Abolitionist and human rights activist Wendell Phillips was born
November 29, 1811, in Boston, and died February 2, 1884, also in
Boston. After graduating from Harvard Law School, the young Phillips
gave up the practice of law in 1837 in order to join a group of
abolitionists headed by William Lloyd Garrison. Phillips wrote
numerous editorials for Garrison's newspaper, "The Liberator." Wendell
Phillips rose to prominence when he delivered a fiery speech, "The
Murder of Lovejoy," regarding the slaying of antislavery leader Elijah
P. Lovejoy. Here you will find the text of that famous speech:
Libertystory.net: The Murder of Lovejoy
http://www.libertystory.net/LSDOCPHILLIPSLOVEJOY.htm
Wendell Phillips was opposed to any individual, institution, or law
that, in his view, served to support slavery. He even denounced the
U.S. Constitution for endorsing slavery. Phillips favored an end to
slavery even if the dissolution of the Union was necessary to achieve
this end, and he was a harsh critic of the administration of President
Abraham Lincoln before and during the Civil War. During the
Reconstruction period, Phillips wrote several editorials assailing the
policies of President Andrew Johnson. When the war was over, Phillips
held together the American Anti-Slavery Society until the passage of
the 15th Amendment, which made it unconstitutional to deny the right
to vote on the basis of race.
Phillips was also concerned with improving working conditions for
laborers, and in 1870 he was nominated by the Prohibition and Labor
Reform Parties as Governor of Massachusetts. While he did not win the
election, he received almost 15 percent of the vote. Phillips was a
tireless supporter of temperance and women's rights, and he continued
working until his death for the civil rights of African Americans.
In addition to "The Murder of Lovejoy," Phillips' other well-known
speeches include "Views of an Old Abolitionist," "Burial of John
Brown," "Toussaint L'Ouverture," and "The Lost Arts."
Here are a few links to brief articles about Wendell Phillips:
Heath Anthology of American Literature: Wendell Phillips
http://college.hmco.com/english/lauter/heath/4e/students/author_pages/early_nineteenth/phillips_we.html
Libertystory.net: Men & Women of Action
http://www.libertystory.net/LSACTIONPHILLIPS.htm
National Park Service: Wendell Phillips
http://www.nps.gov/boaf/wphill~1.htm
Impeach-AndrewJohnson.com: The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
http://www.impeach-andrewjohnson.com/11BiographiesKeyIndividuals/WendellPhillips.htm
Search strategy:
"emancipator" + "Wendell Phillips"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=emancipator+%22wendell+phillips
I hope this information is useful to you. Please ask for clarification
if needed.
Best regards,
pinkfreud |
