Benjamin Lundy
Benjamin Lundy (January 4, 1789 – August 22, 1839) was an American Quaker abolitionist who established several anti-slavery newspapers and worked for many others. He traveled widely seeking to limit the expansion of slavery, and in seeking to establish a colony to which freed slaves might be located, outside of the United States.
Lundy was born in Warren County, New Jersey. When he turned nineteen, he moved to Wheeling, Virginia, and spent the first eighteen months working as a saddlemaker's apprentice. After his apprenticeship, he married. Four years later, he moved to Mount Pleasant, Ohio, and then to St. Clairsville, where he formed the Union Humane Society in 1815. Four years later, he founded the antislavery periodical, Philanthropist, which was published at Mount Pleasant. In 1819 he moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he opposed the expansion of slavery to the state. After moving back to Mount Pleasant, in 1821, Lundy founded The Genius of Universal Emancipation. He moved to Jonesborough, Tennessee, and then again, in 1824, to Baltimore, Maryland. While living in Baltimore, a major slave-trading center, he was severely thrashed by Austin Woolfolk, an angry slave dealer.
He traveled to Haiti in 1825 in search of a refuge for freed slaves. In 1828, he journeyed on foot through the Eastern States, giving speeches that explained his aims. In 1829, William Lloyd Garrison became co-editor of Genius of Universal Emancipation, and published several particularly inflammatory editions while Lundy was absent in Mexico, still seeking a location for his colony for ex-slaves. (In 1831, Mexico included areas which are now in the States of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Nevada). Garrison was imprisoned, and Lundy moved the paper to Washington, D.C., where it failed. In 1830–31, he visited the Wilberforce colony of freed slaves in Canada. Between 1832 and 1835 Lundy again visited Mexico and Mexican Texas and applied for an Empresario grant with local authorities to establish a colony of free slaves. In 1836 he published his most famous work The War in Texas, written to influence public opinion in opposition to the Texas Revolution and Texas annexation to the United States. In 1836, Lundy began the National Enquirer, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but retired from it in 1838. That same year, a mob burned Pennsylvania Hall, destroying nearly all of his possessions. He became a persona non grata in Philadelphia.
In 1839, after moving to Lowell, LaSalle County, Illinois, he revived the Genius of Universal Emancipation. He was able to produce only a few issues before he died of a fever.
The SS Benjamin Lundy, a World War II Liberty Ship was named in his honor.
Benjamin Lundy was a slave abolitionist whose writings helped further the anti-slavery movement in the United States. Benjamin Lundy was born on January 4, 1789 in Harwich New Jersey. He grew up on his father’s farm who raised him to follow the Quaker religion. When Lundy was five years old his mother passed away and his father remarried. At the age of eight years he attended school briefly where he learned to read and write. He then returned to school again at the age of sixteen learning Math. English and Math were the only two subjects in which he ever received a formal education in. Lundy was a hard worker and demonstrated signs of dedication and passion at an early age. He was constantly working on his father’s farm, eventually resulting in the deterioration of his health and some hearing loss. Although Lundy was unhealthy, he did not let this interfere with his goals and ambitions. At the age of nineteen Lundy began to travel and found a position in Virginia as an apprentice in the saddler’s trade, working as a “Journey Man”. In Virginia, Lundy was exposed to a whole different lifestyle than he had grown accustomed to back home. People who spent most of their time gambling, partying, and generally living a very lavish lifestyle surrounded him. Although he was surrounded by this new way of living, he did not let it influence him; instead, he was persistent and focused on maintaining his Quaker morals. Lundy would spend most of his time reading books and writing as often as possible. Since he read so often, he was introduced to the brutality of slavery and immediately he was against it and wanted to work to eliminate the brutal system of chattel enslavement in the antebellum south. Lundy was consumed with the idea of ending slavery and allowing African Americans to have civil rights in the United States. “I had lamented the sad condition of the slave, ever since I became acquainted with his wrongs and sufferings. But the question ‘What can I do?’ was the continual response to the impulses of my heart. As I enjoyed no peace of mind, however, I at length concluded that I must act.” Lundy believed it was his duty to help slaves gain freedom, and the first step was the creation of the “Union Society,” an anti-slavery organization he developed. The organization started small but experienced rapid growth. Due to this growth, Lundy was inspired to write his own pamphlet which pointed out the harshness of slavery and was specifically geared towards “The Philanthropists of the United States” . The piece was eventually published and officially titled “The Philanthropist”. Lundy was pleased with his ability to make a difference through his writings and this jumpstarted many of his later accomplishments. This early success created a path for Lundy to focus heavily on anti-slavery in his writings. After moving to Tennessee with his wife and children he decided to establish his own newspaper that would illustrate and discuss the harsh realities of slavery and its inherent cruelties. The paper was called the “Genius of Universal Emancipation”. It was the only anti-slavery newspaper in America and it circulated all over the United States. Lundy’s motives were apparent, “Lundy saw abolition as a great rational movement that would progress through stages preparatory to the reconstruction of full freedom and equality of the Negro”. Lundy believed that even though the racial structure appeared so deeply engrained in the country and permeated the majority of American society, with perseverance it could be reversed. In 1825 the Emigration to Haiti was an opportunity for Lundy to express his thoughts. Since he was so outspoken about his ideas during such a controversial period of time, he set the stage for freedom of speech that was one of the core ideas of the US Constitution. “The abolitionist printers and writers believed that they could eventually affect change and have their voices heard if they could maintain a published presence and spread their messaged through the press.” Lundy thought his journals would eventually have a profound effect on people as long as they continued circulating. Since Lundy documented his ideas, he is responsible for the development of primary sources which played a significant role in influencing ideas about anti-slavery and shaping the history of slavery. His writings did in fact succeed when he created the “Genius of Universal Emancipation.” During the emigration to Haiti, Lundy transformed the newspaper into a mixture of journals and letters that documented the lives of those who made the journey to the first black nation and site of the first and only successful slave revolt. These writings were important because they let those who stayed behind know about the experiences of the immigrants. During this time Lundy also teamed up with Lloyd Garrison, a slave abolitionist and a dear friend. Garrison and Lundy were constantly helping one another. The authorities of the era often brought both to court and prosecuted them for minor crimes committed while actively projecting anti-slavery views. Although Lundy had a huge impact on slavery, it was not an easy task and he did experience jail time, and sometimes his life was even threatened. “Often the bullies vapoured around me with bludgeons, in such a manner, that the sparing of my life might seem to have been providential.” Such abuse would often occur because some disagreed with Lundy and did not like what he had to say. In 1839, Lundy moved to Illinois where he continued publishing and editing. He eventually caught a fever that had spread throughout the city and since he already possessed poor health, his body could not handle another health crisis and he died on August 22, 1839. Benjamin Lundy, to this day, is one of the most influential anti-slavery reformists. His passion was to create a sense of equality among all races; which made him stand out and illustrates just how influential he was in the fight to abolish slavery. “Having resolved, twenty-three years before his decease, to devote his energies to the relief of the suffering slave, and the oppressed man of color, he preserved to the end, undeterred by difficulties and undismayed by dangers, undiscouraged by disappointments and unsubdued sacrifices.” Benjamin Lundy was a man who tried to improve the quality of life for a group of people who were greatly suffering under a system of oppression and injustice. He was not afraid to step out of a preconceived mold for the white men of his day and to create a movement where the odds were against him. Benjamin Lundy’s legacy as a man who championed equality and freedom for all peoples and a challenger of the status quo ensures we will remember and emulate him forever.
1 The Life, Travels And Opinions of Benjamin Lundy, (1847), pg 16
2 The Life, Travels And Opinions of Benjamin Lundy, (1847), pg 17
3 Benjamin Lundy and The Struggle for Negro Freedom, (1966), pg 89
4 William Lloyd Garrison, Benjamin Lundy and Criminal Libel: The Abolitionists’ Plea for Press Freedom, (1837), Pg 5
5 The Life, Travels And Opinions of Benjamin Lundy, (1847), pg 21
6 The Life, Travels And Opinions of Benjamin Lundy, (1847), pgs 305-306
External links
www.cookie.htm Spartacus Educational: Benjamin Lundy]
- Read an abolitionist tract by Benjamin Lundy, published 1845, Anti-Texas Legion: Protest of some free men, states and presses against the Texas rebellion, against the laws of nature and of nations hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
- The war in Texas; a review of facts and circumstances, showing that this contest is a crusade against Mexico, set on foot by slaveholders, land speculators, & c. in order to re-establish, extend, and perpetuate the system of slavery and the slave trade. hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
- 1911 Britannica article on Lundy