NARRi TIVE
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3
R IO TS
.
Emma P
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.
.
ED W
PRE SI D E NT OF
ARD
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B E E CH E R ,
I L L I N OI S
AL TON
PU B
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D EATH O F R E V
B & RE V
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GE O R GE
838
.
F,
H O L T O IS
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A D VE R T I SEM E NT
T hree m on th s
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g
.
man u s cr i pt c opy
foll o wi n g n arrat iv e was pr ep ar ed for
p ub l i c at i on mai l e d at &ac kson vi ll e I ll i n oi s,
an d d i r e ct ed t o N e w & or k, t o b e th er e
pr i n t ed I t n ev e r arr iv ed at th e pl ac e of its
d es t i n at i on an d m u s t e i th e r h av e b een l os t
or o th er wi se d i s p os e d of
Th i s expl ai n s th e
d el ay in t h e p ub l i c at i on of th e Narr at iv e
of
th e
,
,
-
.
,
.
.
p ub l i sh e r is awar e th at i t wou l d
h av e b e en r e c eiv e d wi th mor e avi d i ty , i f i t
h ad b e en i s s u e d i mme d i at ely aft er th e tran
s ac t ion t o w h i ch i t r e fe r s ; bu t h e feel s c on
fi d en t th at th e pl an of t h e w o rk an d th e
tr ai n of th ou ght p u r s u e d b y its au th o r wi ll
s u s tai n its cl ai m i n d ep en d en tly o f th e in
t eres t g r owi n g o u t o f m er ely tr an s i en t or
Th e
,
,
,
,
3
AD VERTI SEMENT
4
c i t emen ts , t o th e s er i ou s att en t i on
F act s are h er ei n
of an i n t ell ig en t p ub l i c
d et ai l ed, wh i ch h av e n ot b een h i th ert o
d ev el op ed ; an d t h e g en er al vi e w s t aken
o f t h e an t i s l av e ry d i s c u s s i on a n d its
en
g
e ra l b ear i n gs on t h e m or al i n t er es t s of t h e
worl d are s tr i ki n g , an d in man y r es pe cts
l oc al
ex
.
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-
,
,
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.
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t h e t o p , fo r,
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Pag e 60, 12 t h h ue f om t he t o p, for,
ou n d,
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A L TON RIOTS
C HAPT E R
I
.
.
often happens that events , in themselves of
no great importance , are invested with unusual in
t eres t in consequence o f the ir connection with prin
c ip le s of universal application , or with momentous
results O f this kind are the events which preced
ed and led to the death of the R ev E lij ah P Love
j oy the first martyr in America to the great prin
c ip le s o f the freedom of speech and of the press
O f these events I propose in the fo llowin g pa g e s
to give an account The facts are o f a nature su f
fi c ien t ly astounding in any age o r at any time
The destruction of four printing presses in succ es
sion ; the perso n al abuse o f the editor from time to
tim e by repeated mobs ; and his final and p remedi
t at e d murder
S till more astounding are they when we consider
the co u n t ry in which they occurred Had it been
in revolutionary France ; o r in E ngla n d a g itated
by the co nse quent convulsion of the nations ; there
had been less cause for surprise But it was not
It was in A merica —the land o f free disc u ssion and
equ al ri g hts
h
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A 2
5
A L T ON R I O T S
6
.
S till more are we ama z ed when we con sider th e
u bj ects the discussion
of
which was thus forcibly
arrested Had it been an e ffort to debauch and
p ollute the public mind by obscenity and atheism ;
o r by inj urious and disorganising sche mes ; the rise
o f public indignation had at least found a cause ;
though the friends of truth and righ teousness are
not the men who empl o y mo b s as their chosen in
s t ru me n t s o f p ersuasion
But it was none o f these
It was solely the advocacy of the principles of free
dom and equal rights
Were these principles o f recent origin and t h e
opinions of a sect it might have caused less sur
pri s e But they are the sacred legacy of ages
the doctrines o f our nation s birth ; o f natural j us
t ice ; and o f God
All these things are astonishing : but there is one
fact that may j ustly excite amazement still more
deep and overwhelmi n g the opinio n s and feelin g s
elicited by events like these Had an earthquake
o f indignation convulsed the land ; had t h e u nited
voices o f every individual o f every p arty rebuked
and remedied t h e wrong ; all had been well But
dur ing the pro gress of the scenes there have been
found tho se in reput ation as wise and good who
have be en unsparing in their censure on the sufferers ;
and stimulated the evil doers by sympat h y or feeble
rebuke And after the fi n al and dreadful catastro
phe only a faint tribute has b een given by t h em
to certain a bstract principle s of free inquiry as gen
er ally good ; and a decent regret for their violation
has be e n expresse d —But the full tide of indign a
s
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ALTON
RI
OTS
7
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tion has been reserved for the audacio u s man , wh o
d ared to speak and act as a freeman and thou g h
lawlessly inflicted , his penalty has b een declared t o
b e deserved
What are w e t o say of facts like these P The y
at least open a deep chapter in human nature , and
in the condition o f o u r country They are the re
sult o f principles neither sup erfi cial nor accidental
They p enetrate t o the very V itals of society ; an d
indicate a crisis in ou r national life
That as a nation w e are radically u nsound and
lost , they do not to my mind indicate But that
there are in the body p olitic causes of treme ndous
ower
tending
to
that
result
they
do
evince
And
,
p
the question on which all turns , is no w b efore us as
a n ation ; and o n its decision , ou r life o r death de
p ends Have w e coolness o f thought left su fficient
to discern them , and energy o f moral feelin g enou g h
t o react
As these events are o f a nature to rouse and de
mand public attention , I hop e that an impartial nar
ration o f them will be candidl y and thoughtfully
read : and as I have been an actor in the leadi n g
events fro m the beginning —an eye witness o f most
that I describe ; I feel that no on e who speaks only
from hearsay , can have so full a knowledge o f all
the causes o f these events as I ; and as perhaps n o
o n e has been more severely censured by enemies ,
o r regarded in gre ater error by some sincere and
valued friends ; I feel that n o t only a regard to truth
and the general good but decent regard to the 0 pm
ions o f others , requires me to s p eak
‘
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ALT ON RIOTS
8
.
It is an event which will b e kn own extensively ,
and on which a j udgment will b e formed by the ci
And in the correctness of that j udg
v iliz ed world
ment the highest interests o f humanity are in volv
ed In it , t o o , the welfare o f this state and nation
are vitally involved In on e p ortion o f the body
p olitic soundness is gone , the laws have give n
way the tremendous reign of a n archy has begun ,
and o u r only hop e for their final restoration to their
wonted maj esty and p ower is in the restorative
energies o f that portion of the body p olitic which
remain s yet u ncorrupted
.
a
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,
.
The question may b e considered in two li ghts
1 As on e of c ivil rights
2 As one o f moral rights
.
.
.
.
Th e
first relates to what the laws of the land al
low each citizen to do ; and in doing which they
guaranty him defense The other relates to those
duties the performance of which no human laws
can enforce but which arise from the obligations
resting on every man to u s e his civil rights wisely
and benevolently from a regard to God and the
general good S o far as a claim to civil defense is
concerned , nothing is essential except that a man
violate no civil right : and in deciding whether it is
a duty to give such defense no commu nity has a
right to agitate any other question
If a man s civil rights are safe only so long as he
uses them wisely and prudently, we ought so to b e
informed in o u r constitutions : and, still more , w e
.
,
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’
ALTON RIOTS
9
.
ou g ht t o have a civil standard o f wisdom and p ru
dence , enacted by law ; and courts and j ud g es t o
try men fo r imprudence and in discretion F or if
men are t o maintain their ri g hts only on s u ch
g ro unds , and there is to b e no standard b u t
the op inions of a mob , may God in his mercy
evermore deliver me and my ch ildren from s uch
rights and s u ch freedom
There is n o tyranny on earth so execrable as th e
tyran ny o f a mob But indeed the whole idea is
ridicu lous in the extreme —that the question o f wis
d om or pr u dence is to b e raised at all , before a
rompt
defense
It
is
foreign
to
the
whol
o f rights
e
p
genius of ou r nation As long as a citiz en violates n o
law , and stands solely on the ground o f civil rights,
he is to b e defended to the u ttermost Nor doe s
E ven the vilest criminal h a s
c r ime vacate rights
a right to a fair and impartial tr i al ; an d if c on
d emn ed , it m u st b e only by law
It was b ecause I w ished to j u d g e o f the so und
n ess o f the nation on this p oint , that I have as y et
made n o e ffort to correct the false views so indus
t riou sly circulated by those wh o wish to p alliate
the atrocity of these deeds Th ese all tend solely
to o n e point : that Mr Lovej oy and his friends
were n ot w is e and prudent ; and that o n them the
w hole resp onsibility r ests And I was anxious to
see if the manly sense o f the nation was still s o
u nclouded as to detect the base sub terfuge and
their moral sense s ufficiently sound to abhor it T o
a very cheer ing extent I have not b een d is app o in
ted o n this point The maj ority of the nation still
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ALTON RIOTS
10
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seems to b e sound ; and with ma nl y in dignation
has repelled the loathsome and guilty excuse S till
this is not true of all
There are still those who , if the i r principles were
to prevail and their feelings infect the nation would
soon plunge us in an ocean of anarchy and blo od
And as a citiz en o f the free states I blush that they
have furnished the greatest share o f such A las,
that freemen will sell their principles for popular
favor or for gold But it is time n ow, that th e
events of Alton should b e tried by another stand
ard ; that on the part of the friends o f good order
there may be no needless concessions or reserve
and that the last pretexts of enemies may b e taken
.
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By the standard o f w is d om b en ev o len c e and
prudence the n let these events b e tried and I care
not how high that standard may be Not that I
arrogate to Mr Lovej oy , or to his friends entire ex
B u t I do
c ep t ion from error in scenes so trying
mean that a correct standard o f j udgment on those
p oints is o n e of the last things which the y have t o
Indeed had not the standard o f the com
fear
munity b een unusually low , such events could not
have transpired and it was following a better
standard that excited their wr ath O n ma ny minds ,
I know that the impression is deep and strong that
we w ere urged on by a blind impulse next to in fa tu
ation he ated by excitement , and without delib erate
thought Indeed to many , any action on the sub
j ec t of slavery that is designed to remove it is
synonymous with infatuation and in sanity Let all
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ALT ON
RIOTs
11
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such k no w , that eve ry step taken was the result of
lon g and p atient thou g ht ; and o f principles fi xe d
in our co olest h o ur s
To evince that such was the fact and to en able
the public to k o w what our pr inciples are , and t o
j udge of our actions by them ; I prop ose to c on
sider what are the principles of wisdom , pruden c e
and b enevolence in such a case —to narrate the
events as they transp ired —and to try o u r actions ,
and those of our opp osers , by this test
.
n
.
C HAPT E R II
.
W hat then are the true prin ciples in this c a s e ?
As this is a practical question involving great and
,
all pervading consequences , it is o f great moment
that ou r principles of j udgment b e so u nd ; as an
error here must vitiate all ou r results Happ ily for
u s , w e have an unerr ing standard near at hand ;
and with this let u s b egin
The fear o f the Lord
is the b egin n ing o f wisdom , and to dep art from evil
”
that is understan ding
From this we infer
1
That we are first o f all to u se all p ossible
means to ascertain the purp oses o f Go d, as regards
t h e age and nation in which w e live ; and so lay
ou r plans that they may coincide with his desi gns
&
F or there is no c o u nsel or kn owledge or device
a ain st the L ord
H is co u nsel will stand and h e
g
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AL TO N RI O T S
12
w ill do all his ple asure
.
”
And if we re g ard n ot
the works o f the Lord , n o r the Op eration o f his
”
han ds , he w ill destroy us and not b uild us up
2
Never hop e finally to avert a discussion o f
the great fundamental principles o f human socie t y,
which is called for by the course of God s pro vi
dence and the movements of the age
3
Let the movements o f God s providence de
That is , D o
c ide as to the time of the discussion
not seek prematurely t o accelerate it ; and do not
try to avert it when great events urge it up on us
4
E mploy th e time allowed by Providence in
studying the subj ect and the structure of human
society thus prep aring wisely to meet the discus
sion when it comes
5 Let no errors o r imp ru d en c ies , real or sup
p osed , o f the advocates of truth , indisp ose the
mind to receive it on its own evidence and let n o
amount of p opular prej udice and n o fear o f person
al sacrifice deter us from following o u t our own
co nvictions o f duty in the fear o f God
The soundness of the principles thus stated none
can deny N or can it b e denied that , in a world
opposed to God these ought at all times , and p o pu
lar opinion never , to b e ou r standard of wisdom in
the formation o f ou r plans As it regards the ir ex
ec u t io n we are b ound to regard the law s o f holiness
and of the human mind Hence ,
6 Let all discussions o f truth b e cond u cted un der
a vivid sense o f the presence o f God : and so con
ducted as to time , manner and prop ortion , that they
mav tend to diffu se a spirit of holiness throu g ho u t
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ALTON RIO TS
13
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the community and decidedly and boldly to rebuke
every form of sin
7 Avoid giving ne edl ess o ccasions o f irritation
excitement , and lawless violence
8 Aim to di ffuse kind feelin g s thr o ug hout the
community and especially to stren g then the b onds
of union among good men
9 If however , after all yo u r e fforts t o promot e
holiness and union , any p ortion o f commu nity w ill
cleave to error and sin , you are bound not to re
nounce truth , duty and God , to prevent divis ion
however p ainful , o r evil feelings how ever great , or
deeds of violence however atrociou s O n them rests
the responsib ility who forsake Go d and the truth ,
and not on you For this re ason were Jesu s a n d
his disciples guiltless , though div i s i ons and death
fo llowed in their train Indeed , in a corrupt state
o f society , eminent holiness and nearness to Go d are
so far from rendering divisions and excitements
improb able , that u nl ess the community itself will
reform they render them certain
In deciding, therefore , on the wisdom o f any
course o f conduct we are to view it in all its rela
tions ; and n o t test it by a few hackneyed top ics
A community deeply in
o f popular prudence
vo lved in th e commission o f e vil loves neither dis
Their language
t u rb an c e , rep entance , nor rebuke
is , Let us alone And any e xhib ition of the truth ,
however well meant which reaches the conscience
w ill cause bitterness and reaction The truth on
this point has been so admirably and pointedly ex
pre ss ed b y the departed E varts , that I can not for
B
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ALT ON RIOTS
14
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bear t o quote his words I ii the Pan oplist , v ol 1 6,
p 2 4 5, after a candid examin ation of the laws of
V irginia , prohib itin g the instruction o f the blacks ,
he thus concludes
It is impossible for an e nl ightened conscience
to doubt that the slaveholders of V irginia taken as
a body , are fightin g aga inst God There are , we
trust , numerous exceptions to this daring hostility
It cann ot b e doubted, however , what will be the
The many millions of the
is sue o f the contest
blacks hereafter to live o n o u r continent will not b e
always debarred fro m reading the b ible nor will
”
Africans b e always forb idden to preach the gospel
Noble rebuke & and yet uttered in the spirit o f
love and godly fear And what was the result ?
O n p 4 8 8 we find that it had caused a gr eat fer
ment at the south and brought o n him severe cen
sure Hear him now in reply
With respect to the ferment which the article in
our June number produced we can only say , that
to excite p assion or provoke opposition was far
from ou r obj ect But our southern friends must be
aware that the simple fact of the existence of irrita
tion is by no means conclusive evidence that there
is just occasion for it We could easily illustrate
this position by a r eference to scriptural history It
is indeed an indisputable truth , that no great abuse
can be removed without producing a great deal o f
irritation Look at the monstrous abuses practised
by the R omish church ; and at the exposure of
them in E ngland Germany , and S cotland These
ab uses w ere ackn owledged by the advocates o f that
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AL T O N RI OTS
15
‘
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ch u rch , and it was o nl y contended that they should
b e attacked mildly and gently , that they might b e
gradually and s ilently corrected But if the reform
ers had yielded to these representations if Luther
had written against pop ery in such a manner as not
to o ffend the most b igoted and inte rested of the p o
p ish clergy , what would have b ecome o f the r efor
mation P
The southern p eople are now unanimous in con
d en min g the slave trade but when this trade was
firs t attacked , the intrep id assailants were vilifie d
as a set of miserab le drivellers , who under the cant
o f religion and humanity , w ere w illing to put dag
gers into the hands o f all the negroes in the West
Indies who , instead o f b enefiting the blacks either
in Africa o r the islands , would inj ure them all :
who would in fact produce by their measures if
Parliament should adop t them , nothing but revolt,
insurrection , burning and massacre in all the colo
nies Never was there more irritation on any sub
e c t , than prevailed in respect to the ab olition of the
j
slave trade amon g all slave holders in the British
”
emp ire
.
,
.
.
That there has b een a great ferment and much
irritation in consequence o f the discussion of slavery
in this state and that it has resulted in outrages
o f u np aralleled atrocity , no o n e needs to b e inform
ed But it by no means follows that it was through
the negligence o r indiscretion of the friends o f the
truth ; or th at all p ossible e fforts were not made
w hich a sense of duty would allow , to conciliate
.
ALT O N RIO TS
16
.
opponents and prevent such results
Let the fac t s
o f the case then b e calmly c o nsidered , and test e d by
the principles already laid down
And that the scope and reasons of my remarks
may b e the more clearly appreciated , I would ob
serve that I shall construct my narration w ith ref
erence to a great variety of charges against the
members of the convention at Alton as a body , and
myself and Mr Lovej oy in particular The fact
that I have been publicly severely , and pointedly at
tacked ; accused o f j esuitism fanatical z eal , derelie
tion of o fficial duty , and treasonable designs must be
b e my ap ology for any reference to myself which a
vindication of my course shall render it necessary
to make I sh all make no reference to individual
assailants and still entertain the kindest feeling s
for all by whom I have b een thus charged ; an d
h ope that they w ill at length s ee and candidly ac
k nowled g e their error
.
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C HAPT E R III
.
The first point that merits ou r attention is the
origin o f the discussion on the subj ect o f slavery in
this state This is not to be ascribed to a n y indi
vidual e ffort but to the gradual movements o f the
providence of God in the present age The causes
which have conspired to make this a topic o f in
t ense interest to the christian world are the aboli
,
.
,
.
,
AL TON RI O T S
18
.
Free social discussion , and an e xpression o f opin
ion l n ecclesiastical bodies were for a time de emed
s u flic ie n t
But the tide of feeling continued s o to
rise , that some more e ffectual mode o f influencing
the public mind was demanded The establish
ment o f the S t Louis O bserver , under the editorial
care of Mr Lovej oy , in part met this deman d I
in
part
though
he
manifested
decided
sa
or
f
o
,
y
p
p osition to slavery , yet his views were considere d
erroneous on the subj ect of immediate emancip a
tion It here deserves notice that although decid
e d ly opposed to the peculiar views o f the abo lition
is t s yet he was driven from S t Lo u is by a mob ,
b ecause he insisted o n the duty o f making efforts
gradually to abolish the system of slavery It was
strenuously insisted o n that he shoul d let the sub
j cet entirely alone He then removed his paper to
Alton H is press on landing was left o n the wharf
it being S unday and was afterwards destroyed by
a few individuals This outrage was strongly rep
r ob a t e d in a subsequent meeting o f citiz e n s ; and
resolutio n s p assed to susta in the laws , ferret out the
o ffenders , and reimburse his l o ss
Whe n the paper was re established in this state
it was not his d esign to give so much room to t h e
s ubj ect o f slavery as he had in Missouri ; and he so
stated in th e meeting At the same time he e x
pressly refused to give any pledge on the subj ect
but Openly stated that he reserved to himself t h e
right to publish whatever he might choose on a n y
change o f views S uch a chan ge gradually took
lace
the
ca
u
ses
of
which
were
these
: as stated to
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ALT ON RIOTS
19
.
me by himself —A careful investigation
of
the
subj ect from a deep sense o f his o wn resp onsibility ;
a discovery o f the atrocious misrepresentations o f
the views o f the ab olitionists which were universal
ly and diligently circ u lated , and to which he had
once given credence ; a clear conviction of the u n
w orthy and sordid motives of the most violent o p
posers ; a discovery that the p arty o f moderate men
had no plan for doing any thing and that they d id
nothing but hinder all who desired to act ; and a
distinct p erception of its fatal influence on the
church esp ecially as illustrated in the proceedings
This change in his
o f recent General Assemblies
o w n feelings led him to feel the imp ortance of giv
in g more promin e nce to the subj ect in h is paper ,
and at the same time the demand for a thorough
discussion o f it b ecame more urgent among a large
p ortion o f his subscribers
It has sometimes be en said but very gratuitou s
ly that he w as the means of gettin g up the excite
ment in this state The truth is , if he had opposed
it with all his p o w
er he could not have stopped t he
mov ement ; but it would have swept him and his
p aper away O f his change o f V iews he deemed
it his duty to make a statement to Mr W S Gil
man who had with his partner given him e flic ien t
assistance in re establishin g his paper after the press
had b een destroyed He felt under no obligati o n he
informed me to the citizens at large because they
had no t ful fi lle d the pledge which they had give n
him o f reimbursing h im for the loss of his property,
and had given h im n o aid in re establishing h is
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ALTON
20
RI O T S
.
p ap er ; and b ecaus e h e had publicly refused to c om e
He was advised by M r
un der any ple d ge t o them
Gilman to follo w the dictates of his o wn j udgm ent
which he accordingly did
.
.
,
.
C HAP TE R IV
.
W E now approach a p oint o f great importance
in its relations to the final re sult ; —
the prop osal to
call a convention to form a state Antislavery S ocie
O f this measure too Mr Lovej oy is regarded
ty
as the author and prime mover : and he is supposed
to have u rged it on without consideration and with
out j udgment The trut h is it was urged o n his
attention by others in different p arts o f the s tate
and was by him from time to time delayed At
last on being again requested to bring up the sub
ec
t
he
concluded
to
mention
it
in
his
p
aper
and
j
ask for an expression o f public sentiment The
response was decided ; and it became clear that
there was a general and strong desire that a c on
v en t io n should b e held
This state of feeling is in
p art t o b e ascribed to the natural progress o f inte
rest and thought ; in part to the impression produced
o n many by the violent procee dings of the General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in 1 8 3 7 and
the belief that such unjust measures had been intro
d u c e d into the church to defend slavery ; and in part
The pro
t o th e agitation of th e Te xas question
&
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ALTON
RI OTS
21
.
p osal of such a convention at once aroused the hos
t ilit y of the enemies o f his sentiments , and laid a
foundation fo r all the disastrous results which have
follo wed A meeting of citiz ens was soon called
a t the market house , in which resolutions were
p assed charging o n M r Lovej oy the violation o f a
pledge and censuri n g him for his course A com
mitt e e was also appointed to wait on him with an
implied assumptio n that the meeting claime d the
p o wer to regulate his course as editor This claim
he felt it his duty to deny and resist ; while at the
same time to remove all reasonable grounds of
obj ection he published a clear candid and unan
To expose the
s w e ra b le statement of his views
u nso u ndness o f his princ iples no attempt was made ;
and that for the b est o f all p ossible reasons —a d es
p air of success A most disgraceful and incendiary
p aragraph also appeared in a pap er in S t Louis,
u rging the inhab itants o f Alton to ej ect Mr Love
j oy from among them as a fomenter o f divisions
and an enemy to the public good Having failed
to intimidate and having no resource in argu ment
they began to mature their plans fo r the application
o f force
At this time I received a letter from Mr Lovej oy ,
urging on me the importance of givin g a prayerfu l
attention to the subj ect ; and o f aiding to give a
right direction to public fee lin g in this state ; and
requesti n g me if consistent with my sense o f duty
to give my name to the call for a convention I had
to
this
time
not
p
a rticip ated at a ll in the public
u
p
discussion which was so deeply exciting the natio n ,
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ALTON
22
RIOTS
.
bu t had b een merely an attentive and thoughtful
Sp ectator
S uch was the magnitude of the subj ect
,
.
and such the consequences involved in its proper
management , that , until the providence o f Go d
should make it my duty I was glad to retire from
the conflict and spend my time in preparing for the
hour should it ever arrive in which duty would
allow me to b e silent no longer My views when
I came to this state were decidedly hostile to the
doctrines of immediate emancipation ; and it was
not until the year 1 8 3 5 that I became satisfied from
a careful e xamination o f the history of experiments
on this subj ect , that the doctrine o f gradual eman
c ip a t ion was fallacious and that o f immediate eman
F rom that time
c i a t ion was philosophical and safe
p
I felt it to b e a matter of immense importance that
measures should b e taken kindly but thoroughly ,
to convince the slave states o f the fact , and to urge
the claims of duty S till , however , considering the
magnitude and importance of the subj ect ; and the
in terest , ign orance and prej udice to b e encountered ,
I felt that more was t o b e hoped from deep and
thorough discussions in a cool and disp assionate
style than from p opular appeals and excitement
At the same time I was dissatisfied with the spirit
o f much which had b een written o n the subj ect
;
and with the disposition s o common o f pushi n g true
principles to an extreme 0 u the whole I decidedly
preferred to stan d o n my own ground—to j oin n o
s ociety —and to speak as an individual if I spoke
at all In reply to Mr Lovej oy , I stated these
facts ; and add ed that I wo uld j oin no society , u n
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AL TON RI OTS
23
.
l e ss they wo ul d assume such grounds as I could ap
a fu ll statement o f
rove
In
reply
he
requested
,
p
all my views , which I freely gave him
Meanwhile the plans o f the friends of mob law had
b een matur ed , the office o f the O bserver assailed and
the press destroyed It was known beforehand
that such an attack was contemplate d ; and a decided
public sentiment in favor o f maintaini ng the law at
all hazards might easily have prevented it for t h e
p erpetrators were then timid hab it and success had
not given them confidence No su c h public senti
ment however , existed ; and many felt — even o f
those deemed wise and good —that though the pros
t r at ion of the law was a great evil , the publicatio n
o f the O bserver was one still greater
to such a
degree had prej udice and a false view of their own
local interests blinded their minds They seemed
to regard it as a less evil to have their city b e
come the ab ode of mob law than the theatre of a
fa ir discussio n of an unpopular theme
Prep ara
tions had also b een made t o defend the office b y
arms ; but as th ere was a hesitation in regard to
the propriety of using arms in such a case , when
the o ffice was assailed not a gun was fired but it
was abandoned to its fate
D ecided efforts were immediatel y made by the
friends of Mr Lovej oy to replace the press and t o
enlist the friends o f religion and goo d order in an
effort to maintain the gro ru i d But , to such a de
g ree were the churches paralyz ed , the e ffort wa s
un availing A press however was procured by
the friends o f t h e p aper at Al ton and Quincy , and
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9
M
ALT O N RI O T S
4
.
co n sultation was held in Alton to decide what
should be done It was a t this time that Mr
Lovej oy sent in a communication o ffering to resign
his place as editor, if in their judgment the in
t ere s t s o f the paper and the pub lic good could b e
promoted thereby His o ffer however , was n o t
accepted , and the whole subj ect was deferred for
future discussion and decision
S hortly after this Mr Lovej oy V isited &ackson
ville to attend the commence ment of Illinois C ol
lege and spent a considerable portion o f his time
in my family As a number of clergymen and lay
men from different p arts o f the state were assem
bled it was deemed expedient to consult o n the
measures best adapted to the present crisis A n
unanimous opinion was expressed that in order t o
maintain the principles o f free discussion it was of
great importance that the p aper should be again
established at Alton under Mr Lovej oy as its edi
I suggested to Mr Lovej oy the expedie n cy
t or
o f so far changing the character of the convention ,
that the friends o f free discussion who were not in
favor o f forming an anti slavery society could a t
te nd ; and also suggested that if a society were
formed it should b e called the society of inquiry
My motives were two
o n the subj ect of slavery
fold I felt that it would b e calamitous to h ave a pro
posed meeting o f citizens bro k en up for fear of vio
lence and at the same time I wished to remove
all real or unreal causes of irritation I thought
also , that an invitation to the friends of free inqui
ry t o attend a perfectly uncommitted meeting , would
a
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&
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ALTON RIOTS
26
.
went to Al ton and stated to him my
V iews He gave me his reason for the lim itation
an d seemed fully conv inced o f its necessity
How
co rrect was his j udgment subsequent events will
show I , however , did n o t think that men who had
already destroyed two presses wo ul d dare to claim
a seat among the friends o f free i nquiry , and was
anxious that the invitation should be enlarged I
also proposed the plan o f not forming an organiz a
tion at all ; but of appoin ting committees of i nqu iry,
and assigning to them subj ects to investigate and
report at a future meeting
I also urged t h e
plan of calli n g the organiz ation if it should be form
ed the society of inquiry To all this after consul
tin g with his friends he finally assented solely for
the sake of preventing division by laying a ground
o f union so broad that all good men might act to
gether I then requested that a m eeting for consul
t at io n , composed of some of the leading citizens of
Alton of various denominations might b e called to
whom I stated these plans for their adv i ce I en
d e av o r e d to lay open to them the evils of division
among good men , and h o w such division leads to
O ne portion o f good men
a cts of popular violence
feeling it to b e their duty to urge o n an I mpop ular
work o f reformation another portion and that the
maj ority , standing aloof and frownin g on them as
fanatical and imprudent and thus emboldeni n g the
wicked in their deeds o f violence I stated what
c oncessions Mr Lovej oy and his friends were will
in g to mak e, and urged upon them the importa n c e
o f c ou ntenancing the meetin g by their pres ence , and
c ord in gly
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ALTON RIOTS
27
.
ind u cing their friends to attend ; that thus th e
p art i sans o f violence might b e reb u ked b y the u nited
voice of the wise and the good A vote w as the n
an d e xpressing t h e
assed
approving
these
views
;
p
opinion that the invitation should b e extended to
all the friends o f free inquiry on the s u bj ect o f sla
very I accordingly pub lished in the Alton Tele
graph a comm un ication stating my origin al view s
in signing the call , and that I and some others o f
the signers , and a numb er o f leading gentlemen in
this place were desirous o f having the invitation
comprehend all the friends o f free inquiry o n the
I did not assume the power t o
s u bj ect of slavery
control the wishes of the maj ority of the signers but
to express my o wn : and did not doubt that all can
did and well disp osed p ersons w o u l d b e readily ad
I then endeavored b y letters an d person
witted
ai i nfl u ence to induce intelligent and i n fl uential
men to attend and make an e ffort to prevent disunion
and restore the maj esty o f violat e d law I also
made an effort at the meeting o f the syno d o f I l
lino is to obtain a u nanimous expression o f opinion
against the outrages at Alton , and in favor o f th e
righ t of free d iscussion In this I failed a few op
posing the resolutions as it seemed to me o n ac
co u nt of the state of parties in the church The
reason alleged by the leading speaker was , t h a t it
t en d ed t o u n it e c h u r c h a n d s t a t e
How simply
affirmin g the principle that every citiz en and body
o f men had a right to b e protected by law in e x
of
.
.
.
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.
.
*
.
Not
T h o l ogica l
e
pa rties
s
ol
el
y
.
ALTON
28
R
IO TS
.
pressing their opinions tended to u n lt e church an d
state , I could not see : but as I was ashamed t o
have such resolutions pass by a divided vote , with
drew them , though they could have been p assed by
a decided maj ority
S till in a meeting for con
s u lt a t io n I advised all who could to attend ; and ex
pressed my firm belief that no violence need be ap
prehended , as I had no doubt the leading citizens
o f Alton would countenance the meeting by their
presence
,
.
,
,
.
C HAPTE R V
.
cheer ing expectation s I comm enced
my j ourney to Alton ; little thinking ho w soon they
were to b e disappointed and that from a quarter I
had little anticipated At Carlinville where I spent
the night , I heard from a p assenger in the stage
from Alton that a meeting o f the C oloniz ation S o
c ie t y had j ust been held in Upper Alton ; and o n
inquiry as to the tenor o f the sp eeches found that
many things had been said tending to excite p r ej u
dice and odium against the friends o f immediat e
emancip ation I at once anticip ated the result and
felt sad
O n my arrival at Alton I entered the house in
which the convention was assembled and foun d a
tu multuous speaker claiming seats for himself an d
friends , as th e patrons o f free inquiry on the subj e c t
VVith
‘
suc
h
,
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,
ALTON RI OTS
29
.
slavery ; and none o f those citiz ens of Alton on
whom I had mainly relied to aid in an e ffort to unite
good men and sustain the maj esty o f the law , wer e
there I was also informed that some of th e indi
vid u als thus claiming seats had alr eady , by aiding
o r abetting the destruction of the press of the Oh
server illustrated the ir views o f free inquiry and
signalized their valor in its defence At all events ,
many of their party gave notable displays o f it n ot
long after ; o n e of them be i ng the reputed murder
er o f Mr Lovej oy , and anoth er having on the night
o f the murder presented a p i stol to wards Mr W S
Gilman and called on him to surrender the press t o
the mob However of the character o f those per
sons I was a t the ti me ignorant
Mr Lovej oy so on informed me that they were
c laim ln g seat s on the ground o f my notice in the
Alton Telegraph , and that he had obj ected to their
admission on the ground that they had come in to
i n terrupt the meeting and thwart its designs and
not to ma intain the cause o f free inquiry At this
th ey were highly indignant as men of high honor,
and conscious o f the i ntegrity of their purpose
I immediately disclaimed all right to overrule the
will o f the maj ority o f the signers , by my invita
tion and stated that there was no regular way of
organizing the convention but by first enr ollin g
th ose who could respond to the original call and
that they could then admit whomso ever they pleas
ed as the friends o f free inquiry
O n this they immediately put in requisition the ir
powers of interpretation to see if t hey c o uld not
of
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2
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ALTON
30
R I O TS
.
esp ond to the call It became a matter of much
momen t t o k now what the immediate abolit io n
o f slavery implied
Dr Blackburn wh o was in
the chair , gave a statement o f his views and I
o f mi ne
O ne o f the leaders of the & friends o f
”
free inquir y, professed his full assent to these
views and so did some others A nother however ,
by his critical skill discovered th at he was invited
in the call because the friends o f free i nquiry were
invited and the fact that the invitation was after
wards limited to those who were in favor of the
immediate abolition o f slavery seemed to him no
impedime n t though he confessed that he was not
”
&
The
friends o f free inquiry
o f that class
b eing thus divided in the grounds which they
should assume it was voted to adj ourn till the next
day
After the close o f th e mee t ing a leader of the
& friends o f free inquiry ” went out and mounted
the wood pile near the corner of the house and
delivered an address to his followers
He inveigh
c d bitterly against the abolitionists for denying to
them the rights o f free inquiry and brought up
v arious topics of an inflammatory kind which pro
fl ig a t e editors had proclaimed abroad against the
abolitionists Their hearts , if they had any were
cold and they were b ound to their country by n o
common ties He also commenced a tirade against
t h e benevolent operations of the day including
the te mperance society till l u ckily it occurred t o
h im that he had recently j oined it himself and had
made a public add ress in its b ehalf : h e then re
r
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ALTON
I TS
R O
31
.
tracted his charges to the no small amus ement of
his au d ience He then charged them not to fear
the abolitionists ; and to b e on the spot by nin e
’
o clock the next morning and to bri n g their friends
with them Meanwhile those who had come from
abroad to attend the convention concluded in or
d er to take away all pretex t for violence to o r
g a n iz e on the original call and then to open the
di s cussion to all the friends of free inquiry and t o
treat all who professed to be such as sincere
O n the next morning the chairman proceeded t o
organize the convention o n the call by rea d ing it
and stating tha t all who could respond to it would
b e entered as memb ers of the convention By
this time the tumultuous friends o f fre e inquiry had
got r id of all their scruples and responded unani
mo u s ly to the call , on what grounds they best can
deci d e If they were in favor of the immediate
abolition of slavery why make s u ch a tum u lt b e
cause Mr Lovej oy taught the doctrine ? If not ,
wh y by responding t o the call profess that they
were ? S uch , ho wever are the facts ; and their
names are on record and before the world as re
The vote to admit a ll friends
s p o n d e n t s to the call
o f which we had thought
o f free inquiry
he
came useless The trustees of the church how
ever sent in a p aper stating that we could not
retain the house unless the convention was Open
e d to free discuss ion to all who wished To th is
we of co u rse assented The convention then pro
c e e d e d t o the election o f officers
Dr Blackburn
was the candidate of the real members o f the c on
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ALTON RI OTS
32
v en t ion , fo r
.
president , and Dr Hop e of the & friends
”
Dr Blackburn was elected by a
o f free inquiry
considerable maj ority R ev F W Graves and W
Carr were c hosen secretaries A committee t o re
port business was appointed consisting o f on e friend
o f free inquiry and two o f the regular c on v en
tion
As the friend of free inquiry h a d publicly d e c lar
ed his accordance with the sentiments o f the presi
dent and myself on the subj ect of immediate abol
itio u I had good reason to expe ct t h at w e might lay
before the convention a declaration of sentiment s
I fou nd ho wever that he was de
t o that amount
t ermin e d to report a series of resolutions o f direct
When one of the committe e
ly the opposite tenor
e xpressed his surprise at this and reminded him
that yesterday he professed that he could agree t o
the doctrine o f immediate emancipation as publicly
stated he replied , If I could yesterday I can t to
”
day
The maj ority then m ade a report inv o lving
the same pri n ciples which were stated the day b e
fore and the minority a counter report The fri ends
o f free inquiry then voted to take up the minority s
report as the subj ect of discussion an d to exclude
the other O ne resolution was accordingly discus
sed in committee of the whole the import o f which
wa s that , as by human laws slave holders had a
right t o property in man and as the constitution o f
’
the United S tates declares that no man s property
s hall b e taken from him , without compensation ,
therefore the slave holding states have no right t o
The advocates of this resolutio n
abolis h slavery
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AL T O N RI O T S
34
.
give u p fi nally and forever all freedom o f sp eech o r
inquiry an d submit to t h e dictation o f the mob ?
To unite good men they had offered to give up the
name of their society ; to put o ff its organization ;
and to commit the whole subj ect to committe es to
report hereafter But all would n o t do S till they
must b e h eld up to odium in a meeting o f good
men d esignated by a religious editor as uneasy an d
restless spirits and given up t o the tender mercies
To b e associated even for a time with
o f a mob
men who could act as did this gang of friends of
free inquiry would have seemed to me degrading
if I had not felt that my soul disavowed all fellow
s hip w ith such proceedings
What then shall we
say o f those men who wish to b e deemed resp ecta
ble and o f that professed minister o f Christ who
acted with them and gave them no rebuke What
shall we say of religious editors who record their
proceedings with manifest pleasure as an expres
sion of sentiments ho n orable to the citiz ens o f Alton
O f course the whole plan of appointing commit
tees was dropped Those who h a d assembled fo r
high and holy purposes were unite d among them
selves ; and the rest had finished their discussion
and dispersed Not feelin g it safe to hold a public
meeting on that evening for fear o f the friends o f
free inquiry they assembled in private h ouses for
r ayer , and spent the e vening in aski n g counsel o f
p
God ; a p art in u pper Alton and a p art in the city
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ALT ON RI O TS
C HAPTE R V I
35
.
.
q u est i ons w er e n o w to be decid
What course to take , F irst , as it regards or
ed
z in g a state society
and
S
econd
as
it
regard
a
n
i
s
,
,
g
the re establishment o f the Alton O bserver
O n the first point , it was evident that all offers
c o operation were
fruitless
o f compromise and
Those who were satisfied with the p lans o f the
C olonization S ociety as the only e ffectual means of
removing slavery , would of cour se rej ect o u r views
entirely and pronounce all discussion of the subj ect
And the pre
o f immediate emancip ation useless
j udices excited against us by religious men would
o f course h ave double weight in the minds o f the
worldly and v icious portions o f the community So
that o u r o nly alternative was to organiz e on such
prin ciples as we were able to agree in among our
selves ; o r to disperse To take the latter step it
seemed to us would b e giving a complete triumph
to the mob ; and be pestilent in its influence by in
vit in g and emboldening them to take a similar cours e
It
all over the state should we ever meet again
also seemed to us adapted to depress the spirit and
dim inish the courage of all the friends of freedom
throughout the state Though the plan of deferring
an organization and appointing committees to re
port was b rought up , yet it was almost unanimous
And as to the name , it seemed pr ett y
1y rej ected
c le ar by th is time , that the t hin g a im ed a t was t h e
Two important
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ALTON RIOTS
36
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al cau se of o ffence , and that to change the n ame
would do n o good It was therefore deemed bes t
to meet the next d ay and organiz e a n e w c on ve n
tion ; which was accordi n gly done In this it was
unanimously resolved , that it is expedient at this
time to organiz e t h e Illinois state Anti S lavery
S ociety
It was proposed that the convention m e et in the
ch u rch , as before but threats of popular violence
induced them to prefer a private house They ac
c ord in l
g y met in the house of R ev T B Hurlbut
It having been noised abroa d that thes e measures
”
w ere contemplated
the friends o f free i n quiry
came up and clai m ed admission O n this being r e
fused their leader threatened to break open the
d oor and to use perso n al violence upon Mr Hurl
By this
bu t if he came out : and this in open day
time howe v er the police of Upper Alton were
aroused and they took effectual measures to clear
thei r streets of the mob : and from that time good
order was preserved
M y preference still wa s to stand on my own
ground as an individual that I m i ght be held res
or
me
but
my
on s ib le for no sentiments
a sures
p
I also knew that by j oini n g an un popu lar
o wn
occasion would be given
a n d despised minority
th rough me to a ss ail and i nj ure the institution over
which I pres i de As to mere personal po pularity
it was a smaller matter espec i all y a mong such
friends o f free i n quiry as I had lately seen I felt
that it was against the praise of such that our
S av ior had warned his followers 111 his emphatic
re
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ALT ON RI O T S
d enunc iation
of
wo e
37
.
us , when all men speak
w ell o f us Still , related as I was to a pu b lic liter
ar
y i nstit u tion , I felt that my conduct involve d
more interests than my own O ne consideration ,
however , overru led all e lse I saw a delib erate e f
fort to render odious and crush a p ious and in t elli
gent as semblage o f my fellow citiz ens , who , so far as
I could see , had don e no wrong but to dare to think
for themselves on a great moral question ; and as
freemen to exercise their inestimable rights , in a
way expressly provided for by th e constitution :
that i s i n a p eaceful assembly for prayer and con
And although I had not com e ex p ect
s u lt a t ion
i ng to organiz e a state anti slavery society ; but to
take measur es to secure a kind and p eaceful dis
c u s s ron of the s u bj ect o f sla v ery ; yet as all these
pl a ns had b een broken up ; and as the C oloniz ation
S ociety had b een i n troduced as the means of doing
it —
for
that
it
was
I
am
informed
was
definitely
(
avowed by its leading mover ; &and as the purpose
was avowed o f establishing branches o f that
society throughout the state ; and as I supposed
they would all p ar take o f the spirit of the present
movement ; I w as compelled to relinquish my fond
ly cherished hop es o f C hristian union and to decide
i n Vi ew o f facts as they were And in this V ie w ,
I could not long hesitate I felt it to b e my impe
r io u s an d solemn
du t y to associate myself with
the inj ure d an d Oppressed ; and to exert whatever
o f influence
I could e xert , in ma intaining the ir
rights
Had I done o th erwis e I should in fact ,
whatever my intentions had been , have b een c on
D
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ALT ON RIO TS
38
b y the p atrons
.
mob law , as willin g t o
abandon the obj ects o f their malignant hatred to their
fate I therefore felt it to b e a solemn duty s itu at
ed as I was , not to retreat b efore the illegal viole n c e
which raged around me , b ut t o show my abhor
rence o f it, at whatever haz ard ; and t o lift up
against it the voice of dec ided rebuke
S till I felt that I was not at liberty to compro
mise any principle , o r to countenance any measures
which I could not approve I therefore stated t o
the brethren , frankly my views ; and to ld th em if
w e co ul d agre e in a declaration o f sentiments and
if they would consent at least for the present to
stand on entirely indepe n dent groun d I would unit e
with them in the formation o f the society
At their
request , I drew up a declaration of sentiments,
which after some discussion and mutual conces
sions was adopted ; and the society was formed
We were unanimous in the opinion that the sys
tem o f slavery is in all cases sinful ; and that it is
safe and a duty for the slaveholding states imme
d iat ely to ab olish it ; and to replace it by wise and
equitable laws adapted to the condition of the
emancip ated ; a n d designed to prevent among them
vagrancy and idleness and at the same time to ele
vate them as fast as possible as free laborers in the
scale o f intelligence and religion ; and to secure to
them , meanwhile all their inalienable rights as men
We were also unanimous in the opinion , that it is
in all cases a sin for an individual to h old and treat
But I wished t o
a s lave as an article of property
make an exception in favor o f cases where , merely
s id ered
of
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ALT ON RIOTS
39
the legal relation was ret ained from benevolent pur
p oses , or from absolute necessity But o n re fl ec
tion I was satisfied that the fi rst exce ption ought not
to b e made , since retai n ing the legal relation from
motives however good , involved the continual sub
j ec t ion o f the sla v e to the whole po wer of the sys
tem ; and in case o f the insolvency o r death o f the
master , to irreparable inj ustice or final ruin : and
that therefore it is a duty not merely to ab stain fro m
treating a s lave as prop erty but to put h im ou t at
once from under the p ower of the slave laws , by
emancip ation ; so that his inalie n able rights may b e
se cure d to him by law ; and not depend up on the
w ill of a master I also saw that it was utterly u n
safe to put the whole p ower of j udgi n g what wa s
for the slave s goo d into the hands o f an interested
p arty ; especially when the results of his j ud gme n t
a ffected so grave a question as the retaining o f a
h u man b eing under a code o f laws so horrid a s t h e
slave laws of o u r land I also saw that the princi
ple was liable t o endless abuse , as nothing could b e
e asier for every slaveholder in the land than t o
’
make the slave s goo d the pretence for holding him
in b ondage while the real motive was the love o f
gain We finally a greed t o make an exception only
where the slaveho lder had done all in his po wer to
dissolve the legal relation and extricate his s laves
from the g rasp of the system If after this the
l aws o f the community will not recognize them as
free ; and if the commu n ity will still treat them as
under a legal relation to him which they w ill n o t
dis solve , on them be the guilt If, however by any
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sacrifices he can so cha n ge his or th eir en
c u m s t an c es as to g ain the p ower o f making t he m
free it is his duty to do it In the disc ussion b e
twee n u s it was the obj ect o f the brethren not t o
admit o f any exception wh ic h s h o u ld weak en the
p ower o f truth on the co n science ; whilst it was
mine , s o t o g u ard o ur language as not to brin g a
fa l se accusation against any man , and not to blame
any o n e for not doing imp ossibilities In co u s e
u
en
c
e
o f the
discussion my o wn Vi ews were
q
changed on on e point ; and the brethren bo n c e d ed
all which I desired on th e other
I am thus p articular in these details b eca u se I
w is h the public to know the real spirit of tho s e me n
wh o have been so stigm atiz ed as r a sh overbearin g
an d hot headed I was warn ed aga in and again ,
that if I tried to c o op erate with them I should fi n d
the m fierce , fiery radical and u n c o mp ro mis mg But
I can truly say that I discovered none of these traits
in my intercourse with the vast maj ority o f them
They seemed desirous of un i on w ith all good
A n d if my original plan fo r a free and christian d is
c u ss ion could have been carried out if goo d men
had n o t retired and left us to the mercy of a mob ,
the bloody scenes that followed had never t ra n s p ir
And by kind and mutual compa r ison of views
ed
attended with earnest pray er , we should all o f u s ,
I trust , have been guide d into a knowledge of t he
truth ; and seen eye to eye , and lifted up the voic e
together And I cann ot but lame n t that on a sub
O
o
d
f
f
i
n
li
e
thi
an
ort
mad
kindness
and
e
t
s
e
e
c
k
g
,
j
effo r ts
or
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ALT ON
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RIO Ts
.
which does advocate an d en c ourag e the i m me
diate em ancipation o f slaves o n groun d s o f duty
S uch a society the anti slavery s ocieties ought n o t
to attack ; and I trust would not But if a s ociety
w hose professed end is colonization will allow itself
to b e us ed as a mean s o f givin g gr eater curren c y
and p O W er to the Op inion already too p o wer ful that
even Christianity c annot elevate the blacks , in this
christian land : if it will see slaves , and even free
b lacks comp ell e d to go to Africa w ith the ir o wn
c onsent , by the grinding cruelty o f co mp ulsiv e le
t
i
s
l
a
i
o
n
and
u
tter
no
rebuke
but
c
o
Op
erate
with
,
;
g
the w orkers o f iniquity if it w ill still profe ss to b e
a remedy for slavery and oppo se the o nly true rem
e d y : if it will allo w itself to b e made the chann el
o f p opular odium against the advocates o f imm
ed i
ate emancipation : if it will allow its l ea d ing ad y o
mies to the public p eace
c ates to mark o u t as en e
and safety those who are already exposed to ih
stant death by the v iolence of the mob : if it will
neve r in the hour o f pe ril sti mu late its members to
rally round the standard o f law and human rights
and stem the tide o f br u tal violence and ar est the
reign of anarchy : then by what law human or
div ine , does it claim to b e exem pt from
Nay more : from j ust and merited abhorrence P
I desire n o t to b e m i s u nd erst ood : I make no
obj ection to the e nterpr i se of establis h i ng Christi an
c olonies without ardent s pirits , o r the sp irit o f con
quest , on the coast of Africa A pa rt o f the work
o f c h ris t ian iz mg Africa I admit , migh t be d o n e by
them, whilst at th e same tim emy main hop e lies in
an d
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ALTON RIOTS
43
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direct missionary efforts and to aid them I sho u ld
prefer But the establishment o f suitable colonie s
I should never oppose
But the diversion of the S oc i ety from its o nly law
ful obj ect to the work o f opp osing true principle s
and disseminating falsehood , and in fl amin g the pub
lic mind against any class of citiz ens , is a work o f
gratuitous m isch ief, which admits o f no ap ology
and n o excuse And that all this has been done
who can deny
Most fre ely do I admit the purity of the motives
o f many of its frien d s and advocates
Nor would
I censure any man whose o w n acts hav e not ren
dered him wo rthy o f censure But ought not the
friends of this society to remember with what severe
scrutiny they mark and impute to the Anti slavery
S o c iety the errors and imperfections and b ad spirit
o f any of its members ; and ho w critically they note its
general influence 9 How often has it b een alleged
that Christians ought not to j oin it for reasons like
these
And are not the friends of the Coloniz ation
S ociety bound t o see not only what it professes but
what it does
B ut if in these days o f stormy excitement my
voice could b e heard I would entreat t h e members
o f that society to p ause and see if endless hostility
among good men on so momentous a subj ect i s all
that remains O r is it true that oppo sition to the
principles o f immediate emancipation and the con
t in u an c e of the prej udice against the blacks is so
essential to the existence and op erations of the
Col o niz ation S ociety that without them it must die
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ALTON RIOTS
44
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C annot it s u rvive the death o f prejudice and error 9
If not , it ought to die B u t if it has higher and
holier motives ; if it has ends worthy o f a man and
a Christian ; let it arouse itse lf to its appropriate
w ork : and cease to impede the friends o f universal
and immediate emancip ation in the pursuit o f th eir s
.
C HAPTE R
V III
.
the question o f reestablishing the O bserv er a t
A lton there was considerable discussion I was
u ndecided on the subj ect and took no p art in the
debate I deeply felt the i mportance o f it , if it
could b e done b u t having exerted myself in vain
to induce some o f the leading citiz ens to aid in r e
storing and defendin g it , was inclined to consider
it as imp ossible S till I dared not use any in fl u
ence to prevent an effort , should there b e any hop e
Many o f the friends of t h e p aper had
o f success
c oncluded that it was best to remove it to Qu in c v
B u t after discussion it was decided to make a n o
ther attempt to reestablish it at Alton , with the aid
The main reasons were
o f the citizens
1 That to fail o f reestablishin g law at Alton
would be a calamity to the state and coun try and
that to allow the mob to drive it from this place
would emb olden them to a tt ac k it wherever it
mi ght go Whereas in case of a failure , nothin g
On
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ALTON
b e true
mor e would
RIO TS
45
of
Alton than was already
true that is , that the law had b een prostrated b y
a mob R etreating could not redeem the character
o f Alton , or counteract the p ernici ous influence o f
the past But reestab l ishing the press could
2 Th e v o ic e of the n ation at least of the great
maj ority said , i t was a question o f principle and
involves momentous interests ; and approved bro
ther Lovej oy s courage and firmness and en c ou ra
ged him to persevere
3 A memb er of the convention from C incinnati
e xpressed in a most decided manner the Op i n i ons
and said that a retreat
o f friends at that place
here wou ld weaken them there , and every where
else He narrated the good e ffects o f reestablishin g
the Philanthropist in Cin c mn at i after it had once
b een destroyed by a mob
These considerations
e xer ted great in fl uence
In view o f these reasons it was decided t o make
one more effort to arous e the citizens of Alton to
restore the maj esty of violated law Thus e n ded the
week ; and the rest o f the sabbath was near at hand
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It was deemed desirable that a sermon s h ould
b e delivered on the subj ect o f slavery and being
requested by the society to perform the duty I con
sented My main obj ect was to remove prej udice
allay excitement and state the truth in an u n e xc e p
t io n ab le form Having stated the truth I endeavored
to sh ow the safety of free an d full inquiry an d the
dan ger o f allowing the progress o f disc u ssion to
b e arre s t ed by forc e
I was enco u raged b y th e ap
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ALT ON RIOTS
46
.
p arent result to hop e that the S pirit o f God was b e
ginning to restore soun d ness t o the public mind ,
a n d prepared o n
monday morning to leave the
city with some cheering hopes O n my way I was
met by a number o f citizens and requested to at
tend a meeting to consult on the exp ediency of re
F in d ing that a meetin g of
e stablishing the press
citiz ens was about to agitate the question of duty,
I could not refuse to stop at their request and p ar
A large proportio n
t ic ip a t e in their deliberations
It was a
o f the meeting were not abolitionists
meeting o f citiz ens o f various views on other sub
ec t s ; but united by common views as it regar d s
j
the importance o f sustaining law
To open the way for discussion I moved that
it is exp edient to reestablish the Alton O bserver
u nder its present editor
This opened the way for discussion,
1 As to the principles involved in defending t h e
right o f fre e inquiry
2 As to the pledge said to have been given b y
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DH L o v ej 0 y
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As to the use of force to sustain la w
O n the fi rst p oint I stated it as my opinion that
it was a fundamental principle in o u r government
t hat there were but two ways of checking the pro
gress of sentiments deemed erroneous and in jurious
to the public good : by law or by argument : and
whatever these would not reach it was useless
and criminal to attempt t o suppress by force ; that I
s hould feel myself called upon to protect an infidel
o r Mahometan paper , if assailed ; o r to re establi s h
3
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ALT ON RIOTS
47
.
it, if destroyed ; as much as a paper designed to
advocate the truths o f Christianity To do other
w ise would imply a consciousness of error on my
own part , o r a distrust of the p ower o f Go d and th e
truth to defeat error in fair discussion And that ,
to allo w a mob discretionary power in any cas e
without law without argume nt , to prostrate by
brute force a public p a p er , was a virtual surrender
o f the foundations o f o u r civil government and o f
all religious toleration Such an example , I told
th e m w as contagious That its influence in arousing
the spirit of the mob was already visible through
the state ; and that every fre eman in the state had
a d eep inte rest in the decision It was not a local
question ; and could not b e made such The p ar
t iz a n s o f mob law had made a breach up on the state
a t one of the most prominent p oints o f influence and
action ; and that in the providence of God they
sto od in th e very Thermopyl ae o f the war — and
th at it was their solemn duty to b e faithful to their
country and to God
O n the seco n d point Mr Lovej oy stated that he
had never given s u ch a pledge as was claimed
That he did indeed say that it was n o t his purpo se
to discuss slavery as much as he had ; but that h e
did not admit that they had any right to regulat e
his course on the subj ect ; and that he expressly
reserved t o himself the right to say whatever at
any time he might think b est This statement was
fully confirmed by a large numb er who were pre
s ent at the meeting in question
O n the third p oint , I stated that it was the d u ty
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ALTON
48
R
IOTS
.
civ il r u l ers to sustain law by force , as an ultimat e
resort : otherwise they w ould b ear the sword in
vain ; and not b e a terror to evil doers o r a praise
to them that do well And that to deny tha t thi s
is right and a duty would dissolve the b onds of civ il
society at once ; and let in an overwhelmi n g tide of
anarchy and crime Laws not thu s sanctioned are
n o laws but mere advice mere waste p ap er mere
cobweb s ; and that the moment the defence of law
is taken away the hydra headed monster o f p rivate
warfare and revenge would deluge our lan d w ith
blo od
I e xhorted them not to act as individ u als but
u nder the civil authority an d in obedience to law ;
admitting the right o f private self defence only in
those cases in which sudden and unforeseen attacks
preclude d the p ossibility o f resorting to the law i n
self—
defence : as when assailed by an assassin , or a
highway robb er
In answer to the inquiry what is meant by the
direction
when they p e rsecute you in on e city
” —
fle e to an Oth er
I gave it a s my opinion that this
i s a duty when the government itself is the p erse
c u t o r or refu ses to defend ; and un der s u ch a gov
But
ern m e n t those to whom C hrist spoke were
so long as a government will defend its subj ects
they ought to app eal to it a n d not flee And I d id
not yet r e gard it as settled that the go vernment of
Alton would not defend M r Lovej oy ; and that the
community ought to b e arou sed to do their duty
But if the question were once settled that the gov
ern men t o f Alton w ill not defend a citiz en a gainst
of
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f
worshiping in the Pres b yterian ch u rch , I re
e a t e d my first sermon o n
Wedn esday even ing
p
D uring this day threats o f violence w ere mad e ; and
in accordance with the direction o f the Mayor , arm s
were placed in a house adj acent to the church , t o
b e used b y men designated for the purp ose , if need
ful S ome slight indications o f violence occur ring ,
it was at once quelled by the app earance o f the
Had it
guard , and the s ermon w as closed in quiet
n o t b een for this arrangement , serious acts o f v io
l ence might have occurred ; and those b est able t o
j udge do not doubt th at it would have b een so
S ubse quent events do n ot render it at all improb
a b le
no t
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C HAPTE R
I&
.
W E n o w come to a series o f events upon which
the final result of all ou r proceedings was destin ed
I refer to the meetings o f citi z ens o n the
t o turn
S econd and third of Novemb er
The resolution o f the meeting of citiz ens to re
establish and defend the O bserver soon became
known ; and e xcited in some minds no little fer
ment ; and prob ably gave rise to the subsequent
meetings To give a clear insight into the design
and proceedings of these meetings it is necessary to
advert to the state of the community in Alton at
that time Th e whol e co mmu nity might b e divided
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ALTON
RIOTS
51
.
four class es 1 The ab olitio n ists : 2 Th e
frien ds o f law and order who were willing to defend
the i r r i ghts, though they did not agree with the m
in opinion : 3 Those w h o professed to be friend s
o f law and order in general , but wh
p
ermitted
o
their feeli ngs o f opp osition to the opinions of t h e
abolitionists so much to i nfluence their conduct , that
they refused to act in sustaining the law ; b ecause ,
by sustaining the law they thought that they should
in f act , b e sustainin g ab olitionists : 4 The mob
O f these classes the first t w o acted together in de
fending the press ; not as ab olitionists , but as friends
o f law and order and for the sake o f maintainin g
the gre at principles of soc i ety Aga i nst them was
arrayed the mob The other class in which wer e
found most of the memb ers of the C oloniz atio n
S o ciety, and of the leading business and profession
a l men of the place , professed to take the ground of
n eutrality ; and to regard the others in the light o f
hostile p arties , and themselves as unexcited, mod
erat e , j udicious men and as adapted to be medi
,
a t ors b et w e en the two
Though their feelings wer e
d ecidedly opposed to the ab olitionists , yet in their
better j udgment they knew that it was wrong to put
them down by force I well k new that in this class
lay the whole controlling p ower of the community ;
and if they could b e brought to take decided ground
i n defence of la w, the work was done
To do thi s
I had sought for some time , but no Opportunity was
presented to gain access to them in a body I had
prepared the principles whic h I wished to present
to them, at fi rst with the thought of o fferin g th em
into
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52
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ALTON
RIOTS
.
m e et ing o f th e C oloniz ation S ociety which was
n ear at hand ; but being convinced that they w oul d
b e deemed inappropriate , I was deliberating in my
o wn mind the expediency o f r etur n i ng home by t he
s tage
At this time , as I was walking in the street with
M r W S Gilman , we were met by R ev & H ogan
He informed us that there was a terrible state o f
things and wished to know if something could not
b e done to allay the excitement I expressed it as
my opinion that if certain men would p ass certain
resolutions which I then had a n d act upon them
with decision , all would b e quiet be fore s u n down
M r Gilman then suggested the calling o f a meeting
o f leading in dividuals ; and Mr Hogan approved o f
it an d consented to notify them to meet in his store
A t this meeting were some of the prominent mer
chants and professional men , together with some o f
th e clergy
My main purpose was to convince them of t wo
at a
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That it was not on the merits o f the senti
ments o f abolitionists which they were called to de
c ide ; but simply on the question o f sustaining law
an d order
2 That it was not a mere question of feeling or
That t h e y h a d no right
e xpediency ; but o f duty
to b e neutr al on such a question involving as it
did , the very existence of civil society
And I confess that I did fondly hop e that I coul d
Accordingly I
c onvin ce them o n these p oints
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ALTON RIOTS
53
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laid before th em the followi ng resolut ions for the ir
approval
R esolved, 1 Th at the free communication o f
thoughts a n d Op inions is o n e o f the invaluabl e
rights o f man ; and t h at every citiz en may freely
sp eak write and print on any s u bj ect, b eing res p on
s i b le for , the abuse of that liberty
2 That the abuse o f this right is the only legal
groun d for restra in i ng its use
3 That the question O f abuse must b e decided
solely by a regular civil court and in accor danc e
w ith the law , and not by an irresponsible and u n
organiz ed p ortion o f the comm u nity , b e it great o r
small
4 F o r restraining what the law will not reach ,
w e are to dep end solely o n argument and moral
means aided by the controlling influences o f the
S pirit o f Go d ; and that these me ans appropriately
used furnish an ample defense against all ultimate
pre v alence o f false principles and unhealthy ex
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That when discussion is free and u nrestrained ,
and prop er means are used the triumph of truth is
certain — and that with t h e triumph o f truth the re
turn o f p eace is sure ; but that all attempts to check
o r prohibit discussion will cause a daily increase
o f excitement until such checks or prohibitions are
removed
6 That ou r maintenance o f these principl e s
should b e indep endent of all regard to persons or
sentiments
7 That we are mor e espec i ally called on to main
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ALT ON RIOTS
54
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them in case of unp opular s entim en ts or p er
so ns , as in no other case will any e ffort to mai n tai n
them be needed
8 That these principles dem and t h e p rotectio n
of t h e editor and o f the press o f th e A lt on O b server ,
on groun ds o f principle solely , and altogether dis
connected with approbation o f his sentiments , p er
s onal character or course as editor o f the paper
9 That on these grounds alone , and irresp ective
o f all political
moral or religious differences but
solely as American citiz ens , from a sacred regard to
the great principles of civil society to the welfar e
o f ou r country , to the reputation and honor o f ou r
city , to ou r own dearest rights an d privileges and
those o f o u r children w e will protect the press the
p rop erty and the editor o f the Alton O bserver and
maintain him in the free exerc i se o f his rights to
print an d publish whatever he pleases i n ob edience
to the supreme laws of the land and under the
guidance an d directions o f the co n stituted civil
auth orities , he being respons ible for the abuse of
this liberty only to the la w
s o f th e land
The principles o f these resolutions seemed to me
s elf evident
Nay I thought them so clear that all
candid men would pass them by an unanimous
vote I therefore did not enlarge upon them ; b u t
knowing that a d eep rooted feeling against the
ab olitionists was liable t o blind their minds I en
d e a v o r e d to o vercome its influence by the most
powerful considerations
I endeavored to c onvince them t hat with the
fr iends o f Mr L ovej oy it was a qu estion , not o f
ta in
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ALTON
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deep reli g io u s principle Th at th ey
were not fanatics an d enthusiasts but devoted , c on
s c ien t io u s men ; and that it was n o t o nl y wrong bu t
unsafe to attempt to repress by violence the c on
To susta in these
s c ien t io u s e fforts o f such men
views I read the following extracts from a speech
o f the Hon D aniel Webster
O n the general question of slavery a gr eat p or
tion of the community is already strongly excited
T h e subj ect has not only attracted attention as a
question o f Po lit ic s but has struck a far deeper
toned chord It has arrested the R elig io u s feelings
o f the c o rui t r y ; it has taken strong hold o n the Co n
s c ie n c es of men
H e is a rash man indeed , little
conversant with human nature and esp ecially has
he a very erroneous estimate of the character o f the
p eople o f this country who supposes that a feeling
It
o f this kind is to be Tr ifl ed with o r D esp is ed
will assuredly Ca u s e itself to b e R esp ec t ed It
may b e reasoned with ; it may be made willing —I
b elieve it is entirely w illing — to fulfil all existing
e n gagements and all existing d uties ; to uphold and
defend the constitution as it is established , with
w hatever regret about some provisions which it does
actually contain But to coerce it into silence —to
endeavor to restrain its free expression —to seek to
compress and confine it warm as it is , and more
h eated as such endeavors would inevitably render
it — should all this b e attempted I know nothin g
even in the Con s t it u t ion or in the Un io n itself
which would not be E n d a n g er ed b y the E xp los ion
”
which might follow
fee ling ,
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55
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ALTON
RI O T S
I
also referred t o the fact that even Clarks on and
Wilberforce , w ith their c oadj u tors , name s which the
world now delights t o honor , were , when they first
b egan to oppose the slave trade , stigmatized as fan
a t ic s and enthusiasts : and assured them that it was
a s vain to attempt to opp ose the progress of in ves
t ig a t io n by excitin g p op u lar odium now as then
I referred them to the fact that the Opponents of
the ab olitionists had the maj ority in numbers and
wealth in Alton ; and that if the views o f the aboli
t ion is t s were false , they surely had in that vast ma
j orit y power o f intellect enough to e xpose them
and that to allow the use o f force was to confess
that they could not defeat them by argument I
here read the following extracts from papers pub
lis h e d in the slave states and entreated them n o t to
b e more z ealous in behalf o f slaveholders , than they
were in their o wn b ehal f
O u t r ag e We learn from the S t Louis R epu b
lican that on the 2 1 s t a printing press which t h e
R e v Mr Lovej oy had j ust received at Alton for
the purpose o f r e establishing the O bserver was
taken from the house where it had b een stored , and
th rown into the Mississipp i The O bserver was
tainted w ith abolitio n ism , and the people o r a p or
tion o f them at least , o f Alton are unwilling that it
shall b e published at that place We have before
sp oken of our regret that the rights o f citizens can
not b e secured in a land which claims to b e govern
e d by law Mr Lovej oy has the right o f publish
ing his p aper even in Alton , and however we may
differ from him in relation to h is tenets , we certain
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ALT ON RI OTS
58
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national character by p ermitting the perman
T o sustain
en t triumph of m isrule in their city
these views I read to them from Dr Ch an n ijn g s
letter to H Clay the fo llowing deeply a ffecting
v iew o f the infl u ence of p ast scenes o f riot o n th e
opinions o f the world concerning us as a nation
& That the
cause of r epublicanism is suffering
a b road through the defects and crimes of our cou n
t ry m en , is as true as that it is regarded with in
c reased skepticism among ourselves
Abroad , re
publicanism is identified w ith the Unit ed S tates ; and
it is certa in that the American name has not risen
o f late in the world
It so happ ens that whilst
writing I have re c eived a newspaper from Englan d ,
in which Lynch law is as familiarly associated with
o u r country , as if it were o n e o f our establishments
W e are quoted as monuments o f the degrading
tendencies of popular institutions When I visited
England , fifteen years ago , republican sentiments
were freely expressed to me I should prob ably
hear none now Men s minds seem to b e return
ing to severer principles o f government ; an d thi s
country is resp onsible for a p art of this change It
is b elieved abroad that property is less secure
a mong us order less stable law less revered social
ties more easily broken religion less e n forced life
held less sacred than in other countries U n doubt
s
t
the
prej
udices
foreign
na
ion
the
interest
e dl
o
f
s
y
o f foreign governments have led t o gross e xa gg e ra
t ions of evils h ere The least civiliz ed parts o f the
c ountry are made to represent the whole ; and o c
But
c as ion al atrocities are construed into ha b its
on o u r
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ALTON RIOTS
59
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feel t hat we ha v e giv en cause of re
roach
And
shall
w
e
fix
this
repro
ach
and
?
e
x
a
s
p
erate
into
indignation
and
hatred
by
adopti
g
i
t
n
a
,
p
p olicy against which the moral sentiments of t h e
Christian world revolt P S hall w e make the nam e
a stench in the nostrils of all nations
o f republic
I reminded them o f the co n nection o f their con
d uct with the welfare of Illino is ; and told them that
the permanent triumph o f the mob in Alton would
weaken the p ower o f law throughout the state ; and
that it was not and could not b e made a question
of local interest since it affected principles involving
the rights of all
In conclusion I reminded them that they were
acting on the great theatre o f the world , and in the
midst of attentive nations That the proceedings
o f this day wo u ld ere long be reviewed in Exeter
Hall in London and in every chr istian nation ; and
ur ged them to rise above local in fl uences and feel
ings and act as in view o f the civilize d world
Had my audience consisted solely of p ersons n ot
co mmitted to the mob , the app eal might have b een
successful But I noticed b efore I closed that a
numb er had come in who were in public sentiment
identified with the instigators or actors in the pre
ceding rio t ou s p roc ee din g s
I did h Op e, notwithstan ding that am ong thos e
who were not thus co mmitted my resolutions wo ul d
have found an advocate I was ple ading not fo r
men but for principles , the imp ortance of which
language cann ot utter : principles in which are in
v olved all that man hol ds clear on eart h Befor e
wh o does
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ALT ON
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w ere ministers
I
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the gospel member s of van
o u s churches
learned civilians , and men o f th e
highest standing in the commercial world F rom
some o f them at least I anticip ated a warm resp onse
It was n o t an hour of excitement or o f tumult I
had not before me an infu riated mob : but those who
gloried in being esteemed the calm thoughtful and
udicio
u
s
men
o
the
place
: the arbiters o f public
f
j
op inion and the conservators o f the peace &udge
then o f the chill which fell upon my heart when not
a si n gle voice was ra ised in behalf o f principles so
sacred ; o f interests s o vast
The audience seemed to b e taken by surprise
S ome ob served that they had mistaken t h e nature
o f the meeting : others that they thought the meet
in g was called for the sake of compromise ; a n d
others said nothin g — O ne moved to lay the resolu
tion o n the table
Another professed to s ee no u se in passi n g such
resolutions The principles w ere no t hing new ; they
were already i n corporated in our bill of rights an d
we could give them no new force by passing them
now He also remarked that t o pas s these resolu
tions was v irtually to condemn ourselves ; for it
could n o t b e denied th at so m e leading men of the
cit y had promote d or at least connived at what had
been done : and it could not b e exp ected that any
arty
should
own
itself
e
n tirely in the wrong
p
In behalf o f what p articular individuals he spoke
he did not inform us ; but as he was n o t contradict
ed , I suppose that some of the mob were there ac
Wh ether they
c ording t o my p revious impressions
me
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ALTO N
RIOTS
61
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ame in by invitation or by intrusion I have n ot
b een in formed At all event s their interests were
represented as inconsist ent with the passa ge o f the
resolutions propo sed and a s n o one obj ected t o
these remarks , it seemed to b e the sense of the meet
in g that they o ught to consult n o t only for the main
t en an c e o f the la ws but also for the feelin gs o f the
mob , a n d n o t require them to acknowledge that
they had be en entirely in the wron g
That inte lligent men , m
inisters o f the gospel ,
church members and civilians sho ul d n ot have seen
the grossnes s o f this principle may well excite sur
prise And that they should have abstained from
p assing resolutions the simple import o f w h ich was ,
that they would maintain the law , lest they should
censure its violaters is still more surprising
But
that they should fi nally app oint a committee of com
promise b etween the friends of law and the mo b ,
after refusing to vote to sustain the law is a phe
n o men o n that sets even wonder at defiance
Yet
s o it was
A reverend gentleman after speaking o f the spiri t
o f the resolutions as go od in general , an d as meet
ing his decided approb ation hop ed that they migh t
lead to some compromise by which the contending
p arties might b e unite d and harmony restored A n
other speaker was o f the same opinion ; and it wa s
voted that they b e referred to a committee
O f course as the contending p arties were —th e
friends o f the la w and the mob — and as a compro
mise was to b e e ffected b etween them by the moder
ate party , e ach must b e represented in the committee
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F
A L T O N m ore
52
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us now look at the claims o f the p arties to b e
reconciled
And first , o f the mob
T h ey claim ed the right to demand of Mr L ove
j oy to cease printing in Alton ; and if he would n ot ,
to compel him by force , by sacking his o ffice , break
ing his presses , ab u sin g his p erson , and threatening
his life
The friends o f law claimed that he h ad an inal
ien ab le right to do all that the others forbad ; and
that the community w ere sacredly bound by a re
gard t o God and the welfare o f society to defend
L et
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And the duty assigned to the committee was , t o
relieve the mob from t h e necessity o f confessing
that they w ere entirely wrong ; the moderate party
from voting to sustain the laws ; and finally by a
compromise to unite in harmonious society, the
friends and enemies o f the law
I t will at once b e perceived that to p erform such
a task , required no common ability And if the
committee did not finally succeed in their work we
s hall do them inj ustice if we d o n o t rememb er how
ar d uous w as the enterprise they undertook
But, to b e serio u s I could not contain my sur
pr ise when I heard sob er and serious men talk of a
I did think that they
c o mpromise in such a case
would s ee h o w hop eless the task , and return to the
sure safe and consistent gr o u nd o f recommending a
a maintenance o f the law
Before t h e meeting closed the follow ing resol u
ti o n w as pass ed
R esolve d u nanimously b y this meetin g , Th at
I
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A L
T ON RI O TS
63
the interim between the adj ournment and re as
s embling hereof, if any infraction o f the peace b e
attempte d by any party or set o f men in this c om
munity we w ill aid to the utmost o f ou r po w er in
”
the maintenance o f the laws
The obj ect o f t his has b een variously understood
I at the time un d erstood it to refer to the press
which wa s hour ly expected C ertain it is , that at
this time a steamb oat was coming up the river, in
w hich it was supposed the press might b e It is
also true that it had b een the avowed purpose o f
the mob to destroy the press as soon as lan ded ; and
that boats had b een searched and strangers abused
and insulted ; and in o n e instance an e ffort made t o
thro w overb oard a b o x o f hardware of a passen
ger under the idea that the b ox contained a pres s
I n advocating the resolution it was remarked tha t
it was not necessary to destroy the press at once if
at all The execution of that wo rk might at all
e vents b e suspended till the next meeting
Un d ers ian d it as y o u will , it evidently implied that
e ith er the mob or their leaders were there : That
there was there the p ower to arrest violence , or t o
”
&
say to it Go on and let slip the dogs o f war
Though deeply disapp ointed i n my fond antici
I reflected
p at ion s o f good , I did n o t despair
that there were men on that committee o f high
standing and great influence ; that they were to re
port o n great and fundamental principles ; and that
the y were connected with a series of transactions
which had already arre sted the attention o f t h e
whole un ion ; and would soon b e known thr o ug h
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AL T ON RI O TS
64
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the civ ili z ed w orld It seemed to me that eve n
a regard t o character and reputation , if no high
c r motive , would induce them t o take enlarged
a n d liberal views , such as would b e in coincidence
w ith the spirit of the age However , having done
all in my p ower , I endeavored to commit the case
t o Go d , and patiently wait the result
At this meeting Mr Lovej o y was not present ;
n or, as a general fact , any o f the leading s u p p o r
ters o f the press Mr W S Gilman is an ex
c ep t ion
It was we ll kno wn that he was a decided
s upporter of the press , and that he suggested t h e
meeting to Mr H ogan , in order that the resolut io n s
roposed
by
me
might
b
e
passed
But
it
was
th e
p
design that the meetin g should consist o f moderate ,
i n fluential , and respectable men
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m e eting of the Coloni z ation S ociety was held
The leading sp eakers were , Rev
in the evening
J Hogan , R ev J M Peck , R ev &oel Parker , a n d
A favora ble 0 p
o n e w hose name I cannot recall
t
was
now
presented
to
inculcate
up
on
rt u n it
h
e
o
y
p
a udience the imp ortance o f sustaining the laws
Perhaps it may b e thought that this is foreign fro m
the obj ect o f the society If so , it wo ul d seem t o
b e equally foreign from its obj ect to attack the opin
ions o f the abolitionists ; especially as at this tim e
public feeling against them was su ffi ciently high
S till , in t wo in stances their Opinions were p ointe dl y
attacked , an d on e sp eaker took c o nsi derable pain s
t o g o o u t of his w ay t o d o it
A
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AL T ON RI O TS
66
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it, it would b e an easy matter to induce th e
w hole community t o d o the same Yet we had
some hop e in the fact that it seemed almost imp o s
s ible that a committee inclu d ing s o many intelligent
men should dare to haz ard their reputation in the
eyes o f the civiliz ed world by recommendi n g a dis
regard o f principles so plain A t all events what
ever their decision might b e he had made up his
mind as to his course I t was n o t a blind impulse
but a decision founded o n reasons They were
these N o e ffort to defend the press by force under
the civil authorities had been made Hence though
the actual numb er of the mob was reputed to b e
small , they had held undisputed sway And h e
had no doub t that a decided resistance even of a
comparatively small number o f resolute men under
the civil authorities , w ould be amply s u flic ien t to
defend the press And after the resolution o f a large
numb er o f citiz e n s to defend it u nder the guidance
o f the civil authority ; and especially since the mayor
had promised to fulfil his duties as head o f the city
authorities Mr Lovej oy considered it as decided
that the press could and would b e defended
E sp ecially as Mr W S Gilman had agre ed to de
p osit it for safe keeping in his store till it could b e
established in some equally defensible place The
store was o f stone a n d as it seemed to him imp o s
sible to b e stormed by a mo b And he t hought
that a regard for the owners of the store so h i ghly
respected throughout the state and t o whose enter
priz e and capital the place was so deeply i n d ebted,
w ould almost of itself be a su fficient defe n s e
do
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A L
T ON RI OT S
67
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It
was now to him a question of personal safety
H e knew that as an individual he co u ld n ot alway s
b e defended and that he was liable at any ho u r to
p erish by the hand of an assassin or the fury o f
s ome midnight mob
H is house w as at the eastern
extremity o f Alton an d it was from the ce n tre o f
business , where his o ffice wo uld b e , a lon g and in
some p arts lonely walk , durin g which he could
easily b e waylaid
H e supposed also that the
whole press ur e o f motive would n o w b e made to
bear o n his love of life and regard to his family , to
induce him to flee And after a long and deliberate
view of the case , his friends had decided that place
the press where y ou might in this state in any suit
able position , the example o f Alton would stimulate
the friends o f mob la w to assail and endanger his
life E ven the fact that he had once left S t Louis
s eeme d now cont inua lly to spur them o n
It was to him therefore , simply a question o f
duty Was it his duty to resign th e ground at once
a n d let another take his place ; or at all ha z ards to
maintain his p ost
But so highly did the great proportion of h i s
rea d ers value him as an editor and such was the
sy mpathy for him throughout the nation that his
friends felt that the paper would go down at once as soon
as he left it ; esp ecially under such an editor as the
mob would allow For they saw clearly that it was
n o t his imp ru d en c ie s but his sentiments and pur
poses which were the real ground of o ffense It
therefore resolved itself in his mi n d into o n e simple
question ; C ould he as a friend o f Go d a n d man de
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ALT ON RIO TS
68
.
,
sert th e cause in which he was engaged to save his
life ? and o n this his d ecision was unwavering
He had often express ed his willingness to do any
thing which was for the good o f the cause which he
advocated But when his friends had prono u nced
the Opi n ion that there was no gain to b e expected,
and might b e much loss in a remova l ; and that if
he resigned his post as editor the p aper would soon
die his mind never wavered again
All these points were fully discussed at the meet
ing at his house at which I was n o t present ; but Of
which I was afterwards informed
S eeing the p osition o f his m in d I made no efl ort
to change it ; for I saw no reason to doubt that the
grounds assumed by his friends were true : a n d
much as I loved him and his family I did not dare
to allow my p ersonal feelin gs to induce me to a r
tempt to divert him from what seemed to him so
clearly the path Of duty —an d to me also if such
were the facts Moreover I did most fully expect
that when it was known that he w a s decidedly re
solved to maintain his ground the opposition wo u l d
give way for I could not b elieve that they wer e
prep ared to p erp etrate d e lib c r at e murder
I know it is very e asy for those n o t on the spot
a n d ignorant o f the state o f moral causes in the
community to lay down the dictates o f prudence
in view of results This is a cheap wisdom and
e asily gained But let an y o n e consider ou r cir
c u ms t a n c e s , and say what better could have been
done I t was n o t a question o f self will but o f
e felt for the freedom o f t h e press an d
W
rmc 1p1e
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ALT ON RIO T S
69
.
the welfare o f Alton Alton had always stoo d
high in my feel i ngs and in my j ud gm ent No r
could I make it seem a reality to my mind that a
p lace so honored and so loved could n o t be redeem
e d from so deep and d eadly disgrace as already
rested o n her Her relations to the cause o f God ;
her noble exertions in b ehalf o f literature , religion
and morality ; her influence on the destinies of our
youthful state ; rose b efore my mind , and I could
no t bear the thought that a place around which so
many fond remembrances of the p ast and so many
future hop es were e n t wmed , sho u l d be abandone d
to an infuriate mo b as p ast recovery And w e
felt called o n to plead with Go d for the sake O f his
o w n glory to interpose ; to bring the wicke dness
o f the wicked to an end , and t o establish the
righteousness O f the j ust
for
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C HAPT E R
&I
.
I H A D meditated with m u ch anxiety on the cou rse
o f thought best adapted to induce the assembly to
resolve to maintain the laws But on arriving at
the meeting I was soon relieved from this re s p o n
s ib ilit
Though I was requested to attend t h e
y
first meeting a n d o ff er the resolutions on which the
report was n o w to b e made : a n d though in com
mo n w ith eve ry subj ect of o u r free government ,
mv dearest interests were involved in the decision ,
.
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,
AL TON RIO TS
70
.
yet by the first vote I was precluded alike from
voting and debate I sat down in silent sadne ss
to await the result
After the meeting was Opened the chairman of
the committee made the following report
The committee appointed t o take under consider
a t ion certain resolutions submitted at ou r last meet
mg beg leave to report : That they have given t o
t hose resolutions a deliberate and candid examina
tio n and are constrained to say that however they
may approve their general spirit they do not c on
sider them , as a whole , suited to the exigency
which has called together the citi z ens o f Alton I t
is notorious , that fearfu l excitements have grown
o u t o f co llisions o f sentiment between t w o great
p arties on t h e subj ect and that these excitements
have led to excesses on both sides deeply to be d e
T
l
ore d
O O much o f crimination and recrimina
p
tion have been indulged O n the o n e hand the
anti abolitionists have b een charged with a heart
less cruelty a reckless disregar d o f the rights of
man , and an insidious design un d er deceptive pre
texts to perpetuate the foul stain o f slavery They
have been loaded with many and most Opprobrious
epithets such as pirates man stealers &c & c O n
the other hand the abolitionists have been too in
discriminately denounced as violent disturbers of
the good order o f society wilfully incendiary and
disorganiz ing in their spirit wicked ly prompting
servile insurrections , and traitorously encouraging
infractions Of the constitution ten d ing to disunion ,
violence , and bloodshed These un c haritable im
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AL T
ON RI OT S
71
.
motives ha ve led to an appallin g cri
sis , demandin g O f every good citi z en the exertion
o f his u tmo st influence to arrest all acts of violence ,
a n d to restore harmony to ou r once p eaceful and
n ot t o b e
ro
sp
erous
but
no
w
distracted
city
I
t
is
p
disguised , that p arties are now organi z ing and arm
ing for a conflict , which may terminate in a train O f
mournful consequences Under such circumstances
have we be en convened And your committee are
satisfied that nothing short o f a generous forbearance ,
a mild spirit Of conciliation , and a yielding compro
mise o f conflictin g claims can comp ose the elements
o f discord , and restore quiet to this agitated c o m
munity They are therefore forced to re g ard the re
solutions under consideration as fallin g short o f t h e
g reat end in view —as demanding t o o much of c on
cession o n on e si d e and t oo little on the other
Neither p arty can b e exp ected to yie ld every thing ,
and to acknowledge themselves e xclusively in the
wrong I n this there is n o compromise There
mu st b e a mu t u al sacrifice O f p rej u d ic es opinions an d
interests to accomplish the desired reconciliation
s u ch a sacrifice as le d to the adoption Of the grea t
charter Of American freedom which has secured to
Ourselves and which promises a continuance t o o u r
p osterity o f the blessed fruits o f p eace , prosp erity ,
and union Whilst , therefore we fu lly and freely
recogniz e the j ustness o f the principles engrafted
u pon our constitution t h at t h e free communicatio n
o f thoughts and Opinions is o n e of the invaluab le
rights o f man , and that every citiz en may freely
s eak , write and print on any subj ect b eing res on
p
,
p
pe ac h
men ts
of
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ALTON RIOTS
72
.
sible for the ab u se Of that liberty ; that the abuse of
this right is the only legal ground for restraini n g its
use ; that t h e q u estion o f ab u se m u st b e decided
solely by a regular civil co u rt , and in accordance
with the law , and n ot by an irresp onsible and u nor
an
i
z
o
p
ortion
the
community
be
it
great
e
d
o
r
f
g
small —your committee would , with e arnest impor
t u n it y , urge as a means O f allaying the acrimony Of
p arty strife the unanimous adoption o f the follow
ing preamble and resolutions :
Whereas , it is o f the utmost importance th at
p eace , order , and a due regard to law, should b e
restored to ou r distracted community ; and whereas ,
in all cases o f co n flicting Op inions about rights and
privileges each party should yield some things in
the spirit and form o f compromise : Therefore
R esolved , 1 That a strong confidence is enter
t ain e d that ou r citi z ens will abstain from all ru rd u e
excitements discountenance every act o f v iolence t o
p erson or property and cher ish a sacred regard for
the gre at principles containe d in o ur Bill of R ights
2 That it is appare n t to all good citizens that
the exigencie s of the place require a course Of mod
e rat ion in relation t o the discussion Of principles in
themselves de eme d right and of the highest impor
tance ; and that it is no less a dictate O f duty than
expediency , to adopt such a co u rse in the present
crisis
3 That so far as your committee have p ossessed
the means o f ascertaining the sense o f this c o mmu
n it y in re lation to the establishment o f a religious
newspaper , s uch a course would , at a suitable time ,
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ALTON RIOTS
74
.
higher mom ent : and as i t was evidently drawn u p
after much deliberation it merits a careful scrutiny
The great Obj ect Of the resolutions o n which the
report was based was to secure the defense of a cit
iz en in the exercise o f his inalienable rights against
”
the violence o f a mo b
As a whole they con
sisted o f t wo parts a statement o f principles ; an d
a r esolution to act according to them To these it
seems the committee gave a deliberate and can d id
”
examination ; and what is the result ? They ap
rove
their
general
spirit
but
do
not
consider
them
p
as a whole suited to the exigen cy which had called
the m together
The j ustice of the pr i nciples o f
the first three resolutions they fully and freely re
”
cogni z e ; o f course the only thing to which they
O bj ect is , the rest o f the res olutions —designed to
put them in practice
The comm itte e then admit that Mr Lovej oy has
the right to print what he pleases ; and to b e d ep riv
ed of this right only for abusing it ; an d tha t the
question o f abuse is to be settled by law , an d not
by a mob They fully and freely recogniz e the
j ustice o f these principles Then w h y not re c om
me n d th a t they be enforced
Why not speak ou t
in to nes of manly in dignation and rebuke t h e v io
lators O f law and call o n all who love their country
t o ral ly to its defense ? If the first three resolutions
are tr u e , why are not the last six suited to the exi
g en oy P Are they false D O the committee mean
to say that , in Opp osing erroneous views , such as
the law w ill n o t reach , w e are n o t to depend solely
on argument and moral means aided by the S pirit
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ALTON RIOTS
75
.
O f God ? and that these means are n o t an ampl e
defense against error and excitement ? D O they
hold that , in addition to these , mob s are sometime s
needed
D o they believe that when discussion is
free and proper means are us ed the triumph Of th e
truth is n o t certain
and that the triumph Of th e
truth will n o t produce peace And do they mean t o
say that all attempts to check discussion will n ot
produce excitement And do they mean t o advocate
a n d j ustify the suppression o f discussion by force
D O they b elieve that we ought not to maintain thes e
principles without respect to parties o r persons ?
D o they mean that the right of speech is to be pro
t e c t e d only in the case o f p opular op inions , where
it needs no protection , and to be left defenseless in
case of un pop ul ar opinions , where protection is
needed ? D id they mean to say to the citiz ens of
Al ton You are u nder no Obligation to defend Mr
Lovej oy or his paper on the ground of principle ,
an d that a sacred regard to the principles o f soc iety
do not re qu 1re it ? Are the committee willing b e
fore the civiliz ed world to avow sentiments like
these
If not : if the resolutions are true , why n ot
recommend them
But we are told they are not adapted to the
emergency whic h had called them to g ether And
wha t is t h is emergency
A mob had attempted t o
silence a press and exp el an editor from Alton
The resolutions recommended that this attempt
should b e resisted an d the liberty o f the press main
t a in e d ; and gave reasons for so doing
Now, why
are not these resolutions adapted to the emer g ency ?
,
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ALTON RIOTS
76
.
Is
it possible that the committee did n o t see what
must be the in fluence o f such a report o n the mob
We approve o f the princ i ples o f the laws , b u t a res
o lu t io n to maintain them is n ot a d apted t o the pres
I s it possible that they did n ot see that
en t crisis
if they had prop osed a resolution t o violate them,
its influence could n o t have b een more deadly
The reasons assigned fo r refusin g t o recommen d
the res olutions are truly surprising They are in
b rief that t wo parties were now organiz ing for a
c onflict , which may terminate in a train o f mourn
fu l consequences unl ess some compromise is made
It is indeed true that two p arties did exist as it
re g ards the truth or falsehood of the opinions of
t h e abolitionists ; a n d as it regards the expediency
Of formi n g a state society ; and as it regards th e
t ime and mode of carrying on the discussions B u t
o n these points the abolitionists had never refused
They had o ffered to do all in their
t o compromise
ower
to
u
nite
good
men
an d avert divisio n ; and
p
all their e fforts had been vai n ; and a plan was
I t was not
a dopted to vote down all discussion
m od er a t e discussion which their Opp one nts demand
e d , but n o discussion N o t that Mr Lovej oy should
print his Opi n ions moderately but that he s h ould n ot
r
nt
them
at
all
i
p
N o w, at the moment this claim wa s made , it
ceased to be a party question I t assumed a new
gro u nd and changed its nature entirely It was
the question , S hall a citiz en , guilty o f
n ow
n o crime and W ithout judicial process , be stripped
?
his
ri
g
hts
And whoever undert ak es t o d o
l
of a l
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ALTON RI OTS
77
.
this is no longer a party but a mob A n d this was
the precise attitude o f affairs at this time It was
not a question between abolitionists and anti —
aboli
t ion is t s ; but between the friends Of law and a mob ;
and are these the parties intended by the com
’
.
.
mit t ee ?
The committee further say that e xcitements b e
tween these parties have led to excesses on bo t h
Is it so ? O f the mob
s id es deeply to b e deplored
the assertion is true But what had the frien ds of
law and order done ? Nothing but strive to sus
tain the law And is this a n excess deeply to b e
deplored
Again , they say , too much crimi n ation an d re
crimination have b een indulged
and specify
charges mutually made by the p arties That the
abolitionists have thus been ch arged is true I heard
thes e and numerous other false charges publicly
made against them in Alton But abolitionists did
not render railing for railing
Nothing o f the
kind specified was said or h inted at in the c o n v en
tion Nor did Mr Lovej oy or his frie n ds ever load
their opp onents with opprobrious ep ithets as p ira tes ,
m a n s t e a lers & c
Indeed he was always very cau
tious not to use such language : and so far as I
know all the proceedings o f the abolitionists at A l
ton were at all times gentlemanly and d ecorous
The simple fact is and no sophistry can hide it ,
that Mr Lovej oy s rights and those of all his sub
scrib ers had been assailed by a mob : and nothing
was needed to restore quiet but that the mob should
let them alone But the mob wo u ld n ot ; and fo r
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G 2
ALTON RI OTS
73
.
reason the friends of law armed themselve s t o
repel illegal violence
The recommendation of the committee instead
O f the resolution t o support the laws is n o less s ur
i
s
i
t
?
rising
What
A compromise & And no less
p
s urprising are the reasons for this recommendation
That neither party can b e expected to yield every
t h ing and o wn itself entirely in the wrong
Now , fo r what were the friends Of law armin g ?
TO assail any o n e ? To prostrate and destroy a
ress
?
N
0
To
endanger
the
community
NO
?
p
F o r what then ? TO defend an inn ocent fello w
citi z en s prop erty and life , if assailed I s there any
t hing so alarming in all this ? What else o u ght a
g ood citi z en to do ? I s there any thing to be c on
ceded here ?
F o r what were the mob arming ?
To brea k
Open a store and destroy a press and to fire the
store and kill its defenders if resistance was made &
O ught not all this to be conceded by the mob ?
Now , do the co mm itte e think, that to require o f
them to abstain from such atrocious deeds an d t o
observe the laws , and to call on all good citizens t o
aid in defeating them if they attempted to execute
their nefarious plans & falls short o f the great end
”
”
in view and demands t oo much o f concession ;
and that & neither party can be exp ected to yield
e very thing and to acknowledge themselves ex
c lu s iv ely in t h e wrong
I s it n o t then true , that th e violator o f law w h o
breaks Open a house and d estroys the property or
l ife o f his neighbor is e xclusively in the wron g ?
t his
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ALT ON RIOTS
79
.
And if so , is it requiring t o o much to call on him to
acknowledge the truth
A n d i s it t o o great a con
cession for a thief to stop stealing ; or for any othe r
miscreant to stop co mmittin g burglary , arson or m ur
der
The resolut ions d emanded nothin g else ; and
do the c ommitte e think this t oo much
N o r c a n I understand what the co mmittee mean
by a mutual sacrifice of prej udices , op inions and
”
i nterests , such as led t o the adoption o f the g reat
”
charter O f American freedom
Th e p arties in this
case ar e , on the on e hand the friends Of law ; on the
other the mob Between these it seems a compro
mise is to b e e ffected like that which produced o u r
national un ion But how is this p ossible
The
great question o n which compro mise was needed
came u p bet ween the fre e and the slave states
Which are to be represented by the mo b , and which
by th e friends o f law ? And what similarity is
there in the cases
It was in on e case a u nion b e
t ween equal and i n depende n t states none o f whom
had any p ower over the other , and yet the union
was essential for mutual defense Hence , rather
than not unite , they let evils remain to remove
which they had no power I s this a reason why a
community should concede impunity to their o wn
c iti z ens , over whom they have power when they
violate the laws
But omitting these considerations , what is the
compromise recommended by the committee The
friends o f law were contending for nothing b u t a
principle o f infinite mo ment ; and o n the other h and
the mob were aiming t o overthro w it And how
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ALT ON
80
RI O Ts
'
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this matter t o b e compromised ? Why the pu n
c ip le is to be given up and the mob are t o carry
the day & It is essential , they say , to the p eace Of
Alton that Mr Lovej oy no lo n ger edit a paper
there And is this a compromise
What more
had the mob ever asked than this
For what else
had they abused t h e perso n and destroyed the
presses o f Mr Lovej oy
Was it not to compel him
to cease publishin g a paper in Alton
Was it not
for th is they had broken open and ravaged his O f
fi c e and destroy ed press after press ? Yet to this
worthy party all that they ask is to be granted an d
to the friends o f la w and order , nothing Is this a
compromise
But it may be said that if the
friends Of Mr Lovej oy had b een willing to give
him up the citiz ens o f A lton would have allowed
them to have a religious paper at a suitable time
and under j udicious editors and proprietors But
it was n o t for this they asked They had a right to
have it without any such leave All that they ask
ed for was the maintenance Of the principle that n o
editor shall be silenced by a mob : and in losing this
they lost all And in giving up this point to the
mob the committee gave them all
And are we to suppose that the committee saw
the full range o f the tremendous princ iples here laid
down ; o r did some strange fatality blind their eyes ?
Judging from their o w n report t h e v were utterly
u nconscious Of what they had done ; for they say ,
That a stro n g confide n ce is entertained that our
citiz ens w ill abstain from all undue excitements
discountenan ce every act Of violence to person or
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ALT ON RIO TS
82
.
Had it been their intention only to inform M r Lo ve
t
o
that
as
a
C
h
r
istian
he
ought
o give up his
j y
p aper and that his friends ought to consent ; and
that still if they thought otherwise they would pro
t ec t him ; they ought first o f all to have p assed a
resolution assuring him o f unconditional protection ;
a n d then to request him as a Christian to retire
But this they refused to do The vote to protect
him they cou ld not recommend ; and they did say
that it was essential to the p eace of Alton that he
And this they said ,
s hould not edit a paper there
n o t to him but to the citizens Of Alton
I do not thi n k that the main body o f the com
mit t ee had any idea Of the bearings o f what they
w ere to recommend The fatal step that misle d
them was consenting for a moment to put the
friends o f law o n a level with the mob ; and then to
try to e ffect a compr o mise between them From
men so intelligent who could have expected a mis
take so fatal ? In so plain a case as an attack o f
ru ffi ans and robb ers on an uno ffending citizen and
through him on law and civil socie t y itself it did
seem to us that they would see that the welfare O f
the whole country nay Of the civilized world re
quired every good citi z en to refuse t o look at them in
any other light than as p arricides Of their country ;
and n o t to degrade those wh o still revered the laws
even by insinuating that they were only a party on
a level with a mob N or could we conceive what
could be imagined or thought o f in the way of c om
promise I t did not occur to us that so intelligent a
committee would advance so g ross a doctrine as
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A L T O N R I O TS
83
.
that a comm unity has a right to absolve itself
from the p erformance Of its most solemn duties —
and call this a compromise I t seemed to us that
the debtor might as well refuse to p ay his debts ,
and call this a compromise It seemed to us that
protection is a debt due from community to every
citizen ; and that he has an undoubted right to
claim it ; and that it is more gro ssly absu rd and
unj ust for a community to talk of compromising it
away than for a debtor to propose to compromise
away his debts S till less did w e imagine that
a princip le so flagrantly immoral would b e dig
n ifi e d by a comparison with concessions made to
e ach other by equal and independent states none
o f whom were under any political obligation t o
come into union with the re s t z—That the glorious
union o f our fathers would b e sunk to the level o f
a union b etween the supporters an d the violators of
the law on the ground that the supporters of the
law should concede to its violators the full gr at ifi c a
tion Of their wishes Yet so it was
The idea that the supporters of Mr Lovej oy were
not acting as abolitionists , but as friends of law and
good order and that a large portion of them were
not ab olitionists and that they were not a party but
merely friends o f their country and Opponents o f
mob law does not seem to h ave occurred to the
committee at all
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ALT ON RIOTS
34
C HAP T E R
VI
.
.
After the report had b een read by the H onorable
chairman on e of the committee commented on it
at some le n gth : and seeming to assume it as capa
’
ble o f no doubt that Mr Lovej oy s friends must
see the reasonableness o f so generous a compro
mise and its eminent adaptedne ss to promote the
public p eace ; pr oceeded in a comp assionate strain
to express his sympathy fo r the unhappy man whose
rights were to b e sacrificed as a p eace o ffering on
the altar of the demon o f anarchy He regarded
him as an unfortunate man whose hand was
against every man and every man s ha nd against
him ; and hoped that they would disgrace him as
little as possible , and rememb er that he had a wife
and family dep endent upon him for support He
w as as mild and calm as he knew how t o be for
he seemed to think it w as appropriate that he
should be so whilst thus n e go c iat in g such a treaty
o f peace
But the committee were not unanimous in these
roceedings
There
was
on e honourable exceptio n ,
p
Mr Winthrop S Gilman He imm ediately arose
and laid in a decided protest alleging it as his
Op inion that the rigid enforcement o f the la w
would prove the only sure protection of the rights
Of c it iz ens ; and the only safe remedy for similar
”
excitements in fu ture
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A
LTON RIOTS
85
.
As brother Lovej oy rose to reply to the sp eech
a b ove mentioned , I watched his countena n ce wit h
deep interest not to say anxiety I saw no token s
O f disturbance With a tranquil self p ossessed air ,
he went up to the bar w ithin which the chairman
s a t and in a tone Of deep tender and subdued feel
*
in g spoke as follows :
I feel Mr Chairman , that this is the most
solemn moment o f my life I feel , I trust in some
measure the resp onsib ilities which a t this hour I
sustain to these , my fellow citiz ens to the church
Of which I am a m inister , to my country, and to
And let me b e g o f you b efore I procee d fur
Go d
ther to construe nothing I shall say as b eing d is re
s ec t fu l to this assembly
I h ave no such feeling :
p
far from it A n d if I do not act or sp eak according
t o their wishes at all times it is b ecause I cannot
conscientiously do it
It is proper I should state th e whole matter as I
t m d ers t a
n d it before this audience
I do n o t stand
here to argue the question as presented by the re
p ort o f the committee My only wonder is that
the Hon g en tle man r the chairman o f that commit
te e for whose character I entertain great respect ,
though I have not the pleasure o f his person
a l acquaintance my only wo n der is h o w th at gen
,
t le man could have b rought himself to submit such
a rep ort
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mm d a a
r ca
ss c
s
s d a ds s a
m
A t my re qu es t i
ft e r th e
e i t ely
ee t i n g h e wr o t e d o wn all
th t h e c u l d e ll o f h i pe e h, wh i h was ext e p o e I fro
mem
or
e
th e re t
y
o n Cy ru
E w r , e n tor fro M di on ou n ty an d th e W hig
1H
n di
te for g overn or
a
o
add d
c a da
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m r
m a s c
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H
m
ALTON
36
R
IOTS
.
Mr Chairman , I d o not admit that it is the b u si
n ess Of this assemb ly to decide whether I shall or
The
s hall n ot publish a newsp aper in this city
g en tlemen have , as the lawyers say , made a wrong
iss u e I have t he r ig h t to do it I know that I
have the right freely to speak and publish my sen
t imen t s , subj ect only to the laws o f the land for the
abuse of that right This r i ght was given me by my
Maker ; and is solemnly guarantied to me by the
cons titution of these United S tates and Of this state
W hat I wish to know o f you is whether y ou will
protect me in the e xerc ise o f this right ; or whether ,
as heretofore I am to b e subj ected to personal 1n
dignity and outrage These resolutions , and the
measures proposed by them are spoken of as a com
promise —a compromise between two parties M r
Chairman this is not so
There is but o n e p arty
here
It is simply a question whether the law
s hall b e enforced
o r whether the mob shall be
allowed as they now do , to continue t o tramp le it
u nder their feet , by violating w ith impunity t h e
rights o f an innocent individual
Mr Chairman what have I to compromise If
fre ely to forgive those who have so greatly i n j ured
me if to pray for their temporal and eternal happi
ness if still to wish for the prosperity of your city
and state , notwithstanding all the indignities I have
su ffered in it : if this b e the compromise intended ,
then do I willingly make it My rights h ave been
shamefully wickedly outraged ; this I know and
But I can and d o free
feel and can never forg et
1y for g ive those who have done it
&
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AL T O N RI O TS
87
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But if by a compromise is meant that I sho ul d
c e ase from doing that which duty requires o f me , I
cannot make it And the reason is , that I fear Go d
more than I fear man Think n o t that I wo uld
lightly go contrary to public sentiment around me
The good o pinion o f my fellow men is dear to me ,
and I would sacrifice any thi n g but principle t o O h
tain their goo d wishes ; but when they ask me t o
sur render this , they ask for more than I can —than
I dare give R eference is made to the fact that I
Offered a few days since to give up th e edi torship
”
&
o f the
O bserver , into other hands
This is true ,
I did so b ecause it was th ought o r said by som e
that p erhap s the paper would b e better patronised
in other hand s They declined accepting my o ffer ,
however and since then we have heard from the
friends and supporters o f the p aper in all p arts Of
the state
There was but o n e sentiment among
t hem
And this was that the p aper could be sus
t a in e d in no other hands than mine It is also a very
d ifl eren t question whether I shall voluntarily , o r a t
the request of friends yield up my post ; or w h et h
er I shall forsake it at the demand of a mob The
former I am at all times ready to do when circum
stances occur to require it as I will never put my
p ersonal wishes or interests in competition w ith the
cause o f that Master whose minister I am B u t
the latter b e assured I N E V E R will do G od in his
providence —s o say all my brethren an d so I think
has d evolved upon me the responsib ility o f main
taining my ground here ; and Mr Chairman I a m
determined to do it A voice comes to me fro m
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AL
88
T O N RIOT S
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M a in e, from Massachusetts , from C onnecticut , fro m
N e w York from Pennsylvania ; ye a from & entucky,
from Mississippi from Missouri ; callin g upon me in
the name Of all that is dear in heaven o r earth t o
stand fast ; an d by the help of God I y e L s T A N n
I kno w I am but one and you are many My
strength would avail but little against you all & o u
can crush me if you will ; but I shall die at my post,
fo r I ca nn ot and will not forsake it
Why should I flee from Alton
Is not this a
free state
When assailed by a mob at S t Louis ,
I came hither as to the home of freedom and Of
the laws The mo b has pursued me here an d why
should I retreat again
Where can I be safe if not
here ? Have not I a right to claim th e protection
o f the laws
Wh at more can I have in any other
place
S ir the very act o f retreating will e mb ol
den the mob to follow me wherever I go N 0 S ir ;
there is no way to escap e the mob but to abandon
the path of duty : and that, God helping me , I w ill
never do
It has been said here that my hand is against
every man an d every man s hand against me The
last p art of the declaration is too p ainfully true I
do in d ee d fi n d almost every hand lifted against m e;
but against whom in this place h as my hand b een
raised ? I appeal to every in dividual present ; whom
Of you have I i nj ured
Whose character have I
traduced ? Whose family have I molested & hose
business have I meddled with ? If any let him
rise here and testify against me
N 0 on e an
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ALT ON
RIOTS
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threatened to do ; but y ou cannot disgrace me I ,
and I alone , can disgrace myself ; and the deepest
o f all disgrace would be at a time like this to deny
my Master by forsaking his cause H e died for me ;
and I were most unworthy to bear his name , shoul d
I refuse , if n eed be , to die for him
Again y ou have been told that I have a family ,
who are dep endent o n me ; and this has been given
as a r eason , why I should be driven O ff as gently as
p ossible It is true Mr Chairman I am a h u sband
and a father ; and this it is , that adds the b itterest
in gredient to the cup o f sorrow I am called to drink
I am made to feel the wisdom o f the Apostle s a d
”
vice : It is better not to marry
I know sir that
in this contest I stake not my life only but that Of
others also I do n o t expect my wife will ever r e
cover the shock received at the awful scenes through
w hich she was called to p ass at S t Charles And
h o w was it the other night o n my return to my
house
I found her driven to the garret , through
fe ar of the mo b who were prowling round my
house And scarcely had I entered the house ere
my windows were broken in by the brickbats O f the
mob ; and she so alarmed that it was impossible fo
her to sleep or rest that night I am hunted as a
par t ridge upon the mountains I am pursued as a
felon through your stree ts ; and to the guardian
po wer Of the law I look in vain for that protection
agai n st violence , which even the vilest criminal
may claim
&
Yet thin k n o t that I am unh appy Think n ot
th a t I reg ret the choice th at I have made Whil e
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ALT ON
RIO I S
91
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all aro u nd me is violence and tumult , all is peace
w ithin An approving conscience and the reward
,
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ing smile o f God is a full recomp ense for all that I
forego and all that 1 endure Yes sir I enj oy a
p eace which nothing can destroy I sleep sweetly
and undisturbed , except when awaked by the brick
bats O f t h e mob
No sir I am not u nhappy I have counted the
cost and stand prepared freely to O ffer up my all in
the service of God Yes sir I am fully aware o f
all the sacri fi ce I make in here pledging myself to
continue this contest to t h e las t — (Forgive these
tears —I had not intended to she d the m —and they
flow not for myse lf but others & —
But I am com
ma n d e d to forsake father and mother and wife and
ch ildren for Jesus sake : and as his professed d is
c ip le I stand prep ared to do it
The time for ful
filling this pledge in my case it seems to me has
come S ir I dare no t flee away from Alton S ho u ld
I attempt it I should feel that the angel of the Lord
with his flaming sword was pursuing me wherever
I went It is because I fear G o d that I am not
afraid of a ll who Oppose me in this city No sir
the contest has commence d here ; and here it must
b e fi nished Before God and y o u all I here pledge
myself to continue it if n eed b e till death If I
”
fall , my grave shall b e made in Alton
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I have b een a ffected oftentimes w ith the p ower
o f intellect and eloquence ; but never was I so o ver
come as at this hour H e made no display ; there
was n o rh etori cal d ecoration ; n o v iolence of action
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ALT ON R IOTS
92
A ll
.
was native truth and deep pure and tender feel
ing Many a hard face did I see wet w ith tears , as
he struck the chords o f feeli n g to which Go d made
the soul to respo n d E ven his b itte r enemies wept
As for me I could not endur e it I laid down my
head and gave way to my feelings witho u t control
When he had closed I could not doubt that the whole
audience was convinced that he was right ; and that
if the authors of the report w ould have said so and
exhorted to defend him , it would have carried the
whole audience w ith electric p ower
But no their whole influence was again to be
thrown against the law and right —
and a minister
Of the gospel was to lead the way
As the reverend gentleman arose to reply it seem
ed to me t hat he foun d it hard to rally his p owers
and return to the charge ; but at last he did ; and
endeavored to bring in the holy word o f Go d to aid
in such a cause
His main p osition was that all things that were
right were not Of course exp edient ; which to sub
serve his purp ose must mean that , although the
pr inciples of rectitu de require a community t o de
fend its memb ers yet it is not always expedient so
to do Accordingly he seemed to think it of n o use
to contend for abstract rights H e mentioned the
case o f the brethren who let Paul down the walls
o f D amascus in a basket when p ersecuted by the
city authorities under Aretas a R oma n o ffi cer , as
a precedent for the supporters o f Mr Lovej oy to
follow here As th ough he considered A lton a
he athe n city ; a n d the civil a uthorities , w ith t h e
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ALT ON RIOTS
93
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mayor at their hea d backed up by the power of the
O ther w ise the case
Union were the persecutors
is nothing to t h e p oint H e in fact first exhorte d
a christian city n o t t o protect Mr Lovej oy ; and
then exhorted his friends on th is precedent to aid
him to flee ; because forso oth they would not pro
t ec t him
He also alluded to Mr Lovej oy s ple d ge :
but w as corrected by R ev F W Graves ; w h o stated
w ith o ut contradiction t h at Mr Lovej oy expressly
reserved to himself the righ t to say what he should
think fit on t h e subj ect Who also stated the cha n ge
in Mr Lovej oy s opinions his commu n ication to
t h e leading friends and supp orters Of the pap er and
their advice to him to proceed as he thought best
He also stated the reasons wh y the friends of the
O bserver considered it a duty not to retreat and re
ferred to the state of public Opinion in a ll parts of
the Union as sanctioning their course
A member of the committee now rose and d eliv
ered a speech u nequaled by any thing I ever heard
for an excite d bitter vindictive spirit The reaso n
for his change O f manner seemed to lie in the fact ,
that although he and his friends had gone so far in
making most generous compro m ises ; yet Mr Love
j oy and his supporters actually refused to make any
at all He seemed to think that therefore the truce
was now broken ; and that he was au th o r iz e d t o come
down on the ab olitionists in great w rath which he
accordingly did H e assailed Mr Lovej oy s char
acter and motives and those O f his friends in a style
o f violent invectiv e such as I had never heard b e
fore He seemed desirous O f lashing the assembl y
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ALT ON RIOT S
94
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into instant fury ; an d threatened to proclaim hostil
ity against the ab olitionists in all the intercourse o f
social life ; and to sunder all the ties which bound
them to societ y He endeavored to represent the
public sentiment in the nation in behalf o f law and
order as expresse d by t h e press as an outrageous
attemp t to force an editor on them whom they did
not like and c alle d o n t h em t o res is t the usurpation
Finally he withdrew all of his p art o f the com
promise as it r e g ar d s a p aper and o ffered a reso
lu t io n not only that the Alton O bserver should
n o t b e continued but that n o p aper o f like spiri t
a n d principles
should b e published in the place
H e also stated in this o r in some sub sequent speech ,
that it was not Mr Lovej oy against whom they
obj ected but his principles and that if any man ,
even D aniel Webster Henry Clay o r An dr ew
Jackson should come there to discuss them , it wo ul d
make no di ffere n ce
O f the truth of this se n timent there can b e no
doubt I had lo n g b een convinced o f it though
I did n o t e xp e e t that any on e would b e so impoli
tic as publicly to confess it before the world It
deserves the candid attention of certain editors , who
would fain have us b eliev e that had it n o t been for
Mr Lovej oy s imprudences , he might have printed
w hat he wou ld
The chairman o f the committee seemed to b e
so mewhat alarmed at the violence o f his coadj utor
and rose to remonstrate a gainst the passage o f t h e
resolution and the intemperance o f the speaker He
a dverted t o the need o f calmness in o ur delibera
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AL T ON RI O T S
95
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t ions ,
and to the disgrace which wo u ld ensue ,
”
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should the meeting break up in a row
The
motion was laid on the table , but finally adopted
Judge Hawley who followed , took true and hon
o r a b le ground o n the subj ect of free inquiry ; and
as a false impression h as been extensively received
o n the subj ect , it ought disti nctly to b e stated to his
credit , that though he declared his disb elief either
o f the truth or util ity O f the sentiments of the aboli
t ion is t s ; yet he maintained that they ought to have
the rights Of fre e in quiry and of publishing what
they would He said he should not care if they
paved the s treets o f A lton with their p apers : if he
did not b elieve them he would n o t read them : and
his design in his resolutio n was to disapprove o f
illegal violence without committing himself as an
abolitionis t : and he o ffered it as a substitute for the
report of th e committee
The discussion then b ecame general and (1 8 8 11 1
tory during which many remarks were made
sev erely reflecting on Mr Lovej oy By a mem
ber O f the committee— a professor o f religion and
a n eastern man—h e was compared to one O f the
deluded votaries o f the impostor Matthias who was
really pious but led away by enthusiastic excite
ment By a n other sp eaker he was compared to a n
ins ane person who in cour t deeme d all around h im
insane but himsel f And after the e ffects of Mr
Lovej oy s appeal had thus b een obliterated ; and
that very m u ch by the aid of pro fessedly pious men ;
the resolutions a g ainst him and his p aper wer e
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A LT O N RI OT S
96
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carried ; and all the items included in the so called
compromise with his supporters were withdrawn
The mayor prop osed the followi ng vote :
R esolved that as citiz ens o f Alton and the
friends o f order peace and constitutional law , we
regret that p ersons and editors from abroad have
seen proper to interest themselves so conspicuously
in the discussion and agitation o f a question , in
”
which o u r city is made the principal theatre
Against whom it was de signed to Operate each
man was left to j udge for himself : but as it was
p assed by acclamation it was evidently understood
to reflect o n all p ersons or editors who had censured
the proceedings o f the mob and endeavored as
friends to the place to aro u se its citizens to a sense
In its bearings o n myself it was n o t emin
o f duty
ently decorous after I had been invited by the ori
i
n at or s O f the meeting to attend
g
I n conclusion it is only to b e noted that when a
resolution was proposed ple d ging themselves to aid
the m a y or in case Of violence it was obj ected to as
needless since it wa s already their duty so to do
Notwithstanding this standing Obligation to aid in
suppressing violence they had already resolved so
t o do u n t il t his m eet in g : and when a resolution
Of the s ame import was again prop osed they refus
C omment is needles s — Nor need we
e d to pass it
wonder at the result What else could b e exp ecte d
after a report declining to recommend the m e i n ten
ance Of law in defense O f the rights of Mr Love
j oy , had been made by so intelligent a co mm ittee ,
an d adopted by t h e assembly ?
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ALT O N RIO T S
98
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I co uld see that that hope was thoroughl y ex
That view Of the sub
tin g u is h e d in every heart
ers a t io n
was
dropped
and
all
e
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t
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o
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v
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j
p roc e e d e d
u pon the supposition that n o on e e xpected it
I t was o f course a necessary conclusion that , e i
ther his antagonists would finally relinquish their
e fforts in despair , or arouse themselves to a decided
attempt to destroy him Which they wo u ld do it
w as hard to decide F rom many things which I
s aw during the following three days I was led to
hop e that they were disposed to rel i nqu i sh their
efforts O ne Of the most in fluential Of them was
overheard to say , that it was of no use to go on
destroyi n g presses as there was money enough at
the e ast to brin g new ones as fast as they could d e
stroy them ; and that it was best to let the fanatics
alone I hoped they would do so ; and so did Br
L ovej oy
But God saw fi t to disappoint ou r hop es
The days that I was there spending with him were
destined to b e the last Of his life H is work was
nearly done ; the hour o f his martyrdo m and Of his
reward was near at hand
B ut
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CHAPT E R & III
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Let u s proce ed to the closing scene F ully to
u nderstand the co urse of events , the division made
o f the community , in giving an account o f the meet
in g, sho u ld b e borne in mind : and to that division
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AL T ON RI O T S
99
.
nother cla s s sho uld n ow b e added ; the ma g istrate s
o f the city
Mr Lovej oy h avmg decided on his co u rse , th e
friends of law and order made their arrangements
Personal violence , or
for the defence of his press
an attempt to murder h im was not expected I t
was supposed that the main e ffort if any were made ,
would be to destroy the press as it was landed W e
a ll fe lt that if once deposited in Godfrey
Gilman s
store it would b e safe Gre at difficulty was en
countered in obtaining a special c onstable to direc t
the friends of law in case o f an attack , u nder t h e
authority o f the mayor The mayor himself did
not refuse to act ; but as it might b e inconvenient t o
find him when most needed it was considered im
p ortant to have on e o f the supporters of the pres s
appointed as special constable on any sudden emer
Though the mayor acceded to the proposal
g en c y
it was from time to time delayed and fi nally it was
not carried into e ffect The mayor h o wev er s t ill c on
s ented to direct their movement when called upon
O n monday Mr W S Gilman was informed tha t
th e press was at S t Louis on board a boat which
wo u ld prob ably arrive at Alton about evening He
immediately sent an express to the captain of t h e
bo at requesting him to delay the hour of his arrival
until three o clock at night in order to avoid an
This movement was suc
a ffray with the rioters
The spies o f the mob watched for the
c e s s fu l
arrival o f bo ats for some time ; but late in the eve
ning seemed t o give up the expectat ion o f an y ar ~
r ival tha t night , a n d retir ed
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A L T O N RI O T S
100
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Meantime the supporters of the pre ss met at M
Gilman s store to th e number o f thirty o r more ; and ,
as b efore stated , organiz ed themselves into a vo lu n
teer company according to law , and spent the n ight
m the store At the appointed hour the b oat ar
rived and the press w as safely landed ; the mayor
bein g present All arrangements had b een made
w ith such j udgment , and the men were stationed at
such comman d ing points that an attack would have
been vain But it was not made A horn was in
d eed sounded but n o on e came
S hortly after the hour fixed on for the landing of
th e bo at , Mr Lovej oy arose and called me to g o
The moon
w ith him to see what was the result
h a d set and it was still dark but day was near ; and
here and there a light was glimmering from the
W indow Of some sick room or of some early riser
Th e streets were empty and silent , and the sounds
o f ou r feet echoed from the walls as we passed
Little did he dream at that hour , o f the con
a long
test which the next night would witness : that these
s ame streets would echo with the shouts o f an infuri
at e mob , and b e stained with h is own heart s blood
We found the b oat there and the press in the
w arehouse ; aided in raising it to the third story
We were all rej oiced that n o conflict had ensued,
an d that the press was safe ; and all felt that the
We were sure that the store could
c r isis was over
n o t b e carried by storm by so few men as had e ver
yet acted in a mob ; and though the maj ority of the
c itizens wo ul d n o t aid to d efend the press we had
S O d ee p
n o fear that they would aid iri an attack
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ALTON
1 02
RIOTs
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w orld and soon t o b athe it with floods
fi ght
,
of
glorio u s
Brother L ovej oy , t o o , was happy He did n ot
e xult :
he w as tranquil and compo sed : bu t h is
countenance in dicated the state of his mind It
w as a calm and tranquil j oy , for he trusted in God
that the point was gained : that the ban ner Of an
u nfettered press would so on wave over that migh
t y stream
V ain hopes & H ow soon to b e buried in a mar
tyr s grave V ain & did I say ? No : they are not
vain Though dead he still sp eaketh ; and a un i
ted world can never silence his voice
Ten thou
sand presses had he employed them all , could never
have done what the simple tale o f his death will
do Up and down the mighty streams of the west
his voice will go : it w ill p enetrate the remotest cor
ner o f o u r land : it will b e heard to th e extremities
From henceforth no b oat
o f the civiliz ed world
w ill pass the sp ot where he fell , heedless o f h is
nam e , or o f his sentiments , or o f the cause for
which he died And if God in his mercy shall use
this event to arouse a slumb ering nation to main
tain the r i ght fo r which he died he will lo ok down
from t h e throne Of h is glory on the scene o f h is
martyrdom and say , It is enough : truth is t riu m
phant : the victory is gained
We returned to his house and b efore my depar
ture we united in prayer His wife through w eak
ness had not risen In her chamb er w e met in t h e
last act o f worship in which we w ere to unite o n
earth I commended him and his family to the
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ALTON RIOTS
1 03
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are of God As I left her I cheered her with t h e
hop e that her days O f trial were nearly over and
that more tranquil ho u rs were at hand Cheere d
by these hopes I bade them and my other friends
farewe ll , and began my j ourney homeward O n
my way I heard p assing rumors of a meditated at
ta ck on the store ; but gave them no weight
Th e
events o f a few hours proved them but too well
founded
O f the tragical catastrophe I was n o t a spectator ;
i
but after careful inquiry o f ey e witn es s es I shal l
procee d to narrate the leading facts
From the statement o f the mayor it seems th at
an a ttack w as apprehended ; and that the matter
was laid b efore the common council , and that they
did n o t deem it necessa ry t o take any action on t h e
subj ect
O n account o f the fatigue and watching o f the
preceding night , most Of the defenders o f the press
who were in the store the night b efore were absent ;
and others took their place
The numb er was
larger than at first intended in consequence o f an
increased apprehension of an attack Their ap p re
h en s io n s were reali z ed An attack was commence d
’
at ab out ten O clock at night
In order to render the narrative more clear it is
necessary to say a few words concerning the s t ru c
t u re and location o f the store I t consisted o f tw o
long stone buildings , side by side in one block ex
c
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6
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In
m
Gil
additi
an an
t o the
on
d Mr
.
may r s s tat m e t I h a chi fly r li d
W eller
o
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’
e
n
ve
e
e
e
on
Mr
.
A L T O N RI O T S
1 04
tending from the landing in Water street back t o
S econd street ; w ith doors and windows at each
gable end but with no windows at the sides Hence
it can b e defended at the ends from within , but not
at the sides The roofs are o f wood The lots o n
each side being vacant , these stores form a detached
block accessible on every side
About ten O clock a mob , a lr ea dy a r m ed came
and formed a line at the end of the store in Water
street and hailed those within Mr Gilman Op en
ed the end door O f the third story , and asked what
they wanted They demanded the press He of
course refused to give it u p ; and earnestly entreat
ed them to use no violence He told them that the
proper t y was committed to his care ; and that they
should defend it at the risk and sacrifice of their
lives At the same time they had n o ill will against
them and should deprecate doing them an injury
O ne o f them a leading individual among the friends
o f free inquiry at the late convention , replied , that
they w ould have it at the sacrifice Of their lives and
p resented a pistol at him : u pon which he r etired
They then went to the other end o f the store and
co mmenced an attack They demolished two o r
three windows with stones and fired t wo o r three
As those withi n t h re w b ack the stones o n e
g uns
without was distinctly recognised and seen taking
a im at on e within : for it was a moonlight eve
ning and p ersons could b e distinctly seen and
recognised
A few guns were then fi red by in d ividuals from
w ithin , by which Lyman Bishop , o n e o f the mob ,
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ALT ON RIO TS
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j u stice were then informed that the press would n ot
b e given up : and the decision was by them com
mu n ic a t ed to the mob
They then proceeded to fire
t h e roof taking care to keep o n the side o f the store
where they were sec u re from the fire of those w
ithin
It now b ecame evident to the d efenders that
t heir means o f defense , s o long as they remained
w ithin was cut o ff ; and nothing remained but t o
attack the assailants without
It was a haz ardo u s
s tep ; but they determined to take it
A select
Lovej oy was o n e under
n umber o f whom Mr
They we n t out at the end turne d
t ook the work
t h e corner and saw o n e o f the incendiaries on t h e
l adder and a number stan d ing at the foot
They
fired and it is supposed woun d ed but did not kill
him ; and then after continui n g their fire some
minutes and dispersing the mob returned to load
When they went o u t again no o n e w a s
t heir guns
near the ladder the assailants having so secrete d
t hemselves as to b e able to fire unseen on the de
fenders o f the press as they came out N o assailants
b eing in sight Mr Lovej oy stood and was looki n g
round & e t though he saw no assailant the eye of his
murderer was o n him The obj ect o f hatred d eep
m alignant and long c o n t in u e d , w a s fully before him
and the bloody tragedy was consummated F ive ba lls
were lodged in his body and he soo n breathed his
last & e t after his mortal wound he had strength re
maining to return to the building and ascend on e flight
They then a t
o f stairs before he fell and expired
tempted to capitulate but were refused with curses
b y the mob , wh o thr eaten ed to b u rn the stor e and
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AL T ON
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IOTS
1 07
.
oot them a s they came o u t Mr R o ff now de
t e rmin e d at all hazards to go o u t and make some
terms but he w as wounded as soon as he set his
foot over the threshold
The defenders then held a consultation They
were shut up within the building, unable to resist
and
t h e ferocious mode o f attack now adopte d
seemed devoted to destruction
At length Mr
West came to the door , informed them that the
building was actually on fire and urged them to
escap e by p assing down the river b ank ; saying that
he would stand between them and the assailants so
that if th ey fired they must fire on him This was
done All but two or three marched o u t and ran
d own Water street , b eing fired on by the mob as
they went T wo , who were wounded were left
in the building and o n e who was not , remained to
take care o f the b ody o f their murdered brother
The mob then entered destroyed the press and re
tired Among them were seen some o f those leading
”
friends o f free inquiry who had taken an acti v e
p art in the convention
sh
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Before these tragic scenes were ende d , the streets
w ere crowded with spectators They came out t o
s ee the winding up o f the plot but not to aid in rs
pressi n g violence o r maintain ing the law The vote
t o aid the mayor in suppressing v iolence they had
refused to pass b ecause it was their duty to aid
without it : an d here we see how p owerful their
sense o f duty was The time of the co n flict was
from on e ho ur and a half to two ho urs D ur ing
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ALTON
1 08
R ro r s
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this time the bells were rung , and a general notic e
given ; and yet none came to the rescue It h as
b een said however, in extenuation o f this i n activity
that it was owing t o a want o f concert and arrange
ment among the citizens , o r by the p olice No man
knew on whom he might call to aid in suppressing
the riot ; and some who have professed that it was
their desire to do so , say that they were hindered
b y the apprehension that they might be only rally
ing the mob in the attempt t o quell it
The feelings exhibited by the mob wer e in keep
ing with the deed on which they were intent O aths ,
curses blasphemy and malignant yells broke upon
the silence of the night as they pro s ecuted their
work of death But even p assions so malignant
were not enough to give them the hardihood and
recklessness needed for their work To drench c on
sc i ence blind reason , and arouse passion to its high
est fury by the intoxicating cup was needed to fit
them for the c onsummation of their work The lead
ers in this business were adepts ; they knew what
means were adapted to their ends , and used them
without stint or treason
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Thus closes a tragedy without p arallel in the his
tory o f ou r land In other pop ular excitements
in some
t here has been a n equal amount o f feeling
b lood has been shed But never was there an avow
ed e ffort to overthrow the foundations of human
society p u shed to such bloody results and that o n
principles adapted so utterly to dissolve the social
system, an d plu nge the nati on in to anarchy and bloo d
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,
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AL TON
1 10
RIOTS
.
But I thank God all are not such That ou r na
tion as a mass is not utterly fallen and degraded
that a noble host o f l ofty sp irits still remains I
s peak o f no party
o f n o locality of no section o f
I speak o f the re deeming spirit which I
o u r land
trust in God pervades it all ; and the p ower of which
is still felt in every p arty o f every name N 0 : all
are n o t thus sunk and degraded Multitudes there
are who still can rise ab ove the narrowness o f local
interests and p arty prej udice , and allow their minds
to move in the cur rent o f the destinies o f the h u
man race who can recogniz e the sublimity o f prin
and w ith prophetic foresight anticip ate the
c ip le
j u dgment o f future ages on great moral questions ;
who have not yet bowed the knee o f idolatry at the
s h rine o f popular favor or o f mammon ; who ad
mit that there are higher principles of action than
mere political exp ediency o r the vo rce o f a crowd ;
who reverence the immutable and eternal principles
o f right ; and b elieve that there is a law higher than
and who are not ashamed with
a ll human laws
Blackstone , and Grotius and V a tt el and all the
great founders and expounders of national and mu
&
l
c
i
a
law
to
believe
that
this
law
being
dictated
i
n
,
p
by God himself is superior in obligation to any o th
er ; is b inding over over all the glob e in all coun
tries , at all times ; and that no human laws are of
”
any va l idity if contrary to this
T o all such I app eal T o a ll w h o are not asham
h o considered true
e d o f the spirit of their fathers , w
freedom the noblest gift o f Go d ; even that freedom
w hich g u arantie s t o e very man t h e full ex e rcise of
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ALT ON
R io r s
111
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loftiest o f human rights —the right fully to know ,
and fearlessly to pro c laim and to do the will o f God :
the right to regard the opinions o f that O ne as of
more weight than the universe b esides : and th e
right to do His will though the public sentimen t o f
millions Oppose
To such I appeal S uch I know there are
Though as a nation w e have long b e en sinking fro m
the loft y ground of principle with which we b egan ;
though the cursed love of gold has l eft to multitudes
no standard of right and wro n g b u t dollars and
cents ; and the thirst for p olitical promotion has left
to others no criterion of truth but the Op inions o f t h e
maj ority however p r o fl ig at e ; I trust there are som e
left who still b elieve that their souls belong to non e
but God and the truth : and who by the grace o f
God are determined to resist even unto de ath t h e
tyr anny which would comp el the soul to forego
communion w ith the loftiest spirits of all ages ; shut
it out from particip ation in the mightiest movement s
of the ag e z— yea , and prohibit it from b eing a c o
worker with God in the execution o f his vast de
signs of renovating a ruine d world
To all such I sh all submit the following position s ;
which i n Vi ew of the preceding facts I shall en
d e a vor to ma intain :
That the great discussion which gave rise to
these transactions is an essential p art of the move
ment o f the providen c e of God in the present age
of the world ; an d that t o evad e it is impossible ; to
o p pose it , vain
t he
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ALT ON RI O TS
1 12
.
That to the manner in which it came up in
this state there is no j ust ground Of Obj ection
—That the first development of mob violence h as
n o t even a plausible pretext for its j ustification : a n d
t o pall iate it , connive at it or attempt to j ustify it,
is treason b oth against God and man
—That after the first development of violence ,
e very possible e ffort was made , in a cool kind tem
p erate and j udicious way t o arrest its course by
plans of conciliation and concession ; and by e fforts
to u nite the w ise and the good against the lawl e ss
and riotous disturb ers of the p eace
—That these e fforts were defeated by a sp irit of
in tolerance and p ersecution , that r ej ected all c on
c iliation o r compromise ; that excluded all argument ;
and w ould b e satisfied with nothing but the entire
and u nconditi o nal surrendry o f the noblest rights
an d privil e ges Of the human mind
—
That all hopes o f evading th i s spirit by re
t reat was vain ; that to retire before it, would
bu t give it new malignity and p ower ; and that
t here was no alternative but to defeat it there , o r,
by falling in the contest , comp el it to disclose t o
the civilized w orld its real nature and its malignant
power
—That in conductin g this Opposition , ou r prmc 1
ples were sound and j udiciou s ; such as have re
c e iv e d the united approbation Of the civilized world ;
and that the e fforts made by many to excite odium
against them can b e the r es u lt o f nothing but in ex
c u s ab le p rej u dice or malignity
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ALT ON
1 14
RIOTs
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Who c an deny that the tendency Of the age is ,
to make On e sublime and simple truth the regula
ting principle O f all human society : —
that in the
very n ature o f the human mi nd , and in the relations
o f man to God , there is a foundation laid for certain
immutable duties and rights ; that the relations Of
the individual to God are higher and more sacred
than any other relations ; and that as God has made
it the duty o f every i ndividual to live for hi , s o it
is the immutable right Of every human being to be
fre e to do it ?
Who I s ay , can deny this
Is it not a notorio u s
fact that since the R eformation , the great subj ect s
o f the age have b een religion and government ?
And that the centr al principle o f all this discussion
has b een individual unalienable rights P—rights ,
n o t created by hu man governments ; but given by
Go d in the creative act by which he made man a
free moral agent whose highest duty and h ap p ines s
was to kno w and do the will o f his God
And why should it not b e so
If it is God s
purp ose to convert the world , what can he do s o
directly to prepare the way , as to revive in the h u
man mind a deep and full conviction o f these rights
They are the very basis of all religion N 0 man can
b e converted to God who does not recogniz e them
That God has o n him higher claims than father o r
mother o r brother o r sister o r ruler o r p eop le : and
that as it is his duty at all haz ar d s to obey God so
In short that it is the inalienabl e
it is his right
right o f every human b eing to live fo r the great end
for which Go d made him and in accordance with
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ALTON
RIOTS
1 15
.
laws of the nature which Go d gave him W h o,
I say can deny that all this I S true ?
And now , if there is on earth a system of laws ,
which daily authorizes the violation o f every funda
mental right o f millions Of human b eings without
rotection
or
redress
: which authorises the d e s t r u c
p
tion of all rights Of knowledge , o f conscience , Of
marriage and family o f chastity , o f property o f re
putation and influence , and o f protection against
p ersonal abuse ; and in its o wn nature tends to ren
der this Vi olation certain : if there b e such a system ,
I ask is it not in the way o f all the designs o f Go d ,
and O f the whole tide and current of his providence
Esp ecially if placed in the
i n the present age ?
very focal p oint O f ill u mination for the world , on the
great subj ect o f inalienable rights If the funda
mental princ iples o f individual rights on which ou r
systems are b ase d are n o t false ; o r if Go d does n ot
mean to curse the world by loading them w ith dis
gr a ce ; if he does not mean t o roll back the wheels Of
t ime and plunge the n ations in a second night o f
a ges ; can he will he allow such a system to remain ?
But h o w shall it be removed ? This is a great
question o f moral reformation ; and one o n which
nothing but experience can thr ow light Hence he
has called up the attention o f the w orld t o it ; and
put in train a vast course Of experiments This
has b een carried on in all c ircumstances and in
every variety o f condition : and has at last worked
o u t o n e uniform result
It has disclosed a set Of
principles founded , as we think , on nature ; and in
strict accordance with th e laws of the mind an d the
t he
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A LT O N RI O T S
1 16
d ictates
.
of
political economy ; and which have been
tested by experience again and again They are
these :
That to continue such a system Of law , in order
that under its infl u ence slaves may gradually b e
prepared for freedom , is ridiculous , hopeless and ab
surd : for the system has no tendencies but to unfit
for freedom , and to degrade
That to suppose that the continuance of such a
s ystem is essential to the safety Of the masters is to
assume in direct violation of the word and entire
disregard Of the providence Of God that it is ever
more safe to do wrong than to do right Again ,
That to a b olish this system at once and to rep lace
it by a wise and equitable system of legislation , in
which the slave shall be restored to his rank and his
rights as a man and an immortal being ; a system
adapted a like to defend the community against v a
grancy and idleness and to enlighten elevate em
ploy an d protect the emancipated as free l aborers
is reason able practicable safe and a duty : and that
no man has a right voluntarily to keep an y human
bei n g under such a sys tem of law under pretence
of d oing him good for every such pretext is vain
N ow it is not my purpose to argue the truth or
falsehood Of these vie w s All I a ffirm is that the
exigencies of the age require that they should be
fairly discussed : and that to hold them is no crime
We are bound at least fairly to discuss them a c c or
ding to the immutable principles Of eternal right
We are bound solemnly to raise , and prayerfully to
discuss the qu e stion ; Are they n ot the views of Go d ?
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A L T O N RI O T S
1 18
.
which those who br i ng such multiplied charge s
They
o f imprudence against us have failed to raise
think o f nothing but p opular Opinion : outragin g
public sentiment : and fail to inquire whether this
ublic
sentiment
is
right
r wrong ? whether it is
o
p
for God o r against him ?
And is it to prevent the d iscussion o f Opinions
like these that all the foundations o f society must
be dissolved : that Odium and bitter persecution
must b e aroused : and rights guarantied by God
must b e trodden under foot
Take o ff take O ff I
beseech you , the veil o f prej udice and look at the m
once more
They have been ho oted at as a mere theory ;
they have been derided as chimerical ; and their a d
v oc a t es have b een subj ected to Obloquy a n d con
tempt as a mere insignificant fraction of the civili
z ed world ; a n d the very idea o f discussing them
treated with scorn
on e
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That these views are true I need not now at
tempt to prove It is enough that th ey are n o t t o o
p alpably absurd to b e discussed And who dare s
make such an assertion of views like these Views
which are not a mere theory ; but originate fro m
the very n ature O f the human mind and from t h e
i mmutable relations Of man to Go d No t a chime
r ic al untried
visionary plan o f reformatio n ; but
t h e re s u lt Of the experience o f the civili zed world
for the last fifty years ; which have all been tested
by facts ; ln favor o f which all facts testify with
u n ited v oic e
The advo
n o t o n e against them
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A LT O N R I O T S
1 19
.
ates of which , though here a despised minority ,
are not a small party among t h e wise and good Of
the age ; but are the vast maj ority in t h e civilized
world Vie w s which have not b een brought up
o u t Of time and place , and against the current o f
the age ; but by the great mo vements of the human
mind , and the irresistible course of the provi
dence O f God Views , to o , o n which our own in
s t it u t io n s are founded
Now what we ask is , not that any be comp elled
to b elieve these Op inions ; but that the mere fact of
believing and exhibiting them be n o t stigmatiz ed as
fanatical incendiary , treasonable and deserving
Is it p os
o f nothing but mobs outrage and death
sible that in a country professing to b e free ;
where the p eople make all the laws and can o f
course rep eal them ; and whe re in every constitutio n
the idea of change is not only held out but the mode
o f making it prescribed , we are to b e told that all
these invitations to free inquiry are so much solemn
mockery
That the character Of these laws no
man must investigate although they may in v olve
principles which have aroused the attention of the
civiliz ed world ; and though the subj ec t is urge d o n
us by the providence of God ; and an imperious sense
o f duty
It is said these views are incendiary And
is this charge to b e admitted without discussion ,
or proof ? We deny it : and a ffi rm that they are
alu t ar
And we
y and tend to safety and peace
stand ready to give the proof
It is said, we have no concern in the syste m
A n d is this the m ere zp s e d ixzt of an intere s ted p ar
c
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ALT ON RIOTS
1 20
.
a mob , to settle s o grave a poin t witho ut
?
rgument
dispute
We deny it It afl ec t s n o t
o
r
a
only the community where it is ; b ut the whole
u n ion and the civiliz ed world : and it exposes t h e
whole nation to the wrath o f God Even &e ffe rson ,
who was no fanatic, said :
I tremble for my
”
country when I rememb er that God is j ust
But it is said you will produce excitement : what
then ? D id not Christ produce excitement ? Did
he not kindle a fire on earth ? The question is not ,
Will men be excited b ut , Ha v e they any right t o
be
But it is said you will outr age public sentime n t
What then ? D id not Christ do the same
Wh at
if public sentimen t is wrong and Opp osed to Go d :
are we to hold b ack the truth lest it be outraged ?
The fact is there is b u t one possible ground
adheren c e to God and the immutable principles o f
right A n d if any man , or any commun ity is of
fended at this the fault is their o wn This course
is wisdom This course is prudence
As to the main qu estion then there is no doubt :
we have the right to discuss this subj ect ; the gre at
movements of the age demand it ; and wisdom and
prudence enforce the command
ty,
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ALTON
1 22
R
IOTS
.
Because he dared to remonstrate against the law
less proceedings O f a mob , who burnt alive a fello w
man without trial judge o r j ury Because he
indignantly rebuked t h e an archical d octrines Of a
lawless j udge who declared the power o f the mob
to be above the power o f the law And because ,
though no abolitionist he dared even to maintain
that slavery was a great mor a l evil , and ought as
soon as possible to b e removed
He came to this state his paper was re establish
ed , and he at first suppo s ed that he would not b e
called on to oppose slavery as he had and so said
but made no pledge to b e silent ; nay expressly
stated that he would not b e bound
At length by the progress of his own mind and
o f events he is convinced t h at it is his duty t o speak ,
an d he does it
Again many in the state wish to
organiz e themselves into a society for discussio n
and for moral influence and consu lt h im H e for
a time puts them O ff and at last in compliance
with their w ishes proposes the inquiry — Is it
b est so to organize ? and asks for the Opinions o f
friends
And here violence begins He is first falsely ac
c u s e d Of violating a pledge and then to ld that it is
the will O f a maj ority that he forbear to print An
editor o f a neighboring city in a slave state app lauds
the spirit of the meeting tells them that Mr Love
0 11 th at or any oth e r
oy
has
forfeited
all
claims
j
”
community exhorts them to ej ect from a mong
them th at minister of mischief the O bserver o r t o
”
and threatens them with the los s
c o rrect its course ;
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ALT O N RI O TS
1 23
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put a stop to the efforts o f
o f trade unless they
”
these fanatics or expel them from their community
In the m eeting no charges are made o f an impru
dent use O f la n guage or Of a bad spirit The sim
ple head and front o f his O ffending is that he holds
certain Opinions which the maj ority o f the c ommu
nity do not like ; and which they proclaim to be
s ubversive Of the interests Of the place &
And is a freeman to submit to such atrocio u s ty
ranny as this
Are the rights o f conscience noth
ing ? Is duty to God nothing
Are sacred char
Is a foreign editor with
te r e d privileges nothing ?
o u t trial j udge o r j ury to proclaim a citizen of our
s t ate an outlaw
to say that all the bonds which
once bound him to civil society are dissolved and
to point him out to the mob as deserving O f nothing
but wrath unless he will at their dictation resign the
dearest rights Of the human so u l ? Is there n o
Go d ? A re th e r e no i m muta b le principles of right ?
Is there no law, no j ustice no fear Of God
Have
w e n o rul er but the demon o f anarchy ; and n o
Lord but that bloody , thousand headed , murderous
tyrant t h e mob ?
Had it been under Nero Mr Lovej oy might rea
That bloody tyrant made no
so n ably have fled
pretensions to reason or to the fear o f God But
has a christ i an n ation sunk so low that in the midst
Of laws charters and most sacred gu aranties made
for th e exp ress purpose of defending the rights o f
speech ; and to b e maintained and administered by
christian men ; they will re quire a citizen at the bid
din g Of an infuriate mo b , to sacrifice conscienc e,
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AL T O N RI OTS
1 24
.
b andon every right and seek for safety in in glori
And yet be cause Mr Lovej oy refused
o u s fl ight ?
a
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,
do this he is stigmatized as stubborn dog matical ,
rash and i mprudent : an d we are gravely to ld tha t
h e deserve s no sympathy ; and that on h im the gu ilt
Of those atrocious deeds must rest , which h ave in
fi xed so indelible a stain o n the American n ame &
If indeed it is so , it is time for us to know it and
c eas e o u r boasti n gs o f freedom and equal righ ts
Even the inquisition itself was never guilty o f deeds
It gave to its miserable victims at
s o atrocious
Nor did it
least the forms Of justice and a trial
But
e ver claim the p ower Of risi n g superior to law
m a christian land eve n the show Of j ustice is laid
a man guilty o f n o
as ide ; and an innocent man
c rime or misdemeanor a man who had done noth
in g to justify even the leas t excitement ; is stripped
a t a blow o f every right ; all ties that bind him t o
—
community
are
cut
and that solely because h e
e
th
will not bow the knee t o the irresponsible censor
s hip o f a p ro fl ig a t e mob
Had Mr Lovej oy been intemperate in his u s e of
language it would n o t have furn ished the slightes t
But he was not
e xcuse for such proceedings
At the time O f
E ven this p oor pretext is wanting
the meeting it was not even claimed I know it h as
s ince been got up by some e a stern editors w h o in
all prob ability never read his paper But it will n o t
do
His exposition of views put forth to meet this
c risis is marked by nothing so much as a ca lm tern
I t indicates t h e
p erate kind and dignified style
s p irit o f a man unwilling to
rovo
e
and
a
o
u
n
x
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k
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ALTON RI OTS
1 26
.
s of Alton , the d angers Of division amo n g go o d
men ; and intreated them to unite , n ot in forming an
but in a friendly discussion :
a nti slavery society
a n d pointed o u t a way in which w ithout any com
mittal they might modify the course Of their breth
ren and avoid a mob And when they approved
these views I made the res u lt public , and invited
the friends o f u n ity among the good and o f free in
quiry t o attend the approaching meeting And
what more could be done
Now in this very critical aspect O f affairs ; after
on e mob had taken place and when another was
threatened , it did seem to me that it w ould be cruel
in the extreme directly or indirectly to add fuel to
the fire which I was striving to quench Public Odi
um was already b u rning fearfully against a small
a n d hated minority ; an d how could any one take
this very hour to add fresh intensity to the flame
I V h y not at least let the trial b e made unimpeded
b y new acce ssio n s of Odium and hostility
And now , although I am willing to acquit th e
leaders o f the coloniz ation society o f all deliberate
malignity of purpose ; and though the maj ority o f
t hose who j oi n ed it I am sure did n o t anticipate its
results ; yet no charity require s me to forbear to
n arrate what was actually done or to delineate its
e ffects
In the first place it seemed to b e go t up expressly
t o defeat the convention
In the second place it held o u t fully an d promin
ently the idea that n o p lan o f proceeding was ra
t ion al or sa fe , but the one proposed by itsel f
z en
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A L T ON mor e
1 27
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Again : it passed a reso lution designed to Operate
d irectly against the convention about to be held ,
and adapted to render it odious by ins i nuations and
in u e n d o e s ; as if it were to be composed Of men
who were accustomed to use unchristian and ab u
sive epithets against the slaveholding community,
and to assume that they were t h e only friends of
the slave o r o f his emancipation
Again : the same clergyman and ed itor by who m
this resolution was introduced in his account Of the
meeting takes it for granted that the meeting of the
coloniz ation society has rendered abortive all th e
plans of the friends of the convention and remarks
concerning them
Doubtless a very few restles s
spirits will be dis a ppointed vexed , mortified and
”
ma y struggle for a time to enj oy n otoriety
Now
a ll this a s individuals we could easily b ear
It is
lit le to b e called restless spirits ; disappointed vex
ed , morti fied and striving for a brief notoriety
Though even if we had been such and had been
defeated too it i s worthy n either o f a man n o r a
christian much less of a mim s t e r o f Christ thus t o
e xult over o u r anticip ated fall
But in this light I do no t view 1t I regard n o t
at all its i n fluence on personal feeling ; but its mani
fest te n dencies at once to defeat all plans of concili
ation o r u nion and all e fl b rt s to allay excitement
o r to tranquillize the public mind ; and to arouse t o
new inte n sity the fury o f the mob
O f who m was such la n guage used ? O f men O b
s t in a t e a n d perverse
d espising u nion and intent
s olely on arousing and in fl a m in g the public m i nd ?
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A LTON mor e
1 28
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N o : but Of men wh o had gone t o the
u ttermost
limit o f concession and whose only deman d was
t hat they should n o t be compelled to give up eve ry
plan without deliberation o r discussion —at t h e b id
ding o f a mob Could not the editor o f a religious
paper a professe d minister o f Christ , fi n d any kinder
language than this for such men ? A n d could h e
calmly devise measures and plan s , t h e only ten
d en c y o f which was to shut them o u t from th e
s ympat h y o f the goo d and expose them to the fury
o f the mob
And if such lan guage ought ever t o
be used was this the time and the place ? Well
d o I remember the emotions which filled my heart
as first this language met my eye It came at that
very crisis when first I felt that it was fearfully
probable that we were so on to be called to wrestle
with the fury o f a mob And he who has never
been called to p ass through such a scene can never
know what it is to b e thus assailed in such an ho u r
by a professed minister Of his S avior and his God
I am willing to make all p ossible allowances
N or will I say that these good men w is h e d t o e xc it e a
mob B u t I must s ay t h at if they h ad wished it they
could n o t have used means more ad apted to produce
the result And if they did n o t see the dir ect ten
d en c y of measures like these some stra n ge delusion
had blinded their eyes
At all events the results were sure The m aj ority
Of good men stood a lo o f a n d left the convention a
mark for its foes Wh at frie n ds o f free i nqu i ry c a me
in ; the spirit they displayed , an d the course which
they p ursu ed , we have seen How all discu ssion was
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ALT ON RI O TS
1 30
Go d
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permit o r to die ; that the real n ature Of th e
malignant influences now at w ork migh t be fully
And
d isclosed and the nation at last be aroused
after solemn deliberation and much consultation
and prayer he took his ground to remain
But it was o f n o use to re main without a pres s ;
an d ruin to import presses and not defend them
F or there was a moral certainty that presses t o any
number w ould b e destroyed if n o e ffort was made
t o protect them
And how could this b e d one ?
&V as it n o t by endeavoring to arouse the citizens to
s ustain the laws ?
Had all been aroused to t h e
e ffort ou r end would have been at once secure d
But all were not ; a part were willing to act and a
part were n o t S till the law and civil power we re
n o t turned agai n st us : Under them we could act
Can we
A n d the question was twofold
1
2 If we fail
w ith this forc e maintain our g round
what will be the result
As t o the first they
If n o t it would arouse the na
t hought they could
N o w all
t ion an d test the principles o f the case
t hat w a s done w a s the carryi n g out O f this plan :
an d if you find fault with the executio n , you fi n d
fault wi th the plan
It is o bj ected to on these ground s
1 That all d e fense Of law by arms is wrong
2 That the d efense was part o f a system of e f
forts to propagate the truth : and was therefore pro
a g at in g the truth by carnal weap ons
p
3 That a clergyman a ided to make it
As to the first 1 c an only say that so long as
man is in the body , physical force m u st b e us ed t o
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ALTON RIOTS
13 1
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ecure moral results God always has used it , and
always will And all physical laws causing death
if they are violated are laws made by God : and
sanctioned by the penalty o f death to secure their
observance And it is the fear O f this penalty that
deters men from their violation That in the gosp e l
he has authorized the maintenan ce o f law by the
sword an instru ment o f death ; and that no laws
not sustained b y this ultimate resort can have any
b indi n g po wer
”
N o r is it rendering evil for evil in the sense
forbidden by Christ to punish with death the man
who aims to prostrate human law any more than it
”
is rendering evil for evil for God to punish a sin
ner for violati n g the laws O f the universe
Nor is
it true that no punishments are right but those
which seek the sinner s good D oes God punish sin
ners forever for their own good ; o r to set them forth
as an example suffering the vengeance O f eternal
”
fi re as he a ffi rms
The main design of punishment Obviously is to
deter from tra n sgression The certaint y Of an ulti
mate a pp eal to force is all that gives law any ter
rors to the wicked
The good may b e a law unto
themselves ; but as we are told by Paul the la w
is not made for such but for murderers and thieves
and all who can be restrained by no higher motive
than fear In Alton all such fear had been nearly
taken away Had it been restored ; had the con
v ic t io n b een deeply fixe d that the large mass of the
community would sustain the law by force ; a
s mall band o f wicked men wo u ld ne v er have d ar
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ALTON RIOTS
1 32
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to mak e the a ttack It wa s the report Of th e
c ommittee , and the resolutions O f the meeting of
c itizens which took this fear away and embolden ed
the wicked in their deeds Of violence and b lood
As to the fact that the defense w as o f a press
a part o f a system o f mean s fo r diffusing truth —it
may be replied that in all well organiz e d christian
c ommu nities this principle is involved : and all ar
g u men ts against it are deduced from a considera
tion Of expediency o r duty under an entirely di ffer
ent state O f society F or example : An itinerant
missionary lik e the a postles und er the p ersecuting
R oman power , might b e u n der obligations not t o
u se force but to flee fro m city to city when perse
cuted F orce could do n o good : it was h opeles s
against the p ower o f an empire But fo r a man so
situated it was best to have n o wife nor house n o r
printing press nor any other ties to fasten him t o
any spot
Again : An itineran t in a nominally
christian community , yet a comm u nity thoroughly
degraded and corrupt and refusing to enforce la w
might b e under Obligation t o pursue the same
c ourse ; because force would b e useless ; and he
could do nothing b u t fl e e from plac e t o place , and
reach
as
he
went
p
B u t suppose now a minister is settled in a regular,
well organized Christian community the vast ma
o f Christianity
which
are
decided
friends
O
f
or
i
t
y
j
and supporters Of law N o w if fifty or a hundred
men o u t Of thousands e xcited to rage b y some n u
wholesome truth , attempt t o tear down his meeting
is n o resistance to b e mad e ? O r , if his
h o u se , —
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A L T O N m or e
1 34
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What matter s it whether the necessity of using the m
occurs every day o r not , if it is known that they
will be used whenever needed ? The fact is that
protecting a man when he is preaching is not pro
a at in
p g
g truth by carnal we ap ons : it only enable s
him to state the truth in safety It comp els no o n e
to believe him S o , defending a press o r an editor
only enables him to print in safety : it compels no
o n e to read , or to believe
D id we attempt to c om
p el men to believe at the po int Of the b ayonet that
would b e using carnal weap ons to prop agate truth
But who has done this
N ow , that all printing presses are under the pro
t e c tion o f law , has b een heretofore considered the
settled order o f things in this state Hence it was
not a duty t o leave Alton until it was settled that
this is not the fact there And w e resolve d to do
all in o u r p ower to prevent this result from b eing
established But if w e failed , we intended s o to
fail that the atrocity o f such a state O f things should
b e clearly seen We did not mean to give room to
the inhab itants of Alton thereafter when writhing
under the lashings of public sentiment for having
d riv e n away a free press , and smothered fre e dis
c u ss io n to say to us & & o u have stained the charac
ter Of the city by your premature flight : the threats
Of an insignificant band o f ru flia n s frighted y ou :
”
if you had staid w e would have protected you
We did not mean to slip o ff and go to another spot
and have the same scenes acted over This would
but have extended the sphere of corruption and en
list ed m o r e and more on t h e side of anarchy Th e
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ALTON RIOTS
1 35
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only true policy was to test the question there ; and
s ee if the law would give way ; and if so then to
s ee if there is in o u r land moral energy enough t o
react We looked upon it as a test question for ou r
whole land : and so indeed if was D eadly in fl u
en c es were at work ; anarchical princi les were eat
p
ing out the very life O f the body politic ; and yet the
nation was asleep : and nothing b ut an earth quake
s hock could arouse her to life
N o w grant ing the soundness o f thes e views ;
and that they are sound who can deny —what was ,
in few words , the great end o f ou r enterpris e ? It
w as either by victory to restore law to its p ower ;
o r by death to disclos e the astound ing fact that i n
o n e p ortion o f o u r land the reign of law was over,
and that O f anarchy had b egun In fu l l faith that
G od would use this event to arouse and to save the
nation slumb ering o n the brink o f rui n and thu s
produce the e ffect o f which the National I n t elligen
It would be some consolation to
c e r j ustly says :
h umani ty if w e could safely count upon the e ffect s
thus anticip ated that the time had now c Ome whe n
the maj esty of the laws is to b e asserted ; and when
men may travel sp eak and write in th e United
S tates without coming under other surve illanc e than
”
that legally provided ; we took our stand
No w if the result is , through the blessi n g o f God
the final restoration o f a sound public sentiment on
th e great scale law will reign again , even in Alton ;
According to
a n d no more force will b e needed
t h ese views a sound public sentiment in the maj or
ity is essential to make the exercise of force u seful
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ALTON RIOTS
136
.
r estrainin g a v icio u s an d disorderly minority
But wh en th e maj ority is u nsound , law c an n o lon
ger b e s u s tain ed : and to u se force o n the small scale
is vain , if in the body p olitic as a w hole , ther e is
no restorative p ower I n such a case I would mak e
n o e ffort at defense ; but after the e xample of t h e
ap ostles flee before the storm
It was not , then a contest fo r a b olition but for
law and human society against anarchy and mis
r ule
Now if Br Lovej oy was w illing in s uch a
contest to die ; if w ith enlarged and far reachin g
v iews he had calculated all these results—and that
h e had I wel l know —was it recklessness was it O b
s t in ac y that urged him o n , o r a noble devotedne s s
?
t o the cause o f God and man
in
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But h e was a clergyman it is said SO inde e d
h e was But he was a citiz en none the less for that :
and as a citiz en he had rights and duties to o And
is it at this late day to b e laid down as a rule , tha t
fo r doing his duty in defending his rights as a citi
z e n he is to forfeit his character as a minister o f
C hrist
But it is said , he di ed w ith murderous weap on s
i n h is hands and with the blood o f a fellow b e ing
The whole is false He died in defens e
o n them
and with
o f j ustice , and o f the law , and o f right
the instrument of j ustice in his hands Is it so in
deed
When the r uler by the command o f God
b ears the sword has he a murderous weapon in his
hand
And if he executes a criminal is the blood
Who are th ey
of a fellow c reat u r e on his hand s ?
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AL T O N RI O T S
138
.
e de fended b y
o
v
rnments
o
u
ght
to
exist
and
to
b
e
,
g
t h e s word ; and ma intain the rights o f s elf defense ;
a n d they actually go s o far as to red u ce their prin
c ip les to practice : and all at o nce , smit with p iou s
horror , they start b a ck at th e tragedy , and talk Of
murderous weap ons and the b lood o f a fellow man &
C onsistent men & Well may we say o f such , wh e r e
u nto shall I liken the men o f this generation
The fact is , that the prej udices o f some against
certain Opi n ions are so inveterate as to blind them
And such is their z eal
e ven to the simplest truths
to censure the defenders o f a hated cause , that t hey
nu
our
upon
them
volley
after
volley
as
if
utterly
,
p
c onscious that t o reach them they must first batte r
d own every intrenchment o f their own
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C HAPTE R VI
.
B UT
it is said the maj ority Of the citi zens of Alton
d id not w ish t h e press located there What then ? Hav e
a maj ority a right to drive out a minority if they
happen in the e xercise Of inalienable rights t o d o
w h at they do not like : a n d if they will not go ,
murder them ? And is it every editor s duty t o
give up all his c i vil rights at the vo ice o f the ma
o
r it y and flee
j
But this is not all It is n ot a mere question of
an editor s rights All p arties in the state have a
right to the advantages o f prominent c ommercial
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ALT ON mor e
1 39
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o f c o mmu n ic a
oints
If
any
place
is
in
a
center
p
tion , like Alton it is the best location for a paper :
an d any set o f men in the state have a right , if they
wish to establish a paper there Had it b een a
p olitical p ap er in which citizens all over the stat e
were interested what would have been said O f an
e ffort to drive it away because the maj ority Of A l
ton were opposed to its views
But it is said & that it was inj urious to t h e inter
ests of the place to have it there This allegation is
both fals e and absurd If its views were false it
was easy to answer them ; but if true , can it b e in
j urions to know the truth ? It is said it would
i njure the character and trade Of the place
Is it
then inj urious to any place to b e known as the de
cided friend of fre e i n quiry and the fearless p rot e c
t o r o f the rights o f speech ?
Even if it had caused
a loss of dollars an d cents ; is money the chief g O Od
and the loss of it the greatest Of all evils Is not an
elevated character for morality intelligence goo d
order and religion worth more than untold sums Of
?
silver an d gold
But how delusive the ide a that
such a character could inj ure the commercial inter
e sts O f Alton N O & it was b ecause I loved Alton ,
and could n o t bear to see her fair fame blasted that
I exerted myself to secure the restoration Of law to
the last To have left Alton at the b idding of a
mob could never have restored her lost character
This nothing but the entire restoration and in fl ex
ible maintenance o f the law could do
But it is said your e fforts o n ly made the matter
S O , t oo , the efforts o f Christ d id but ma ke
worse
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AL T O N RI O T S
1 40
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the las t state o f the &ews worse than the first : b u t
general principles and a reg ard to the great whole
urged him on S O , too , we felt that it was a ques
tion O f pr i nciples ; and the voice of the nation was
with us and a regard to the general good urged us
on
Besides : who could know that our e fforts
w ould be vain ? We believed and on what seemed
to u s satisfactory grounds , that they would not
b e vain Moreove r such a thing had never hap
p ened in o u r nation as an entire prostration O f
the right o f free discussion by a mob : and we did
not , an d could not believe that it would take place
there We acted according to the evidence we had ;
a n d who could demand any thing more
Duties are
ours —results b elo n g to God
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O n whom then do es the guilt
these t ran s ac
tions fall
F irst on the guilty agents : and next on
all who excited instigated or counten anced them in
their deeds All who have aided to stigmatiz e with
unj ust reproach an innocent meritorious and s u ffer
ing p ortion of their fello w citiz ens Pro fl ig a t e edi
tors at the east and at the west have a l a rge ac
count to render to God for these blo ody deeds All
profess edly religious men who h ave by renderin g
their fellow citiz ens odious in th e eyes O f an infuri
ated mob sti mulated their hatre d and urged them
All who have refused to fear God more than
on
man ; and who through fear O f popular odium
have failed to oppose and rebuke the workers of
iniquity All who have allo we d their prej udices
against unpopular sentim ents to r ender them trait
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14 2
L TON
R
IOTS
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his letter are entirely unlik e any thing I e v er s aw
in Br Lovej oy , then or at any other
That he was a man of strong feelings I know ,
but I never saw him when he did not hav e them
u nder complete control And I have known him
intimately in the scenes Of his deepest trial
I
Louis ; an d
s aw him during his troubles in S t
spent some days in his fami l y And durin g his
p ersecutions in this state I h ave been with him in
circumstances which put every grace of the chris
And the uniform re
t ian character to the proof
s ult has b een that his trials have b u t rendered his
christian spirit the more apparent Never did I
h ear him , even in his most un guarded hours utter
And
an angry , an imp at ient , a vindictive word
if, as some have said this was his natural temper,
n ever have I seen such a temper so thoroughly
chastened and controlled by the spirit of God I
h ave argued with him for hours and heard him ar
g u e with others o n subj ects in which he felt deep
and intense interest ; and yet I never knew him to
lose the mastery of his spirit All was kind and cal m
Indeed from the time o f the commencement O f his
tr ials at S t Louis until his death , he seemed to
take a new stand as a devoted and spiritual chris
tian ; and daily to grow in grace and in the know
ledge of ou r Lord and S avior &esus Chri st Espe
c ially was this true towards the close o f his life
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ao
n
o a
an o
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n
S i c e th e b ve was writ te , th e writer of t hat l etter h as s pon t a
whic h at
ce ex er tes
to th e pu b l ic
n eou s ly g ive
exp l n ti
which
hims el f fr m ll j u s t c e s u r e, an d d es tr ys th e f u d ti
c ert i e dit rs have erected their b a tteries ag ai s t the repu tati of Mr
n
an
a a on
o
on
on a
o n a on on
n
on
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ALTON
RIOTs.
143
the days which h e Spent at my h ous e a fe w
weeks before his death , w e we re all s truck with h is
uncommonly mild , gentle , tender and lovely fr am e
In the delib erations held at that time
o f mind
the same traits strikingly appe ared
D uring
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H e has b een charged with obstinacy That he
was firm I grant ; but it was the firmness Of princi
ple and not of passion or o f will I have had occa ~
sion to try to mo dify his plans ; and never did I find
a man more Op en to conviction or influenc e H e
truly and ardently loved the cause O f God and de
sire d the unity O f his people ; and all appeals derived
from this quarter found in his mind a ready resp onse
By such app eals his whole soul was swayed But
that he was not easily moved by motive s O f a lower
order to deviate from the decisions Of duty I readily
a dm it He w as a single hearted man He live d
solely for God an d the pu blic good And hence
that which is terri fi c t Q groveling minds had no
p ower over his He did not live for honor o r for
gold nor for the pleasures of life Hence he re
garded without fear the threats of shame and loss
and death with which his enemies sought to shake
the purpose O f his soul
S uch loftiness o f character they could not under
stand : to them it was dogged stubbornness But
he was content to walk in the step s O f him & who
for the j oy set before him endured the cross de
s p is in
g the shame and is now set down at the right
”
hand of the throne of God
His s ocial a ffections wer e strong and tender
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ALT ON RIO TS
144
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Never did I know a man who had so keen a re l ish
His inexpressible love for
for the j oys o f home
his s on , now an orphan , I shall never forget It
s eemed to Op en a channel for the full tide o f a
father s emotions , quickened p erhaps even then by
the thought that s oon he might b e deprived of a
father s care
H is intellectual character is b est learned from h is
works As a writer he was clear vigorous and pre
cise in the maintenance o f the great principles o f
right : and in the exp osure of error o r the rebuke
Of vice he spoke with tremendous p ower Whilst
a p olitical editor in Missouri he had no sup erior ;
a n d even his enemies p aid an involuntary tribute to
h is intellectual p ower
His mind whilst editor o f the O bserver , as has
already been remarked p assed through a revolution
Of sentiment on a gre at moral question and this o f
n ecessity caused the subj ect to b ecome o n e of in
tense interest to him H o w could it b e otherwise
e sp ecially as he was made to p ay the p enalty for
dari n g to think as a man and a Christian every step
that he took But his mind was not the subj ect Of
morbid excitement He did not lose his inte rest in
all other truth ; though , as was natural he laid out
the largest share of his energy where most needed
In Speech and in writing he w a s perfectly frank
H e used no concealment or reserve In certain
states o f society o r certain employments this wo u ld
b e recogniz ed by all as an excellency But he was
Hence it
a moral censor and a reprover Of vice
caused him to be feared And yet he ne v er spoke
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ALTON RIOTS
14 6
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ason , as it seems to me is this ; a division among
ood
men
o
n
a
q
u
estion
adapted
to
test
the
power
g
Of o u r institutions to the uttermost It is not b e
cause Our institutions have not great p ower —power
e nough to resist almos t any common assault
But
the p ower by which they are now assailed is no
c ommon p ower
It is o n e Of fe arful and tremeu
dous energy And as if this were not e n ough at
the very hour when the united energies of all the ir
friends are needed to sustain them ; there is a por
t en t o u s division among the b est p ortions o f the
c ommunity
Those who o n all great moral ques
tions have b een wont to stand shoulder to shoulder
and good men
are now found in Opposing ranks
s peak Of good men with a bitterness and contempt
t hat tends to ruin their influence and utterly to neu
t raliz e their moral power over the intellect and c o n
Let us loo k at the facts
s cience O f the community
o f the case
The convictions of our community as it regards
t h e right o f free inquiry are dee p and general
In
And it
n othing as a nation have w e gloried more
would have seemed an utter impossib ility a few
ears
ago
that
any
one
even
the
most
degraded
,
y
should think of calling in question this right And
had any foreigner hinted that the time would come
w h e n in any p art o f this nation a great mo ra l
question could not b e fearlessly discussed much
more that th e free range o f the intellect was to b e
limited and the ton gue to b e palsied by the terrors
o f death , h e would have b ee n spurned from ou r
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ALTON RIOTS
1 47
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shores as a b ase slanderer of the land o f the fre e
”
and the home o f the brave
Alas it is no w n o dream of the imagination : it
is n o slander o f a foreign to n gue It is but t o o
faithful a record o f the present and the past chron
ic le d o n th e undying scroll of history in letters o f
crimson gore The vo ice o f blood that goes up
to he aven from the grave o f th e murdered Lovej oy ,
the united clamors o f a guilty nation can never
dro wn
Like the thu nder o f th e Almight y it
arouses th e nations , and proclaims o u r i nf amy fro m
shore to shore
And how has a reverse so astoundin g take n
place in so short a time ? Listen : the record is
brief and s 1 mp le
In th e very foundation o f o u r nation an elemen t
was al lowed to remain that will n o t endure fre e
And the e n lightened public sentiment
discussion
o f the world under t h e guidance o f the spirit of Go d ,
is calling on the nation to lo ok this matter directly
in the face : to view th e system in the light o f eter
nal and immutable truth and all that will not e n
dure this scrutiny at once to remove It dema n ds
nothing but the right fully to discuss th e subj ect ,
an d to present the only true phil o sophical e fficient
and safe remedy for the evil The obj ect is not to
compel but to convince Not to interfere with the
legal rights of any one ; but to induce those wh o
have th e power of legislation to use it aright
No w though this requisition comes in collisio n
w ith interest passion and prejudice of incalculabl e
s trength ;
yet , so d eep is the conviction of o ur
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A LT
148
O N R I O TS
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ation o f the sa credness o f th e rights o f free inqui ry,
s o deeply is this fee ling rooted in the elements o f
her existence , th at if th e intelligent and the good
were but fi rmly united in their purpose to maintain
the right, no power o n earth could overthrow it
And even now if it is overthrown it will b e in the
midst o f tremendous convulsio n s and agonies and
W ailings o f despair as when a n ation dies
But alas for o u r nation at th e very hour when
this discussion arose a cloud of error an d prejudice ,
The
d eep and dense had settled on the la nd
eyes o f the good we re turned entirely away from
those simple princi ples o f truth o n wh ich alone the
p eaceful remedy o f the evil d ep ends to visionary
s chemes o f remedy which gu i de to b ewilder and
lead to betray And when the true principle s were
n o t from the leading head s
roclaimed
they
came
p
o f influence in the land ; and were attended with
And the Christian com
e rrors o r defects o f S pirit
munity instead of receiving the truth o n its own
e vidence and ende avoring by a kind influe n ce t o
remove the errors o r impe rfections ; t o a very great
e xtent treated the whole with ridic ul e , bitternes s
and scorn
If it is said that violent att acks were ma de by
them on a leadin g benevolent society ; I reply it
was not u ntil leading members o f that society had
bitterly attacked t h em ; and the war ev en if c e n s u r
defense The y
able in spirit was but a war o f self—
found themselves and all their plans assailed by a
soc iety embodying a large portion o f the wealth
More
an d intellect o f the Christian com munity
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ALT ON RIOTS
150
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w h en first attacked it was deemed the highest of
fanaticism to say s o —w hen I remember t his 1 am
constrained t o say that man y o f the leading Opp o
n en t s o f the abolitionists hav e mani fested more o f
a bad sp irit than those whom they have op posed ;
and in circumstances admitting far less excuse It
has be en indeed of a di fferent kind , and far less 1i
able to at tract the notice and incur the censure o f a
degenerate age It has been the lofty refined and
contemptuous b a d sp irit o f the maj ority o f the educa
ted , intelligent we althy and chris t ian community ,
who scarcely deemed the fanatical minority whom
they despised as worthy of notice , excep t in so me
exquisitely p olished sneer
But the withering influence o f such a pub lic sen
t imen t o n its h apless victims who doe s not know
If its p ower were e qual to its malignity it would
scathe them like the lightning o f heaven No ele
ment of fanaticism is so pungent as this The re is
more condensed v enom in a few wor d s o f refined
an d p ointed scorn u ttered by some intelligent states
man o r divine than in whole volumes o f vulgar
abuse Nothing is so malignant in its i nfl u ence :
nothing so hard to elude or t o resist
Now , when all thi s withering influence is direc t
ed ag ainst a class o f men wh om a corrupt p ortion
o f th e community are pre disposed to regard with
deadly hatred merely as pious men ; and against
whom the Odium o f a work o f reform which touch
c d t h e very vitals o f the nation , was rolling deep
and stron g ; what earthly p ower can w ithstand the
s hock
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ALTO N RI OTS
No
1 51
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laws no charters no const itutions no sacred
g uaranties of rights can long withstand an attack so
tremendous O n no point were the feelin g s of ou r
nation so deep , so undivided , as on the sacred right
of a free press It was regarded and that justly ,
too as the vital and essential principle of our na
tion s life the very heart from which th e bounding
tides of a nation s life blood flow But aga in st this
has the attack been made and though with death
like struggles o n the part of its brave defenders the
enemies of liberty have won the day The citadel
o f f reedom has b een stormed ; the p alladium of a
nation s safety seiz ed and destroyed ; and the blood
o f one of its n oblest defenders p oured upon the
ground—whilst th e fiends o f hell hel d high carni
val aroun d the gory altar O f the demon of misrule
F And could this guilty triumph have been gained
had it not been for the divisions among the good
Had they been unite d they had a van
N 0 , never
tage ground in th e deep feelin gs of a nation s heart
from which no earthly p ower could have d rive n
them : and it w as not until they divided and turned
their hands a gainst each other that the mournful
co nsummation could b e achieved
It is not because there is less moral power in A l
t o n than in any other place in this state that it has
become the theatre of a tragedy so blo ody
In
truth there was no place w ithin the state which for
its moral worth was more highly regarded : and this
Opinion was j u st And had the good remained
united , this tragedy had never occurred There
was moral p ower enough in Alton , twice tol d , to
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ALTON RIOTS
1 52
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have repressed all outbreak in g violence o f any
But in a large p or
mo b had it but been united
tion of intelligent men , and even professed Chris
tians there was a bitterness against those who were
already the obj ects o f p opular Odium which they
to ok no pains to conceal Yea many of them too k
special pains to make it known And the full
power o f this feeling I had occasion to know
From the moment that insinuations and charge s
tending to fill the public mind with susp icion and
Odium were proclaimed ab ro ad by ministers and
leading men all e fforts to maintain our rights were
vain The w icked felt th a t there was no p ower to
restrain them ; and the tide o f violence b ecame deep
and strong
Nor was it from Alton alone that this deadly
influence o f go od men originated Alton did but
symp athise with a more e xtended circle o f feeling
i n all p arts o f o u r land ; and though I would by n o
means ap ologiz e for the sins o f a n y o f o u r citizens ;
I will say that the result at Alton was but the d e
v elO p m en t o f influences which set in up on her like
a tide from every p ortion o f our land A n d if God
shall put the cup of his wrath into the hand of every
man who deserves to drink it , what multitudes will
b e found in every portion o f our land who may n ot
e scape a fearful retribution
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ALTON RIOTS
1 54
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.
g ood ever so grossly it makes no mobs
Atheism ,
infidelity and lew dn ess may go out with unblush ing
front to corrupt the community ; and no mob is rai s
ed against them : for go od men have too much con
science to raise mobs But the moment a good man
attempts an unpop ul ar refo rmation o f gross abuses
he is mobbed and a large circle o f christ ians say ,
the mob is w rong to b e sure but he deserves no
sympathy he was s o rash and imprudent
And is it the prevailing error of good men to O p
p ose evil t o o b oldly ; and continually to outrage the
sinful feeling s o f an evil world
And is it true
that if christians were united t h e imprudences of
th e few who are over z ealous could do so much to
e xcite mob s and prostrate la w that they could n ot
easily control its influence P And can any thi n g
render mob s so sure as for a large portion o f p ro
fe ss ed christians to censure a z ealous minority of re
formers as the guilty causes o f mobs in the pres
ence o f those wh o are wishing some pretext for
wreaking their vengea n ce on them P The truth is ,
if go od men were united no imprudences o f a small
portion of their n umber cou ld raise a mob It is
o nly when they throw their influence against the
protection o f th at small number , and by the e xh ib i
tion of the ir o wn feelings give intensity to those Of
the mob that all the barriers o f the law give way
What can b e expected but ruin when one portion
o f good men a re so deeply prej u diced against a h
other as to feel that however gre at a c alam ty it is
to have law give way it is a de eper calamity to
maintain it, if it involves th e p rotection of their
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ALTO N RIOTS
1 55
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rights ? Yet this is the solutio n o f man y a mob
It is the solution of the mob at Alton
And what but a wicked state of feeling can give
rise to blindness so a m a z mg ? D id a sense of the
presence of God and holy communion w ith him
e ver give rise to such miserable and sophistical de
God is the God o f law , of j ustice ,
lu s io n s ? No
and of order An d in his sight no cr i me is so hein
o u s as to attempt or connive at the radical prostra
tion of law and right He who stands by the b ody
of a murdered father , will never alleviate the guilt
o f the assassin who shed his blo od by a lisp of a
few unguarded words which provoked the d eed But
in the eye of Go d whe n the law is pro s trated a na
t i on is slain
and he who aims an impious hand at
the sacred rights of a fellow man strikes a b low not
merely at him but at his country s heart And
were not the mind deadened by unholy alienation
o f feeling
and the vision dimmed by the films o f
sinful prej udice , t h e atrocity of the deed would leave
no room for any feelings but those of indignation ,
nor for any words but those o f rebuke
I rep eat it therefore that the prostration of law
is owing wholly to divisions among good men And
if its p ower is fi n ally and forever lost and if a del
uge of anarchy and bloo d shall desolate our land ,
it will b e a p art of the mournful record of the his
toric page that not the abandoned or profane not
th e vile and polluted but the wise and the good de
lu d e d and deceived by S atan t hrew open the fl o o d
gates and let the dreadful deluge in
And shall a consummation so terrific i n gloriously
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ALT ON
1 56
RIOTs
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close ou r brief ca reer ? S hall we as a nation s ub
serve no higher end than to stand forth as a beacon
and a warning to the nations o f the earth , as the
smoke o f our torment, and the voice o f o u r wailings
go up together P
If n o t th e voice o f God must be he ard In tones
of
thunder H e speaks from the silence o f the
g rave
And if this event cannot rouse us t o
thought nothing can We are gone
What then shall b e done 9 Goo d men must
u nite , not on policy or o n compromise but o n the
truth All prej u dice , all passion must b e laid aside ;
and under the sacred guidance o f the spirit o f God ,
we must dig down to the deep and immutable foun
Nothing else accords with
d ations o f eternal truth
the age of the world in which we live , or with the
re ve aled purposes of Almighty Go d
The principles o f individual rights such as grow
o u t o f the nature o f th e human mind are as immu
table and eternal as the throne o f God ; and to b e
united , all christians must adopt them He who
sees these principles knows their truth ; and he c an
not d ivide from Go d and the truth to unite with
those who see them not N o The only b asis o f
lasting u nion is the truth ; and if an y refuse to a d
mit the truth and to coincide with Go d the guilt o f
the division must rest o n them
It is vain here to say that th is age o f the world
needs nothing but the preaching o f the gospe l
Most fully d o I admit th a t nothing is needed but
fully to unfold the princip les o f the gospel and to
But the great
a pply them t o every dep artment o f life
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ALT ON RIO TS
1 58
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is time for those who d esire n o t to be c r ushed
b y the movements of Go d , to arouse them se lves to
prayer and thought The individual right o f free
inquiry and speech is his great instrument for reno
Governments are designed main
v a t in g the world
ly to defend in dividual rights , and the p o wer o f the
magistrate is given him by God ; and as God s min
1 ster it is his duty to act in maintaining law
And
the horrid d octrine which gives to a mere numerical
maj ority , the power against law to trample on indi
vidual right , is hi g h handed rebellion against God
It is high time that all delus ion on this subj ect
should cease and that the right o f free discussion
should b e seen in a higher and holier light than as a
mere p ersonal privilege It is the demand o f God
that man shall b e left free to hear his voice and obey
his will and h e who attempts to stand between
the so ul Of any man and his Maker must expect to
incur the wrath of God God insists upon it that
n o individual , o r community , o r law shall obstruct
the p assage o f his messages from man t o man
It is the deep feeling o f this truth which is the
so u rce of all th e true freedom which this world ever
saw o r enj oyed All true freedom came through
holy men and by such it must b e preserved In our
land through the love of fame , o r p ower , or money
the native energy o f the principle is dying away ,
and a corrupt and tyrann ical public sentiment is
making us slaves The people o f Go d need a fresh
baptism fro m on high They need t o kindle again
the holy flame o f freedom at the altar o f God
The e xi g ency call s fo r no u nh oly spirit o f d efi
It
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ALT ON RI O TS
1 5g
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c e, n o resentment for inj uries and w ron g s , and n o
sp irit o f revenge over the g rave of the dead The
spirit of Lovej oy was that o f for g iving love , and
let no other b e kindled at his grave L et n o resent
ment embitter the nation let all b e kind and ten
der and gentle , and ready t o forgive But let the
strength of holy purpose become daily more intense
for God and for the right to kno w to proclaim and
to do his will —for this to live , and for this if need
b e to die
I am su re that if good men would thus come
near to God , they could n o t long remain d ivided
from each other Prej udices would be renounced
concessions and confessions b e made ; and that n o t
merely on on e side but by all Nor wo u l d the ques
tion be who should concede most for each wo u ld
b e willing to concede all that is wrong in himself,
and to acknowledge all that is right in others If
thus united o u r liberties are sure our nation is safe
We can ask nothing b etter than o u r own institutions
if they can b e maintained in their true sp irit and
u se d for their true ends in the fear of God
And th at we shall b e able to do it I do n o t des
pair There is intel ligence an d co n scie n ce a n d t e
lig io n e n ough to save our nation if they c a n b e
brou g ht into action with united po w er
And I
confi d e in God that it will at last he done that o n e
warning so dreadfu l will b e enough an d that by
timely repentance we shall escape the im p en d ing
j u dgments o f God
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T H E E ND
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