On Our American Stories, we often explore the courageous figures who shaped our nation. Today, we’re sharing the remarkable tale of Elijah Lovejoy, a dedicated abolitionist and publisher in 19th-century America. Raised in Maine with a deep faith rooted in the Bible, Lovejoy’s convictions against slavery grew strong. Moving west to Saint Louis, he became an editor, using his platform to speak biblical truths about the brutal realities of human bondage, sparking immediate controversy and putting his life at risk.
As angry mobs threatened his life and destroyed his printing presses, Lovejoy refused to be silenced, asserting his freedom of speech with unwavering resolve. He famously declared, ‘I can die at my post, but I cannot desert it.’ This fearless commitment to his convictions, to the American ideal of a free press, and to the abolition of slavery ultimately led to his tragic death. Elijah Lovejoy became a martyr, his sacrifice reminding us of the enduring power of faith and courage in the ongoing story of American liberty.
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Elijah Lovejoy was born in my wife’s home state of Maine in 1802. 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 119th Psalm, which is the longest chapter in the Bible, along with other passages 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 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 circuit through Missouri, he met Celia 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 22nd, 1833. In his opening editorial, 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 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 16th, 1832, Lovejoy wrote prophetically, ‘While Christians have been slumbering over it, the eye of God has not slumbered, 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.’ Lovejoy’s drumbeat against slavery sparked 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 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 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 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 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, 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 30 miles away to Alton, Illinois. His printing press, 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 17th, 1837, another mob surrounded him, shoved him around, and destroyed his new press. Lovejoy ordered a third one. About 10 p.m. on November 21st, and the light of a full moon, a mob of about 30 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 his house, and one of the rioters shot Lovejoy. 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 in the streets on the way to the cemetery. He was buried on his 35th 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.’
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, Lee Habibe. Here, as we approach our nation’s 250th anniversary, I’d like to remind you 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.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.edu and sign up for their free and terrific online courses.
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