The First Martyr of the Abolition Movement: Elisha Lovejoy

On this episode of Our American Stories, if you want to know about the history of America, it is imperative that you know the role that the Bible played in shaping our country. Our Founding Fathers—both Christian and non-Christian—were heavily influenced by the Bible. Here to share another story is Robert Morgan, author of 100 Bible Verses That Made America. Today, Robert shares the story of Elisha Lovejoy, a minister, journalist, and outspoken opponent of slavery who used his printing press to speak out against one of the greatest injustices in American history—and paid for it with his life. 

Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habibe and this is our American stories,
the show where America is the star and the American people.
If you want to know about the history of America,
it's imperative that you know the role that the Bible
played in shaping our country. Here to share another story
is Robert Morgan, who is the author of one hundred
Bible verses that made America, defining moments that shaped our

(00:34):
enduring foundation of faith. Let's take a listen.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
Elijah Lovejoy was born in my wife's home state of
Maine in eighteen oh two. His father was a Congregational
pastor and a farmer. Lovejoy began reading his Bible at
the age of four, and while still very young, he
metse the entire one hundred and nineteenth Psalm, which is
the longest chapter in the Bible, along with other passages

(01:08):
in many classic hymns. He later graduated at the top
of his class and decided to move west to Saint Louis.
His parents, concern for his spiritual well being, prayed earnestly
for him, and their prayers were answered when he wrote
home telling them he had experienced a personal relationship with

(01:29):
Christ during a revival meeting He also told them that
he was entering the Presbyterian ministry. He enrolled in Princeton,
and as he grew in his knowledge of scripture, his
convictions about the abolition of slavery deepened. Within a year,
Lovejoy was licensed to preach, and while on a preaching

(01:52):
circuit through Missouri, he met Celia and French and fell
in love with her and married her. Lovejoy confine his
sermons to the pulpit. Returning to Saint Louis, he became
the editor of a weekly Christian publication called the Saint
Louis Observer. The first issue rolled off the press on
November twenty second of eighteen thirty three. In his opening editorial,

(02:16):
Lovejoy wrote that his paper will seek no controversy, and
it will decline none when by so doing it might
compromise the purity of the faith that was once for
all delivered to the Saints. The Observer became a vehicle
for teaching scripture, relating the news of the day, and

(02:36):
interpreting the latter by the former. His editorials were must reading,
and sparks began to fly when he set forth the
biblical facts and the brutal truths about slavery. On April sixteenth,
eighteen thirty two, Lovejoy wrote prophetically, while Christians have been
slumbering over it, the eye of God has not slumbered,

(03:01):
nor has his justice been an indifferent spectator of the scene.
The groans and sighs, and tears and blood of the
poor slave have gone up as a memorial before the
throne of Heaven, and due time they will descend in
awful curses upon this land, unless averted by the speedy
repentance of us all. Love Joy's drumbeat against slavery sparked

(03:29):
an uproar in Saint Louis. Mobs formed, threatening his newspaper
and threatening his life. Officials sought to silence him, demanding
he pass over in silence everything connected to the subject
of slavery. Crowds marched into the street, chanting down with
the observer. Lovejoy was threatened with whipping. He said, I

(03:57):
cannot surrender my principles, though the whole world besides should
vote them down. Asserting his freedom of speech, he fired
off another series of blistering editorials, condemning slavery with all
of its horrors. He compared himself to his namesake in

(04:17):
the Bible, Elijah, who stood before Ahab rebuking his sins,
and who refused to be silenced. He said, I do, therefore,
as an American citizen and a Christian patriot, and in
the name of liberty and law and religion, solemnly protest

(04:37):
against all these attempts, howsoever and by whomsoever made to
frown down the liberty of the press, and forbid the
free expression of opinion. Under a deep sense of my
own obligations to my country and Church and to my God,
I declare it will be my fixed purpose to submit

(04:59):
to no such dictation. Writing to his brother Elijah, Lovejoy said,
men came to me and told me that I could
not walk through the streets of Saint Louis by night
or by day. I was alone in Saint Louis, with
none but God to whom to ask counsel. But thrice,

(05:21):
blessed be his name, he did not forsake me. I
was enabled deliberately and unreservedly to surrender myself to Him.
When it became impossible for Lovejoy to dwell in Saint Louis,
he moved thirty miles away to Alton, Illinois. His printing press,

(05:42):
which was transported by a boat up the Mississippi, was
destroyed by a mob upon its arrival. He ordered another
press from Cincinnati, and the paper resume publishing. On August seventeenth,
eighteen thirty seven, another mob surrounded him, shoved him around,
and destroyed his new press. Love Joy ordered a third one.

(06:07):
About ten pm on November twenty first, and the light
of a full moon, a mob of about thirty men
armed with rocks and pistols left local taverns and began
marching toward Elijah Lovejoy's house. Church bells rang, and by
midnight the whole town had assembled. The mob broke into

(06:28):
his house and one of the rioters shot love Joy.
Three bullets struck his chest, another his stomach, and another
his left arm. His new printing press was destroyed and
thrown into the Mississippi River, and his hearse was hissed

(06:49):
in the streets on the way to the cemetery. He
was buried on his thirty fifth birthday, the first white
martyr in America for the cause of abolition, A fearless
publisher who gave his life for the freedom of the press,
and a preacher of the gospel who once said I
can die at my post, but I cannot desert it.

Speaker 1 (07:14):
And a terrific job on the production, editing and storytelling
by our own Greg Hangler. And a special thanks to
Robert Morgan, the author of one hundred Bible verses that
made America the story of Elijah Lovejoy. Here on our
American Stories plee habib. Here as we approach our nation's
two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, I'd like to remind you

(07:35):
that all the history stories you hear on this show
are brought to you by the great folks at Hillsdale College.
And Hillsdale isn't just a great school for your kids
or grandkids to attend, but for you as well. Go
to Hillsdale dot edu to find out about their terrific
free online courses. Their series on Communism is one of
the finest I've ever seen. Again, go to Hillsdale dot
edu and sign up for their free and terrific online courses.