Benjamin Lundy was born on
January 4, 1789 in
Sussex County, New Jersey. Raised as a
Quaker,
Lundy was an
abolitionist that worked closely with
John Quincy Adams to stop the
annexation of
Texas (preventing the spread of
slavery).
After seeing chain gangs being driven through Wheeling, Virginia Benjamin Lundy wrote in his diary:
My heart was greatly grieved by the great abomination. I heard the wail of the captive; I felt his pang of distress, and the iron entered my soul.
According to an article by
R. H. Taneyhill in
J. A. Caldwell's History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties,
Lundy was, "the first
American citizen who declared
American slavery a
crime."
Benjamin Lundy founded the Union Humane Society, an anti-slavery organization in 1815. In 1821 he founded and began editing the Genius of Universal Emancipation, as well as the National Enquirer (later renamed the Pennsylvania Freeman) in 1835.
In 1829 Lundy was joined by William Lloyd Garrison in Baltimore as an editor for the Genius of Universal Emancipation.
Benjamin Lundy died on August 22, 1839 in Lowell, Illinois.
Frances E. W. Harper had this praise for him (an excerpt from Then and Now, a poem):
To Lundy, whose heart was early stirred
To speak for freedom an earnest word;
Sources:
- The Spartacus Internet Encyclopedia:
- http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk
- Encyclopedia Britannica:
- http://www.britannica.com/
- Living history (an article by Betty J. Pokas):
- http://www.timesleaderonline.com/local/archives4/loc_feb00.html