "Father of Abolition-

ism," and speaks in highest terms of his sacrifices for

the cause of the slave; and by many other writers he is

regarded as the pioneer of the anti-slavery movement in

this country.⁴²

Benjamin Lundy⁴3 was born in New Jersey in 1789,

of Quaker parentage; he was brought up in the faith of

the Society of Friends and remained a member of this

sect during his entire life.  At the age of nineteen

he went to live at Mount Pleasant, Ohio.  He was frail

in body and was partially deaf, and in personal appear-

ance gave no indication of the strength of character he

possessed.   He was gentle, mild and persuasive, and

although he worked with zeal for the freedom of the

slave he always treated the slave-holder with the kindest

consideration.

He removed from Mount Pleasant to Wheeling, just

across the Ohio River in Virginia and remained there

four years working as an apprentice at the saddler's

trade.  It was in Wheeling that his sympathy for the

slave was aroused, for perhaps in no place were the

cruelty and sadness of the bondman's life more in evi-

dence than in this town, situated as it was on the Ohio

 

40The American Conflict, Vol. I, p. 111.

41 Constitutional History of the United States, Vol. II, pp. 81-82.

42 See Garrison's words of praise of Lundy quoted in Howe's His-

torical Collections of Ohio, Vol. I, p. 312.

43Life of Benjamin Lundy, compiled by Thomas Earl, 1847.

• 23
 

Three Anti-Slavery Newspapers      195

River, the boundary between slave and free territory.

Over this boundary Lundy passed every week, going

from a slave state where he worked, to a free state to

attend the religious services of the Friends, whose teach-

ings were against human slavery.

Wheeling was also the gateway between Maryland

and Virginia, the breeding-ground of slaves on the one

side, and Kentucky and Missouri on the other, which

were being rapidly settled and were in constant need of

slaves to operate the plantations.⁴⁴ The slaves in chains

passed through the town frequently; and Lundy, who

had often seen them, said in speaking of the effect upon

him: "My heart was deeply grieved at the gross abom-

ination; I heard the wail of the captive; I felt his pang

of distress, and the iron entered my soul."

In 1812, Lundy left Wheeling and went back to

Mount Pleasant to live, where he worked at his trade.

He later removed to St. Clairsville, a town eleven miles

west of Wheeling. Here, at the age of twenty-six, he

called together at his house a number of his friends

who, he thought, shared his sympathy for the slave.

Only five or six came, and to them he expressed his feel-

ings.  Out of this meeting grew the organization of

the Union Humane Society, the first anti-slavery society

in the United States. In a few months its membership

had grown to nearly five hundred and included the most

influential citizens of the counties of the eastern part

of the state.

Lundy conceived the idea of organizing similar so-

cieties, and to this end he wrote an address to the

 

Benjamin Lundy, Founder of Abolitionism, a paper read by

William Clinton Armstrong before the Historical Club, Rutgers College,

New Jersey, October 21, 1897.

• 24
 

196     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

"Philanthropists" of the United States over the signa-

ture of "Philo Justitia"; five or six copies were circu-

lated in manuscript form. He was urged by his friends

to publish it, which he did in 1816. The address closed

with these words:  "I have had the subject long in

contemplation and I have now taken it up, fully deter-

mined for one never to lay it down while I breathe or

until the end shall be attained."  This circular is said

to contain the germ of the whole anti-slavery movement,

and Lundy's plan of societies was nearly the same as

that in operation twenty years later.

When, in 1817, Osborn began the publication of the

Philanthropist, Lundy became interested in the paper

because he saw that it would afford him an opportunity

of working efficiently for the cause of emancipation.

He at first acted as agent, and soon his comments began

to appear among the editorial paragraphs; in the mean-

time he continued to work at his trade in St. Clairsville.

Soon Osborn invited him to assist in editing and to

share in the business management of the paper. After

some hesitation, he consented and decided to sell out

his business establishment and move to Mt .Pleasant

where he could devote his entire time to the cause in

which he was interested.  With this end in view, he

took all his goods from his shop in a boat and with three

apprentices started for St. Louis, the great market on

the western frontier.

He arrived in the fall of 1819 at St. Louis on the

eve of an important event.  Missouri was just asking

for admission to the Union, and the question of tolera-

tion or prohibition of slavery in the constitution of the

proposed state was beginning to be discussed in Con-

• 25
 

Three Anti-Slavery Newspapers      197

gress. Lundy became interested in the discussion; he

contributed articles to the newspapers of Missouri and

Illinois exposing the evils of slavery and the dangers

of extending the system in the territories.  After the

contest had terminated and Congress had decided that

the people of Missouri might frame a constitution with-

out restriction as to slavery, Lundy felt the bitterness

of the defeat of his cause.

Disappointed by the victory of the slave power, and

after an absence of six months, Lundy returned home,

six hundred miles on foot in the winter season, having

lost some thousands of dollars in Missouri on account

of the business depression that overspread the whole

country at that time. It was during his absence in St.

Louis that Osborn had sold the Philanthropist to Elisha

Bates. For a year and a half Lundy had been looking

forward to becoming an assistant editor of this paper

and of using it as a medium of attack on slavery. Os-

born's successor did not come up to the standard of anti-

slavery views by Lundy,⁴⁵ who for this reason de-

cided to establish a periodical of his own.

About this time there were published in the Philan-

thropist, then under the management of Bates, two

items of interest.  In May, 1820, Elihu Embree ad-

vertised a proposal for the publication of an anti-

slavery paper to be entitled the Emancipator, at Jones-

boro, Tennessee. Just nine months later, in February,

1820, appeared the notice of Embree's death. Lundy

had learned of this editor's decease on his way home

from Missouri and when he discovered on his re-

turn to Mount Pleasant that Osborn had abandoned

 

45 See above pp. 180 and 187.

• 26
 

198     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

the Philanthopist, the idea came to him to publish a

paper to take the place of the Emancipator which had

had an extensive circulation and was of a decided anti-

slavery character.  He refers to this fact in the first

number of his paper when he says: "The Genius is de-

signed to rise like the Phoenix from the ashes of the

late Emancipator published by Elihu Embree.   Had

that worthy man lived to continue his useful labors, it

is not likely that this paper would have appeared at this

time."

The prospectus of Lundy's paper was published in

the Philanthropist in June, 1821; the first number ap-

peared in July, 1821,46 being entitled the Genius of Uni-

versal Emancipation. After the issue of this first num-

ber, which was printed in the office of the Philanthro-

pist, Lundy had his printing done at Steubenville, Ohio,

twenty miles from his home at Mount Pleasant and he

walked back and forth between these places carrying

his papers on his back.

Eight monthly numbers of the Genius were in this

way published in Ohio; but working under such con-

ditions was, of course, unsatisfactory.  Soon an oppor-

tunity of securing a better location for his paper offered

itself. Since Embree's death the Manumission Society

of Tennessee, which had procured a press for the pur-

pose of disseminating the principles of emancipation,

was in great need of some one to conduct its printing

establishment. When Lundy learned of this, he decided

to take over the establishment of the society, and in

April, 1822, he published the ninth number of the Genius

 

46 The date of the first number is incorrectly given as January, 1821,

in Earl's Life of Benjamin Lundy.

• 27
 

Three Anti-Slavery Newspapers      199

in Greenville, Tennessee.  Here, without any ap-

prenticeship, he acted not only as editor and proprietor,

but also as type-setter and printer.  He continued

his publication in this place for nearly three years, and,

although he encountered the strong opposition of the

slave-holder, the Genius attained a wide circulation and

Lundy, in an editorial at that time, commented on the

satisfaction he felt in the results of his first year's work.

In 1824, Lundy decided to move his paper a second

time.  In the fourteenth number of the Genius, (June,

1824) at Greenville, he expressed his intention of trans-

ferring his publication to Baltimore, which was at that

time the headquarters for the selection and purchase

of slaves.  In explanation, he stated that it had always

been his intention to inculcate the opinion that slavery

was a national evil and consequently that the exertions

of the people in all parts of the United States would be

needed to effect its abolition. It had, therefore, always

been a leading object with him to divest his paper of

local or sectional features, so that it might circulate gen-

erally and take on a national character.  And he

felt that he had succeeded in his ambition, because his

paper was at the time of writing in circulation in nearly

every state of the Union. He stated further that, from

the time that he had first entered upon the publication of

an anti-slavery paper, he had considered the eastern

states as by far the most suitable place for the publica-

tion of a national organ, as he intended the Genius to be.

Baltimore appeared to him as a place particularly

suited to his paper; its central situation would enable

him to secure information valuable to his work; here

also the facilities for mailing would be greater than in

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200      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

the West, where he had been compelled to sacrifice from

two hundred to three hundred subscribers on account

of the carelessness in the postoffice department by which

the papers were frequently wet and damaged in the mail

before being taken into the stage-coaches. Lundy as-

sured his subscribers in the West that the paper would

still continue to be sent to them, for from Baltimore

the mail would be taken by coaches in every direction

and would arrive at its destination in good condition.

He gave assurance also of his deep interest in the work

of the abolitionists of the West and his happiness in

being a co-worker with them in the "Christian Republi-

can vineyard of the Genius of Universal Emancipa-

tion."⁴⁷

The prospectus of Lundy's paper which appeared

in the Philanthropist in June, 1821, gives a good idea

of the kind of paper the Genius was to be.  It was to

be devoted almost exclusively to the subject of slavery,

and it was the editor's wish that it should serve

as an active instrument in his hands in the attempt to

abolish "the criminal and disgraceful system    [of

slavery] in the American republic."  To the editor of

the proposed periodical, lukewarmness in so important a

matter appeared criminal.   He believed the Ameri-

can people were guilty of grave inconsistency and hy-

pocrisy in allowing the "foul blot to remain upon the

national escutcheon."  He believed, furthermore, that

the state of feeling throughout the United States called

for a paper that would present the most interesting

facts relative to the growing evil of slavery, and he ex-

 

47 For an acocunt of the influence of the Genius after it was removed

to Baltimore, see Earle's Life of Benjamin Lundy.

• 29
 

Three Anti-Slavery Newspapers     201

pressed a wish that the paper he was about to publish

would eventually prove to be a faithful history of the

downfall of the system in the United States.

As advertised in the prospectus, the paper was to be

issued monthly.  Twelve numbers were to constitute

a volume with a title and index furnished by the editor.

It was to be handsomely printed on royal sheet, folded

in octavo form (each page being about nine by six

inches), the printing to be neatly executed to make the

paper suitable for binding.  The subscription price

was to be one dollar a year in advance. As the

paper was intended for general circulation, it was to

be securely wrapped and forwarded by mail "or as other-

wise agreeable" to any part of the United States. To

facilitate payment, it was announced that the bills of

any specie-paying bank in the different states would be

received. The first number was to be sent to some

persons who had not subscribed that they might become

acquainted with the publication.

The first number of the Genius of Universal Eman-

cipation was issued in July, 1821; it bore the motto, "Fiat

Justitia, Ruat Coelum." The first lines in this first

number were the following quoted from the Declaration

of Independence:  "We hold these truths to be self-

evident, that all men are created equal and endowed

by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that

among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi-

ness."

The first editorial in this first number was in the

form of an "Address to the People," in which the editor

made a general statement as to the status of slavery in

the country at that time and as to the probability of its

• 30
 

202     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

being further extended. With regard to the matter of

further extension Lundy remarked that the recent dis-

cussion of the subject had produced a great excitement

among the people, "even from Maine to New Orleans

and from the shores of the Atlantic to the savage lands

of the West."

In this his first editorial Lundy unhesitatingly pre-

dicts the abolition of slavery as a certainty because, as

he said: "The very nature of our government forbids

its continuance and the voice of our government for-

bids its continuance and the voice of the Eternal hath

decreed its annihilation."  He goes further and pre-

dicts that if slavery is not abolished, our country will

be devastated by intestine war. "That this one day will

be done, there is not the shadow of a doubt unless the

sons of liberty be roused from their lethargy, unless

they be induced to act consistently with their profession

and remove the evils, without the borders of their wide

domain." To Lundy the system of slavery was out of

place in a republic; he compared the slave-holders of

the South to the feudal barons of Europe; he quoted a

passage from Jefferson's Notes on Virginia to the effect

that slavery produces feelings of aristocracy and des-

potism in those countries where it exists.

Lundy foresaw and met the objection that might be

made to the publication of an anti-slavery paper in a

free state. He explained that the Genius was not to be

a local paper; mere local matters and all advertisements

were to be entirely excluded from its columns that it

might be read in every part of the Union. In conduct-

ing his paper the editor expressed a desire to have the

assistance of men of the highest literary attainments

• 31
 

Three Anti-Slavery Newspapers       203

and the patronage of men of the highest standing in the

nation. Important information in regard to slavery

in every part of the country, contained in numerous

publications, was to be collected and printed, as were

also well-written essays and communications from so-

cieties and individuals tending to promote the cause of

emancipation. The editor requested those having it in

their power to furnish him with such articles, including

short biographical and historical sketches, reports

of important law cases, and details of unusual bar-

barity touching the subject of slavery. He solicited

also for publication the constitutions, orations, reports

and proceedings of various abolition and other societies

established for the purpose of restoring to the slaves

their freedom and natural rights.

In short, Lundy assured his readers that the Genius

would contain a complete view of the actual state of

things relative to the subject of slavery in the United

States. William Birney⁴⁸ says: "The historical value

of Lundy's paper for the period beginning with 1821

and ending with 1830 can hardly be overestimated. It

is a reposity of all the plans for the abolition of slavery,

of all laws, opinions, arguments, essays, speeches, views,

statistics, constitutions of societies, proceedings of Con-

gress, notices of books and pamphlets, colonization ef-

forts, political movements, in short, of everything relat-

ing to slavery."

In speaking of its style the biographer says: "The

style of the writer improves from year to year.  The

 

48William Birney, son of James G. Birney and author of James G.

Birney and His Times.

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204     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

reader becomes insensibly absorbed in gazing upon the

life-like panorama presented him of the doings of a

former generation, and when he at last lays aside the

paper, it is with a genuine respect for the noble sincerity,

unselfishness, and sure judgment of Benjamin Lundy."

Lundy endeavored to keep before the minds of the

people the horrors of the system of slavery.  In a

column called the "Black List," he published all the

"harrowing and unusual cases of cruelty to negroes"

that were brought to his attention.  He noted under

this head the large rewards offered for fugitive negroes,

the inhumane treatment of victims of the slave traffic

on the seas, and the unfair discrimination made by

judges in inflicting fines or penalties.  On the other

hand, under the heading, "Growth of Correct Prin-

ciples," he printed any facts that showed signs of im-

provement in the attitude of the people in general to-

ward the colored man, such as the founding of a library

at Boston and the opening of schools for the negro; he

particularly called attention to the fact that in different

parts of the country First Day schools were being

opened for colored people, chiefly through the charity of

women.

Under the title "Foreign and Domestic Slave Trade,"

Lundy followed the history of the traffic in slaves

both in this and in foreign countries.  He published⁴⁹

an article on "The Origin of Slave Trade in the United

States", five pages being given to a report of a debate

on this subject in the British House of Commons in

which Wilberforce participated; a debate in the Cham-

 

49 December, 1821.

• 33
 

Three Anti-Slavery Newspapers     205

ber of Deputies in Paris was also reported. Action in

Congress in regard to this trade was followed. At the

same time Lundy aimed to show by facts that, contrary

to the laws of the nations, the trade was still flourishing.

The question of the extension of slavery was upper-

most in Lundy's mind on account of the recent victory

of the slave power in Missouri.  By way of contrast

to the striking tendency in the United States to extend

and perpetuate the system, he called attention to the

progress made towards its abolition by the "infant re-

public" of Columbia; he quoted also the main points of

the proclamation passed by the Congress of Hayti re-

specting freedom for the slaves. When the American

convention for promoting the abolition of slavery peti-

tioned Congress for the prohibition of slavery in the

Floridas, Lundy wished to know why it should not be

prohibited also in Arkansas, since there were but few

slaves at the time in that territory. Of Missouri he re-

marked: "I do not hesitate to give as my decided opinion

that if ever Missouri acquires a respectable population

she must become a free state!"

He published the census of 1820, which gave the

whole number of slaves in the United States.

The action of the different state legislatures in re-

gard to emancipation was reported.  Some space was

devoted to a consideration of remarks made by Tall-

madge in a debate in the New York Convention (Sep-

tember 17, 1821) on the subject of the emancipation of

slaves still held in that state.

During the time of his publication of the Genius in

Ohio, Lundy advocated the principle of gradual rather

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206      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

than immediate emancipation,⁵⁰ although he later51 came

to believe in immediatism as the most direct way to total

emancipation. In the third number of the Genius he

wrote in regard to abolition: "Various plans have been

proposed in different sections of the United States.  It

is pleasing to see that the people are awake to the evils

of slavery.  No one of these plans meets my idea ex-

actly, but I will not oppose any of them but am willing

to assent to any measure consistent with justice and

calculated to effect the grand and benevolent purpose

of universal emancipation."   Lundy's idea seems to

have been to effect abolition through manumission by

masters and through the legislatures of the slave-hold-

ing states compelling masters to emancipate.

The abolition plan of the American Society was

frequently discussed,  Lundy favored colonization as

a means of gradual emancipation.     At one time he

wrote:52 "I would not have it to be thought that I am

opposed to the ostensible views of the American Coloni-

zation Society."  He went on to say that he had ap-

proved the motives which its founders professed and

had thought that much good would come of it.

He believed that a proper plan carried on in a spirit

of benevolence would tend to counteract some of the

evils of the slave traffic.  He published⁵³ letters from

the agent of the society in the United States which con-

tained assurances of the ultimate success of the plain,

since hundreds were asking permission to go out.  In

 

50In the Anti-Slavery Bugle, October, 1846, we read that Lundy

was misled by the "ignis fatuus of gradual emancipation."

51 In Baltimore in 1824, Lundy wrote that his object was the com-

plete and total extinguishment of slavery by such means as the people

in their wisdom should elect.

52October, 1821.

53December, 1821.

• 35
 

Three Anti-Slavery Newspapers    207

the same number in which these letters appeared, Lundy

again expressed himself as in favor of some kind of

colonization plan, "for," he said, "I am of the opinion

that unless a large part of our colored population can be

removed from those districts where they are the most

numerous, it will be impossible to do away with the sys-

tem (otherwise than by violence) in anything like a

reasonable length of time."

But Lundy came in time to look with disfavor and

suspicion upon the methods of the society.  He wrote

that he had been greatly disappointed in the hopes he

had indulged with regard to the good to be accomplished

by the American Colonization Society, because some of

its transactions had been marked with a degree of folly

or wickedness that proved that the agents were totally

unfit for the office assigned them.  He criticized the

prominent leaders of the movement. He said that Clay

had promised to work for abolition in Kentucky but

had used his influence to extend slavery in the United

States; Mr. Mercer, of Virginia, one of the founders of

the society, had opposed the exclusion of slavery in

Missouri while professing a desire to liberate his own

slaves.  The editor called attention⁵⁴ to the "high-

toned and aristocratic" language used by Bushrod

Washington, the president of the society, in a letter ex-

plaining why he had sold his slaves instead of liberating

them.

Lundy differed from most anti-slavery men of his

time in that he believed that slavery was not profitable

to masters. He never advocated emancipation backed

by the sword, for he was opposed to war and to the use

 

October, 1821.

• 36
 

208     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

of voilence at any time; his appeal was to the conscience

alone. He advocated the establishment of colonies of

negroes beyond the borders of the United States with

the ultimate object of securing emancipation, on the soil,

of all the slaves who remained in the United States. It

was in the interest of this plan that he traveled so ex-

tensively. On his way home from Mexico he stopped

at Cincinnati where he explained to the students of

Lane Seminary the radical differences between his plan

of negro settlement and the aims and operation of the

Colonization Society.  Lundy's opinion of the society

and its leaders is easily read in his own words: "While

we have such men as Henry Clay to make our laws and

(Judge) Bushrod Washington to expound them, it is

to be feared that the Africans in our land must still be

'hewers of wood and drawers of water,' and the name

of America will be coupled with that of hypocrisy and

injustice."

"But I considered that although a man should find

himself standing alone in a world of error, he is not to

be delivered from efforts at reformation merely by the

probability of ill success." In these words Lundy tells

with what determination and perseverance he under-

took the publication of a paper that was boldly and fear-

lessly to preach the doctrine of abolition.

The Genius was at its beginning unaided by the

patronage and influence of societies or wealthy indi-

viduals; it was even opposed by many who might natu-

rally have been expected to support it.  Lundy says

that many different opinions were expressed in his

neighborhood after he had published his proposal to

print an anti-slavery paper. Some who were opposed

• 37
 

Three Anti-Slavery Newspapers    209

to the principle of slavery were averse to any attempts

to abolish it; some were of the opinion that it was best

to let it alone and it would destroy itself.  But Lundy

persevered and was rewarded; for the little paper that

could boast of only a dozen subscribers at the beginning,

at the end of four months had a large circulation; and

at the end of the first year the editor could write that he

felt confident that his paper had met with the approba-

tion of many of the best men in the country.

He had been told by the friends of the slave that his

paper was too severe in its attitude toward the slave-

holder and for that reason would never circulate in

the slave states. Lundy replied to this that more than

seventy subscriptions had been received from both slave

and free states in one month; and one subscriber in

Virginia had sent in his name for nine additional sub-

scriptions because he feared the paper would not have a

large patronage. The privilege had been given to sub-

scribers who at the end of three or four months were

not satisfied with the paper to return it and have their

money refunded, and Lundy was glad to say at the end

of the first year that not one person had availed himself

of this privilege.

Doubts had been expressed as to whether Lundy

would be able to find material sufficient to maintain an

anti-slavery paper for any great length of time, but al-

ready in the fourth number Lundy announced that the

Genius was crowded with lengthy articles, and sug-

gested that it might be necessary to enlarge it; the fol-

lowing number⁵⁵ was increased from sixteen to twenty

pages.  At that time it was in circulation in nearly

every state in the Union from Maine to Missouri, and

Vol. XXXI-14.

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210     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

the circulation continued to increase almost daily during

the time of the paper's publication in Ohio.

In a retrospect56 of the first six months of his work

as editor of the Genius Lundy discussed the question of

the "right attitude" to be taken by a paper dealing with

the subject of slavery.  He stated that he had been

criticized by some on account of his too great severity

toward the slave-holder, and by others for the mildness

of his attack.  Lundy expressed his opinion upon this

point clearly and openly, when he said that he did not

believe that a reformation of great evils could be ef-

fected by oily words.  He continues: "The advocates

of slavery (and there are some of these in all parts of

the Union) feel themselves secure in the seat of au-

thority.  Covered with the mantle of hypocrisy they

dare hold up their heads among honorable men. They

treat with a smile of contempt every effort of the

humane and benevolent to ameliorate the wretched con-

dition of the slave. They laugh to scorn everything

like mildness and persuasion and must be addressed in

such language as will reach their adamantine hearts to

unbar the doors which have long been closed against

reason and justice.  With these views I have entered

the wide fields of editorial labor.  For myself I have

adopted the motto of 'fidex et audax,' and it remains to

be seen whether my exertion will be the means of effect-

ing anything that will be beneficial to my fellow-creat-

ures." As Osborn declared, so also, did Lundy that he

was not working to gain popularity, and that he was

determined to pursue such a course in dealing with

 

55 November, 1821.

56January, 1822.

• 39
 

Three Anti-Slavery Newspapers           211

slavery as justice and duty pointed out, regardless of

consequences.

The last number of the Genius published in Ohio was

issued in March, 1822. The "Retrospect" published by

the editor in the Genius in July, 1822, is of interest and

value because it tells us what Lundy thought of his

paper and also what hopes he entertained for its future.

He felt assured that his course of fearlessness and bold-

ness in dealing with the advocates of the slave system

in this country had been successful, and he felt also that

his ideas had met with the approval of the most en-

lightened and patriotic citizens of the United States.

He did not hesitate to say that he would continue to con-

duct his paper on the same principles he had followed

from the beginning and that he would use every effort

to point out the evils, as well as the dangers of the slave

system, till the people more generally fixed their atten-

tion upon it.  He expressed himself as greatly pleased

with the flattering reception of his first year's work, and

he appeared extremely confident of a still greater suc-

cess in the future for the Genius.

SOURCES

Files of these early newspapers are rare and very difficult

to obtain. Of the earlier Philanthropist I was able to examine

but two numbers.¹ Practically all the statements made in this

essay concerning that paper are taken from an article² written by

George W. Julian written with the purpose of proving that

Osborn and not Lundy was the first to establish an anti-slavery

paper in America and that Osborn deserves the honor of having

been the first to proclaim the doctrine of unconditional and im-

mediate emancipation on this continent, an honor usually ac-

corded by historians to Garrison. Julian states that he wrote

 

1Library of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society.

2Indiana Historical Society Publications, vol. II, pp. 232-267.

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212       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

this article with the complete files of the Philanthropist before

him.

The writer obtained and examined almost complete file of

Bate's Philanthropist and Lundy's Genius.

Earle's Life of Benjamin Lundy,³ compiled from Lundy's

letters to his friends and from his publications, is the best source

of information concerning the life and work of the editor of the

Genius.

James G. Birney and His Times⁴ contains (in appendix)

useful information concerning Osborn's and Lundy's attempts to

establish anti-slavery papers. The writer's aim was to prove

that Lundy and not Garrison was the founder of Abolitionism in

the United States.

Benjamin Lundy, the Founder of Abolitionism is the title of

a paper⁵ by William C. Armstrong read October 21, 1897, before

the Historical Club, Rutgers College, New Jersey.

Howe's Historical Collections of Ohio, the History of Ohio,

by Randall and Ryan,¹ and the county histories¹ give a few facts

concerning Lundy but almost nothing concerning the other two

editors.

In the Reminiscences⁷ of Levi Coffin⁷ are to be found in-

teresting facts concerning the abolition movement in Ohio at the

beginning of the nineteenth century, and in the Liberty and Free

Soil Parties, by T. C. Smith, are to be found some brief refer-

ences to the early anti-slavery press.

 

Ohio State Library, Columbus, O.

4By William Birney, son of James G. Birney.

5Ohio State Library, Columbus, Ohio.

6Ohio State Library, Columbus, Ohio.

Library of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society.

• 41