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=Elijah Lovejoy=

Born November 8, 1802, Elijah Lovejoy was a Presbyterian minister and publisher of two religious newspapers as well as an avid abolitionist. Through the efforts of his two newspapers, //The St. Louis Observer// and //Alton Observer//, Lovejoy and his friends wrote of the atrocities surrounding black slaves and their treatment. Lovejoy believed in the freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom from slavery on the basis that all human life was valuable and should be represented by papers. No matter how many times his press was destroyed or mobs formed against him, he continued to print his newspaper to spread his ideas and messages across St. Louis and later Alton. Overall, his mission was to promote the freedom of the press to represent and write about anything and the abolition of slavery. One of the biggest examples of both of these was an article in 1836 which vividly described the lynching of an African American and berated the subsequent "trial" of the mob leaders as a joke and insult to the justice system and humanity. Throughout his life, Lovejoy attempted to change American life and abolish slavery in many ways. Never a physical person, he opposed dozens of mobs and hundreds of angered slave-holders through the power of his pen and press. He believed he could sway people by writing of the atrocities of slavery and the need to give equal rights to whites and blacks. Opposing hateful rioters, he continued to print papers even after his press was destroyed several times by mobs thanks to donations from the Anti-Slavery societies and fellow abolitionists. His brother, Owen Lovejoy, was one of his biggest supporters and assisted him in publishing the //Alton Observer// until Elijah's death and the destruction of the press on November 7, 1837. After his death, Owen took over the leadership of the Illinois Abolitionist movement guided by the teachings of his brother. Facing heavy opposition from Southerners, Elijah Lovejoy was not overly successful in his attempts for abolition while alive but did give accurate portrayals of slavery that were used by future reformers. Unfortunately, his greatest contribution to the abolitionist movement was being the first martyr to the cause with his death at the hands of rioters while defending his press in 1837. His death showed the violence of the slave-holders and ends they were willing to go to to keep slavery and stop abolitionists. Although no one was convicted for Lovejoy's murder, his brother and friends took his beliefs and led the abolitionist movement with new fervor and strength. One of his closes friends and supporters, Royal Weller, had been right beside him during the defense of the press in Alton, IL and had worked with him for several years. He had been convinced by Lovejoy to join the abolitionist cause and become his assistant in printing the //Alton Observer//. On the night of the riot, they attempted to keep the rioters of the roof by pushing the ladder away, but on the second attempt, Lovejoy took the full blow of a shotgun blast while standing in front of his dear friend Weller who also received wounds from the blast. Weller later went on to assist the abolitionist movement because of Lovejoy's motivation and death. In the end, it is thanks to Lovejoy's death that the abolitionist reform movement succeeded in Illinois behind his martyrdom. Although the press was strongly opposed by individuals, Lovejoy's methods of using a newspaper were the best course of action in the 1800's as the mobs show. He was able to reach more people through the publication of a newspaper with his ideals and opinions on slavery. It is because of this far reach that so many individuals took up their own opinions against him. Unfortunately, the majority of the opinions came from hatred and became the mobs that protested against his paper and made further publication impossible. For the time period, it was not his safest choice but the bravest and most influential method he could use to spread the abolitionist ideas. Had President Jackson read Lovejoy's paper, he may have been moved into acting to defend the freedom of press and move against slavery. If their had been more protection for the press, Elijah Lovejoy may have lived longer and continued to print papers to create reform. The government could have also helped by publishing his papers nationwide, so they could reach all the citizens of the U.S. and share more ideas with more people as more individuals joined the movement and added their own opinions. If Lovejoy had a greater reach, his influential and moving ideas and articles could have brought more people to the abolitionists cause if not for the overwhelming opposition to his newspaper and his untimely death.

Works Cited

"Alton, Illinois - Civil War Era - Elijah Parish Lovejoy." //AltonWeb - Community Information Center for The River Bend - Southwestern, Illinois//. Alton Observer. Web. 04 Oct. 2011. 

"Elijah Lovejoy - Alton Observer Report." //AltonWeb - Community Information Center for The River Bend - Southwestern, Illinois//. Alton Observer. Web. 04 Oct. 2011. .

Nammari, Nadia. "The Life of Elijah Parish Lovejoy." //Illinois Periodicals Online at Northern Illinois University - (Main Page)//. Northern Illinois University Libraries. Web. 04 Oct. 2011. .