771 



WILPF.KNF.SS CAMPAIGN. 



five pa jrcs of the Providence Journal. July, 1S33, and 



llL-aill ill tile ' ilHfl'l l'lll. He Was II delegate III 



the National Ami slavery Convention :it Philadelphia, 

 Dec. 4-fi. 1833. anil us one of the secretaries signed its 

 Declaration of Sattimatt*. An anli slavery 

 was formed at Havi-t hill. April 3. 1SH4. of which ho 

 Was an nifn-rr and doubtless a li-adinv spirit. The un- 

 popularity of the cause did not pnreotUi \ : <: 

 to the legislature in lS3. r >. 1 he same \v:.r li> had 

 several experiences with mobs. Hi- c.in<valed ' 

 Thompson fur two weeks, and soon after, with that 

 KnulMi leader, narrowly escaped ill treatment at Con- 

 curd. Meantime he continued to write jirose and verso, 

 l.irsely mi thissuh ; e.-t II'- spirited at tacks mi the clergy 

 of Southern opinionsandsympathies. as a 1'i.ttoral Let- 

 In- (in tlie Lilirnitor. October, ls:t7). called forth by a 

 Congregational couneil at Brookficld, which tried to 

 (ilenectlielirimke' sisters. Clerical Gtoprmnrt, et&. won 

 the honor of liberal denur.eiation. His I'mms chiefly 

 rrlntin/i to Slavery were published hy Isaac Knapp, of 

 the Lilirrntor. Host. m, ls:js. The poets were generally 

 for frei'duin. but S. .). May with abundant truth 

 called Whittier "our laureate." and testified that 

 "from |s:i-J to ISi'iS his harp of liberty was never hong 

 lip." The effect of these fiery strains in moulding the 

 flow-growing popular sentiment whieh at last swept the 

 land was inestimable. From his lather's death in 

 1832 to 1837 the poet managed the farm, just making 

 ends meet for the family. From May to Mcccmher. 

 lie a pa in edited the Ilaverhill (lavttf. In the 



glimmer of J837 he spent throe nths in New York as 



n secretary of the National Ami -slavt ry SiK-iety. At 

 tin- end of that year he went to Philadelphia to 

 write for the I'rnn/n/laiiiin Fwiiiaii. and was its 

 editor from March 15. 1S3H, to Feb. %\ |s|n. 

 Nearly a third of this time he was at home in 

 husctts, or travelling rbr the soeiety in West 

 crn Pennsylvania. His JtaUath (ISO pp.) were puh- 

 lishcd in Philadelphia by the society, November, 

 1S3S. In May, ls;S. the office of his paper was in 

 the new Pennsylvania Hall, which was promptly 

 Backed and burned by a mob. In May. I SID, he 

 left Philadelphia for Ainosbiiry. Mass., whither his 

 family had removed (partly to bo nearer their meet - 

 ing-house) after selling the farm. Here he lived by 

 his pen, and continued his anti-slavery labors, trav- 

 elling much with II. B. Stanton in the interest of 

 the cause; Wendell Phillips called him ''a superb 

 hand" at lobbying. Isiy* '/'".'/ Home, etc.. appeared 

 in 1843. In IS4-1 be spent six months nt I 

 Mass., writing for the '/'' "nlnril: some of 



these articles were reprinted in Boston as 'Ihe S'l-nn 

 aer in Loicell (ISC,). Tin- Mexican war called din 

 his active opposition. Volres of />,<i/,,,i appeared 

 at Philadelphia in 18-19, and added inu-.-h to his repu- 

 tation. From 1 -;;7 to lsji> he wrote much for the 

 Demticratir /.'"//<.- in this some of his best poems 

 i. ppcarcd. t The Jirulal of I ennncoo!; ( I S44-:>). Tlif, 

 ' nf New England was published in 

 NI-W York and I/ondon in IS IT. 'i he Xntimnil l-'rn was 

 e-tablishe<l at Washington in January. I '-17, and Whit- 

 tii-r was iis assistant and corresponding editor till 

 Septemlicr. Is.V.i. Dmiog these years he contributed 

 tu Its columns more than eighty poems ami 

 quantity of prose, including Oh I nrtrailt <m<l Modern 

 AUbefeMt (eowetad, is.'id). lAimini l^i-irm;,,,^ 



and Mnri/'inl Suiiili's Journal, lfi78-99. a historical 

 novel reprinted in Boston in 1849. and called by Miss 

 Mitford a clever mystification. An illustrated mil c 

 lion of bin poeniH in octavo was brought out is) 1 .) l.y 

 B. B. Mussey ft Co. ; the plates were afterward 

 IxMipht by his later publishers. Ticknor and Fiel Is 

 Xnnift ,,f f.,i/,i,r (lsr>0) were gathered frmn tin- /.' 

 rim- and F.ra. A selection from his poemx was puh- 

 l;-hrd in Lmdon. ls:,'J. by Hoiitlerk'e. Tif Cli'ii"/ 

 nfthf Ilinnitx and .1 S>ilJ,-ith Srrtir appeared in I S.I.'!. 

 'flir f'lilnriiiii'i. . and :i complete edition of 



hi* pocius tu date, 1857. Of Ills more notable shurt 



Imfuxl (nn W( I tir>t printed in the 



/></. May L'. Is.'.O, to < miner) and M'iii,l 



Miillir in l>ecembcr. IS.'i-l l!nt many ol his lyrics 

 ejinimt IK- traced thu. He lire a jiart in t'oiinding 

 '/i/i/. and was one nt' its writers from 

 the start. Of his ll.mr IMlnth, ete. (lr,ii). the I/in- 

 'don Ailiemnim said, "Here i> poetry worth waiting 

 for, and a poet worth listenimr to." Li H'ur Time, 

 i. i-oiitained soiue ot his most fiery deliver- 

 ! ances. X<itii>nn/ I.iirics ( 1st'..'.) was a small volume of 

 selection^ His I 'rose M'or/.-j were Ciilli-eted in two 

 volumes in Isr.t',. \\'ith the abolition of slavery and 

 the restoration of the I'nion, the great cause he bad 

 championed so earnestly was won. and the liuhtcr 

 could lay aside his weapons and turn gladlv to con- 

 genial themes of peace. Alter the tremendous war- 

 son:.'. "We wait beneath the furnace blast," came 

 the triumphant I.ni/x I>m. His muse, always pious, 

 now became eminently sweet and saintlv. jftf I'mlm 



was a forerunner of The Kternul (!<,<i<ln< f f; and 

 Our M-ixtrr (ISl'.7). From the hist several hymi - 

 l>een extracted, to be used and greatly valued both in 

 England and in America; nowhere has the inmost 

 spirit of Christianity been more exquisitely portiayid. 



Sound appeared isr.r,. The Teat on f he Beach. 

 etc. (181)7). records a camping experience with Bayard 

 Taylor nnd J. T. Fields. Several of the lyrics nre 

 among his strongest and loveliest. It was followed by 



tin; I!!//.", ete. (I M,x). Mi'rinm. ete. (IS?!-), Tin 



Irtiuiii lilt/rim, etc. ( I s7'J). M,il,<l Martin (187-1). 

 and fhi~J /Ihixxiiin* (IS7.M : the last includes a li \v 

 poenis by his sister. Elisabeth Ihissey Whittier (1810- 

 04). ()n the poet's seventieth birthday. Hee. 17, 

 IS77, the publishers ot' the At/mi/ii- gave a memorable 

 dinner in his honor: the Literary II <///./ issued a 

 special Whittier number, with tributes in vi r.-e and 

 prose from many eminent writers. Before this a 

 college at Salem. Iowa, had been named from him. 

 I Iis later hooks are Ti f /-.V/iinv/. etc. 



The Kinr,'* M>*xi'rr. ete. (ISSlj. The XHI, ol 

 AAn/./.s- (IS85V and St. (! reborn's (,'nixt. ete. i 

 A complete edition of his Work*, including both poetry 

 and prose, has been supervised by himself (7 vds. , 



89). 



The poet nnd the man nre not easily separable in 

 Whittier. Viee-1'residenr Wilson said on Ills death- 

 In'd. " I believe him the purest man living on earth." 

 Channing paw in him "noble simplicity of character, 

 and the lire and energy of an ancient prophet.' 1 

 AVhipple bore witness in I S4 4 to his " vehement 

 bility, the stormy qualities ,,(' his mind." and " t! 

 of a great jmet." II. T. Tuckcrman in IS.'iL'saw in 

 him "the imaginative fervor of a devotee, both of 

 nature and of humanity," as well as "a prophetic 

 anathema and a hartllike invocation." Vmp 



called him " full of clan and viiror." The-i- 

 great qualities h:\ve their defects. His tusk is m-t 

 always perli-et ; his " fiery protesliii'i spirit " is .Mime 

 times indilTerent ti literary detail and finish. I>iH(ll 

 wrote in IM'I. " If the most fervid of our poets, lie is 

 sometimes hurried away by this very quality into 

 being the tin His rhymes are often fanliy 



lieyond the most provincial license of llurrs." That 

 was in his polemic time, when his loveliest lyri'-s 

 were not yet written. So Fntter'i M-iiin-iiir in IK.Vl 

 pointed out . " his faults, harshness, and want of p"] 

 ish," but raoognind " iiiorn life :;nd spiiit and soul in 

 his verses " than i:i a]>t to IK; found in those of mole 

 patient and elaborate workmen. Mr. Whittier. in ft 

 vreen o'.i a-:e sp M Amexbury and Pativeis, 



enjoys the fruit of his faithful planting, in 

 "love, honor, troops uf t'-, lends." His life 

 a I ready IH'CTI written by W. S. Kennedy (I SSL') and by 

 F. II. 1'nderwo.Ml (issl'i. (K. M. II.) " 



WILDKRNKSS CAMPAIGN, Tmt This title U 



intended to include the >erii s n|' eiiL'.-i'_'emi nts in the 

 Aineiiean ci\il war fou-rht durinir (iratit's overland 

 march to llichmon 1, cmbraeing the battles uf the 



