Henry Ward Beecher

Welcome!

Harriet Beecher Stowe, by Granger; www.fineartamerica.com

I have found a new-to-me person in history:

Henry Ward Beecher

He was one of Harriet Beecher Stowe's brothers. They were quite close in fact; Harriet was 2 years older. When he lost his mother at age 3, Harriet stepped in.

"A babe is nothing but a bundle

of possibilities."

- Harry Ward Beecher

So who was this man? Why do I find him interesting?

Here we gooooo........

He caught my eye when I read a couple of his quotes.

I love quotes!

and Henry Ward Beecher has LOTS of quotes!

"A man that does nothing but watch evil,

never will overcome it."

Mr. Beecher was father to 11 children (only 4 lived to maturity), a preacher, 

an orator, an actor, a tireless advocate against slavery and bigotry of any kind, an advocate for Women's Suffrage and Darwin's theory of evolution. He wrote many books and was considered one of the most famous people of the 19th century! 

His church, the Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, was said to be the largest church and congregation in the USA, with a seating capacity of 3000 people.

President Abraham Lincoln was in audience, and remarked "no one in history had so productive a mind."

Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, New York, 1866

Both Walt Whitman and Mark Twain went to see Beecher in the pulpit.

Whew.

"There is no such thing as 

preaching patience

into people,

unless the sermon is so long 

that they have to

practice it

while they hear."

The entire Beecher family had many famous siblings.

There was Harriet Beecher Stowe, as mentioned above.

As a reminder, she was the one who wrote 'Uncle Tom's Cabin'.

www.utc.iath.virginia.edu

Harriet was a strong and unwavering activist against slavery.

In an interview in 1862 (during the Civil War) President Abraham Lincoln is alleged to have said:

"Why Mrs. Stowe, right glad to see you!" 

and then (alleged) he said 

"So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war!" 

While this is probably an 'afterthought' created by the Stowe family after Harriet's death, it does demonstrate the power that Mrs. Stowe had on America at the time of the Civil War.

Her book "Uncle Tom's Cabin" did much to motivate northerners against slavery.

www.rachelenglandart.wordpress.com

Uncle Tom and Little Eva, 1896

advertisement for Rev. Josiah Henson, the 'real' Uncle Tom

The matter of slavery was constantly in the minds of both Harriet and Henry, along with their brothers and sisters.

It was a deep evil that was dividing the new Union. Was it the primary cause of the Civil War? Probably not.

But it did become the catalyst that finished the War.

www.springhillfresh.com

"Wickedness goes to great lengths 

and depths

where it is not checked and restrained

by the free 

and continuous expression

of the indignation

of good men."

- Henry Ward Beecher

an African slave being shackled

credit: Norbert Haupt

Harriet Beecher Stowe was not the only sibling of Henry Ward Beecher's that received national attention and praise.

Both his sister Catharine Beecher and his brother Rev. Thomas K. Beecher were educators.

Charles Beecher and Isabella Beecher Hooker became well-known activists.

The Beecher Family, 1855

Top row, from left:

Thomas K., William, Edward, Charles, Henry Ward

bottom row, from left:

Isabella, Catharine, the senior Lyman Beecher, Mary, Harriet

not pictured: James

For a peek into their family life, we find some interesting things.

1. Rev. Lyman Beecher was a Presbyterian preacher from Boston.

2. The family prayed at the beginning and at the end of each day.

3. They had rigorous church obligations, and were expected to participate in

     -  prayer meetings

      - attend lectures

      - attend other church functions

4. Undue frivolity was strictly forbidden.

5. The family sang hymns daily.

6. The family did not celebrate Christmas, or birthdays.

7. Dancing and theater were strictly forbidden.

Henry Ward Beecher recalled that he had not a single toy throughout his childhood.

Henry Ward Beecher and sister Harriet Beecher Stowe

no date

"Men who stand on any other

foundation

than the rock Christ Jesus

are like birds that build in trees

by the side of rivers.

The bird sings in the branches,

and the river sings below,

but all the while the waters

are undermining

the soil about the roots,

till,

in some unsuspected hour,

the tree falls with a crash into the stream;

and then its nest is sunk,

its home is gone,

and the bird is a wanderer."

Early in the war Beecher pressed President Lincoln to emancipate the slaves through a proclamation. The preacher later went on a speaking tour in England to undermine support for the South by explaining the North's war aims.

a Slave auction house, 1860's

WARNING
Following are photos of slavery,
punishment devices,
and slaves.
These are graphic.
Although accurate, it may be upsetting for some.

usslave.blogspot.com

a 'slave card', used to sell slaves to buyers further away.

 Henry Ward Beecher raised funds during the War to buy weapons for those willing to oppose slavery in Kansas and Nebraska.  Rifles bought with this money became known as "Beecher's Bibles" as they were secretly shipped in boxes marked 'Bibles'.

"It usually takes a hundred years 

to make a law,

and then,

after it has done its work,

it usually takes a hundred years

to get rid of it."

www.americanabolitionist.liberalarts.iupui.edu

 Did you notice that Emily 'has a whining voice'?

Here's another:

www.lib.niu.edu

Did you notice that Henrietta has a 'very sullen countenance', and that her husband was 'quite impertinent' when spoken to?

I don't know.....being in slavery against my wishes, being forcibly separated from my husband, made to do hard labor with no rest and little compensation...

I think I would be sullen and whiny and impertinent too!!!

a slave cabin with 2 slaves

slaves, 1850 - 1860

www.newsone.com

a fauquiere slave cage, or a 'iron strap' cage, Virginia

www.warrenonvirginia.org

These were not one-person containers.

"There is no greater crime 

than to stand between a man 

and his development;

to take any law or institution

and put it around him 

like a collar,

and fasten it there, 

so that as he grows and enlarges,

he presses against it till he suffocates 

and dies."

Wilson Chinn, a branded slave, Louisiana, 1863

exhibiting instruments of torture used to punish slaves.

an iron collar for slaves, circa 1838

to prevent slaves from being able to lie down.

" When our cup runs over,

we let others drink the drops that fall,

but not a drop from within the rim,

and call it charity;

when the crumbs are swept from our table,

we think it generous 

to let the dogs eat them;

as if that were charity

which permits others to have 

what we cannot 

keep."

slave quarters, Anna Kingsley Plantation, Jacksonville, Florida

www.latinamericanstudies.org

This is the photo of a slave named 'Gordon'.

It took several months of bed rest recovery to overcome his beatings from the Fall of 1862.

He escaped in 1863 to a Union encampment at Baton Rouge, LA.

The photograph shows the scars that remained from his beatings.

Here is a photo that shows Gordon entering the Union Camp, March, 1863:

Please notice how his clothes are rags. These were his 'slave' clothes that he ran away in.

"Tears are often the telescope

by which men see far into heaven."

I have more on Henry Ward Beecher, but I'm tired for today.

He was an advocate against the limitation of Chinese immigrants in the 1860s and the 1870s. He was vocal about women's suffrage - the right to vote - and many other social issues of his time.

I hope you have enjoyed this little bit of history about a strong man of God.

See you soon!

inkspired

www.inkspired.etsy.com

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and on pinterest: kkloberdans