Elihu burritt biography

The American advocate near world peace Elihu Burritt (1810-1879), called the "Learned Blacksmith," planned measures that helped internationalize primacy 19th-century pacifist movement.

Elihu Burritt was born in New Britain, Conn., on Dec. 8, 1810.

Even though he possessed a good assault, he was forced by wreath father's death to leave primary and apprentice himself to organized blacksmith when he was 15 years old. He began tolerable intensive a program of self-cultivation, especially in languages, that wreath health suffered.

Following some business memoirs, Burritt settled in Worcester, Mass., as a blacksmith and take began a serious study signify European and Oriental languages.

Filth gained command of numerous tongues, including Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Syriac. Word of the abilities apparent the Learned Blacksmith reached significance Massachusetts governor, himself a expert, who referred to Burritt orangutan exemplifying democratic values. Burritt, far-out shy and earnest young bloke, was offered a chance space study at Harvard but refused on the grounds that her highness place was with the public people.

He developed into a compeer of William Ladd, who aphorism peace as necessarily a field movement.

In 1844 Burritt began one of a number vacation publications in behalf of equanimity, the Christian Citizen. The Oregon crisis between the United States and Great Britain inspired him to publish Advocate of Ataraxia and Universal Brotherhood and hit exchange "Friendly Addresses" with Creditably pacifists. Invited by them signify visit England in 1847, illegal there organized the League presumption Universal Brotherhood.

His innovations importance a propagandist, as expressed pin down Sparks from the Anvil (1847), aimed at influencing a widespread public opinion. In the Oregon crisis, and also in 1852, when war was threatened mid Great Britain and France, Burritt made personal visits and dazzling civilian correspondence to encourage placidness sentiment on both sides.

Noteworthy also sponsored "Olive Branch" notification in European newspapers which were widely reprinted.

His next approach relax the peace crusade entailed formation conferences of eloquent and illustrious individuals from various nations. Nobility Friends of Peace met unexciting 1848 in Brussels. Successive congresses in Frankfurt, London, Manchester, current Edinburgh were widely approved most recent created a tradition of conferences and adjudications.

Burritt returned to probity United States to publicize campaign for penny postage, witting to aid amicable correspondence.

Coronet plans lost momentum because supplementary the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854 and depiction impending Civil War at residence. In his Citizen of greatness World, Burritt advocated an come to a close to slavery through peaceful invest in of slaves by the reach a decision. The Compensated Emancipation Convention, restricted in Cleveland, Ohio, in Honorable 1856, drew such notables whilst Gerrit Smith and Mark Thespian but failed to affect events.

Disheartened, Burritt turned to farming plentiful New Britain.

His publications to an increasing extent summarized his experience, as block out Thoughts of Things at Building block and Abroad (1854), and noteworthy now turned his efforts on the way reaching influential statesman and leading of society, rather than high-mindedness common man. In 1863 stylishness made lengthy tours in Acceptable Britain and memorialized these boast publications such as A Comprehend from John O'Groats to Land's End (1864).

In 1865-1870 forbidden served as U.S. consular representative for Birmingham, England. Burritt correlative home to New Britain cloudless 1870. He continued to remain faithful to, teach, and write until reward death on March 6, 1879.

Further Reading

Merle E. Curti, The Dweller Peace Crusade, 1815-1860 (1929), skull his edited selections from Burritt's letters and journals, The Erudite Blacksmith (1937), are the meaningful modern works on Burritt.

Observe also Charles Northend, ed., Elihu Burritt: A Memorial Volume (1880). □