“I Shall Hold Myself at Liberty”

Elijah Lovejoy is the name of an American too rarely named and too seldom remembered. He converted to Christianity as a result of the Second Great Awakening, a revivalistic movement that swept the Deep South and the American frontier. Ordained as a Presbyterian minister, he shortly thereafter became an editor at a St. Louis newspaper.

His editorials, shaped by fiery Protestantism, got him into a little hot water from time to time, his favorite subjects being religion and the dangers of smoking tobacco and hard liquor. But when Lovejoy spoke out against slavery, taking a principled, moral stand a generation before the Civil War, the dabbling in hot water became a leap into the cauldron. 

He was advised by leading men of the city to “moderate his opinions.” He replied, “The cry of the oppressed has entered not only into my ears, but into my soul, so that while I…