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 * // William Ladd: American Pacifist //****//

Time Period: 1800-1840

Background: //** // Born on May 10, 1778 William Ladd grew up in a very wealthy family. His father was a sea captain and shipbuilder. Ladd attended and graduated from Harvard University. Following his graduation he began to run some of his father’s ships, becoming a successful captain by age 20. The remainder of his life is riddled with his strong belief in peace. He devoted nearly all of his time to further the cause of anti-war groups and others who supported his views.

// William Ladd knew that American society wasn’t perfect, nor did he expect it to be. He did however think it could be improved and that it had a major flaw. That major flaw was its association with war. The country of America was founded through war so he realized this concept could be hard to grasp. This realization didn’t stop him from expressing and fighting for his beliefs. The main goals of Ladd were to create a sense of national peace and to create an international peace-keeping body. // Methods of Improving American Life: //** // Ladd looked to improve America by moving citizens toward the view of pacifism. Relatively early in his life he started a plantation in Florida attempting to create an alternative to slavery, by way of free labor. Although his venture failed miserably his pacifist views prevailed. He then moved to Maine when the War of 1812 broke out. As a pacifist he strongly opposed the war and expressed himself through writing and preaching. In 1823 he wrote the first of 32 "Essays on Peace and War." These essays showed the Christian views on pacifism. Throughout his life he also published other writings that opposed war memorials. In 1828, with the leadership of Ladd, the American Peace Society was formed. While there were other peace groups around this Society was probably the strongest and longest lasting. One of Ladd's final efforts was his movement for a international peace keeping society. In 1840 he wrote "An Essay on a Congress of Nations." His arguments and principals are what led to the League of Nations and eventually the United Nations. // Success Evaluation: //** // William Ladd was not successful in all in endeavors. As mentioned above his Florida free-labor work was very unsuccessful. Following this early failure he seems to have learned his lesson. Almost all of his efforts following were met with some success, even if it wasn't to be shown in his lifetime. His major successes can be found in the creation the American Peace Society and his influences in International Peacekeeping. // Practicality of Goals: //** // The Harvard education of Ladd naturally made him an educated and practical man, not to say that everyone who graduates college is practical. In this case the goals Ladd were for the most part practical. The practicality of the goals of Ladd ties directly to the success of those same goals. Naturally where he failed his goals were slightly less practical but not totally unconceivable. His attempt at free-labor was based on very grounded beliefs but his execution certainly could have improved. The fact that his other main endeavors were met with success shows that they were indeed practical. // Federal Support: //** // The Federal government could be a huge help to the efforts of William Ladd. Any new organization, like the American Peace Society, could use funding to help get on its feet. Federal support would also be helpful by way of legislation or foreign affairs. The international ideas of Ladd could not be put into action by Ladd himself. He could easily move others to think the same way he did but he had to international influence. The American government on the other hand did. It could pass peace-keeping legislation or hold discussions/debates with other nations regarding an international body.
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**References:** Elihu Burritt- Burritt was a great help to Ladd. They shared many views and thrived off each other. The early international views of Ladd were largely supported and popularized by Burritt. After the death of Ladd in 1841 Burritt took of the burden. He was able to successfully organize ‘The First International Congress of the Friends of Peace.’  // // Benjamin Franklin Trueblood- Trueblood was the leader of the American Peace Society following William Ladd. Like Ladd Trueblood also worked for an international peace-keeping body. In a book he wrote he argued that same viewpoint.

"William Ladd Biography." //BookRags//. Web. 6 Oct 2009. .
 * Sources: ** //

Wing, George. "The Apostle of Peace." //RootsWeb//. Web. 6 Oct 2009. .