Who is wendell phillips

Wendell Phillips was the epitome of a Prohibition Party reformer! This peerless orator was born in Boston, November 20, He as the eighth child of his parents, who were conspicuous for wealth, refinement, and social position. His father was the first mayor of Boston. Wendell graduated from Harvard, near the head of his class, in , and from the law school three years later, being at once admitted to practice at the Suffolk County bar. With his advantages of wealth, position, and mental ability, he might have aspired to almost any public honor.

But, while yet a very young man, he cast in his lot with the despised Abolitionists, led by William Lloyd Garrison, who was then publishing The Liberator. His maiden speech, as an anti-slavery advocate was delivered in November, , in Faneuil Hall, Boston, at a public meeting called to consider the assassination of Rev.

Elijah Lovejoy. The address was so eloquent and impressive that it moved his audience to thunderous applause. Still, so unpopular was the Abolition cause, he was, even by that speech, ostracized by the aristocracy of New England.

Phillips split with another leading abolitionist, William Lloyd Garrison , who believed the Anti-Slavery Society should be shut down at the end of the Civil War. Phillips believed that the 13th Amendment would not ensure true civil rights for Black Americans, and he continued to crusade for full equality for Black citizens until the end of his life. Wendell Phillips was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on November 29, His father had been a judge and the mayor of Boston.

His family's roots in Massachusetts went back to the landing of Puritan minister George Phillips, who arrived aboard the Arbella with Gov.

John Winthrop in Phillips received the education befitting a Boston patrician, and after graduation from Harvard he attended Harvard's newly opened law school. Known for his intellectual skills and ease with public speaking, not to mention his family's wealth, he seemed destined for an impressive legal career.

And it was generally supposed that Phillips would have a promising future in mainstream politics. In , the year-old Phillips took a profound career detour that began when he rose to speak at a meeting of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. He gave a brief address advocating for the abolition of enslavement, at a time when the abolitionist cause was well outside the mainstream of American life.

An influence on Phillips was the woman he was courting, Ann Terry Greene, whom he married in October She was the daughter of a wealthy Boston merchant, and she had already become involved with the New England abolitionists.

The move away from mainstream law and politics became Phillips' life calling. By the end of the newly married lawyer was essentially a professional abolitionist. His wife, who was chronically ill and lived as an invalid, remained a strong influence on his writings and public speeches. In the s Phillips became one of the most popular speakers of the American Lyceum Movement.

He traveled giving lectures, which were not always on abolitionist subjects. Known for his scholarly pursuits, he also spoke about artistic and cultural subjects. He was also in demand to speak about pressing political topics. Phillips was often mentioned in newspaper reports, and his speeches were famous both for their eloquence and sarcastic wit. He was known to hurl insults at the supporters of enslavement, and even castigated those whom he felt were not sufficiently opposed to it. Phillips' rhetoric was often extreme, but he was following a deliberate strategy.

He wanted to inflame the northern populace to stand up against the South. When Phillips began his campaign of deliberate agitation, the anti-slavery movement was, to some extent stalled. It was too dangerous to send advocates against enslavement into the South.

And a pamphlet campaign , during which abolitionist pamphlets were mailed to southern cities, had been met with fierce opposition the early s. Date of Death:. Place of Burial:. Cemetery Name:. Concluding his speech, Phillips stated, Faneuil Hall has the right, it is her duty to strike the key note for these United States. I am glad for one reason, that remarks such as those to which I have alluded, have been uttered here. The passage of these resolutions in spite of them, will show more clearly, more decisively, the deep indignation with which Boston regards this outrage.

According to Boston city directories, from to Phillips resided at 26 Essex Street and from to he is listed at 50 Essex Street. Albert J. Irving H.

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