Henry G. Ludlow
Encyclopedia
Henry G. Ludlow was an American minister and abolitionist
, and one of those who worked with the New York Amistad Committee.
He was a divinity student at Yale and then minister of the First Congregational Church in Oswego
. From 1828-1837 he was the minister of the Spring Street Presbyterian Church in the Five Points neighborhood of New York City. That church, and Ludlow's home, were partially demolished in July 1834 in one of several nights of anti-abolitionist rioting prompted in part by rumors that Ludlow had presided over a mixed-race marriage.
His son, the author Fitz Hugh Ludlow
, later wrote: "my father, mother, and sister were driven from their house in New York
by a furious mob. When they came cautiously back, their home was quiet as a fortress the day after it has been blown up. The front-parlor was full of paving-stones; the carpets were cut to pieces; the pictures, the furniture, and the chandelier lay in one common wreck; and the walls were covered with inscriptions of mingled insult and glory. Over the mantel-piece had been charcoaled 'Rascal'; over the pier-table, 'Abolitionist.'"
Henry Ludlow wrote that on another occasion he was "mobbed and egged… in broad day light… in the presence of approving & assenting justices of the peace and other officers of the town…" Fitz Hugh also reports that his father was a "ticket-agency on the Underground Railroad
."
Henry Ludlow's father was a pioneer temperance advocate, according to one source "adopting and advocating its principles before any general and organized effort for them." Henry himself, in one of his few preserved sermons, attacked Great Britain
for "her cruel oppression of her East India subjects, often starving... and forced to cultivate opium
on land they need to supply themselves with bread…" and defended China
"for resisting a traffick which was sapping, by its terrible effects upon her citizens, the very foundation of her empire…"
From “Letter to Martin Van Buren
” 28 November 1839
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
, and one of those who worked with the New York Amistad Committee.
He was a divinity student at Yale and then minister of the First Congregational Church in Oswego
Oswego
Oswego is a word from the Iroquois language, meaning "The Outpouring". The word may refer to:-Place names:In the United States:*Oswego, Illinois, a village in Kendall County*Oswego, Indiana, an unincorporated place in Kosciusko County...
. From 1828-1837 he was the minister of the Spring Street Presbyterian Church in the Five Points neighborhood of New York City. That church, and Ludlow's home, were partially demolished in July 1834 in one of several nights of anti-abolitionist rioting prompted in part by rumors that Ludlow had presided over a mixed-race marriage.
His son, the author Fitz Hugh Ludlow
Fitz Hugh Ludlow
Fitz Hugh Ludlow, sometimes seen as “Fitzhugh Ludlow,” was an American author, journalist, and explorer; best-known for his autobiographical book The Hasheesh Eater ....
, later wrote: "my father, mother, and sister were driven from their house in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
by a furious mob. When they came cautiously back, their home was quiet as a fortress the day after it has been blown up. The front-parlor was full of paving-stones; the carpets were cut to pieces; the pictures, the furniture, and the chandelier lay in one common wreck; and the walls were covered with inscriptions of mingled insult and glory. Over the mantel-piece had been charcoaled 'Rascal'; over the pier-table, 'Abolitionist.'"
Henry Ludlow wrote that on another occasion he was "mobbed and egged… in broad day light… in the presence of approving & assenting justices of the peace and other officers of the town…" Fitz Hugh also reports that his father was a "ticket-agency on the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
."
Henry Ludlow's father was a pioneer temperance advocate, according to one source "adopting and advocating its principles before any general and organized effort for them." Henry himself, in one of his few preserved sermons, attacked Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
for "her cruel oppression of her East India subjects, often starving... and forced to cultivate opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
on land they need to supply themselves with bread…" and defended China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
"for resisting a traffick which was sapping, by its terrible effects upon her citizens, the very foundation of her empire…"
See also
- Grimké sistersGrimké sistersSarah Grimké and Angelina Grimké , known as the Grimké sisters, were 19th-century American Quakers, educators and writers who were early advocates of abolitionism and women's rights....
— they stayed at Ludlow's home in the winter of 1836-1837, and Ludlow promoted their lectures
Quotes
I cannot keep believing that all your sympathies are, irrespective of treaties, on the side of these men, who to secure their inalienable rights, breathed the very spirit and performed the very deeds of the Heroes of '76. May I not say that had God one hour before the deed blanched their skin, and straightened these woolly locks the united world would have applauded them, and our own Countrymen hailed their arrival here as the very men they delighted to honor. But I would ask your Excellency if these aspirations after liberty are more honorable when breathed from the image of God sculptured in ivory than from his image carved in ebony.
From “Letter to Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....
” 28 November 1839