Amos Adams Lawrence
Encyclopedia
Amos Adams Lawrence the son of famed philanthropist Amos Lawrence
, was a key figure in the United States
abolition
movement in the years leading up to the Civil War
, and instrumental in the establishment of the University of Kansas
and Lawrence University
in Appleton, Wisconsin
.
and educated at Groton Academy (now Lawrence Academy at Groton
) and Harvard College
. He then entered business for himself as a commission merchant and eventually became owner of Ipswich Mills, the largest producer of knit goods in the country located in Ipswich, Massachusetts
. In addition, he was a devout member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Boston
, where he met and married his wife, Sarah Appleton (a relative of Samuel Appleton
), as well as a trustee of Massachusetts General Hospital
and president of the Young Men's Benevolent Society.
Lawrence was radicalized by living through the Anthony Burns
affair in the spring of 1854: "[W]e went to bed one night old fashioned, conservative, Compromise Union Whigs & waked up stark mad Abolitionists." Lawrence became a key figure in the United States
abolition movement in the years leading up to the Civil War
, during which he contributed large amounts of capital to the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company
and John Brown
's abolitionism
, played a major role in the crucial border state of Kansas
(see Kansas-Nebraska Act
), and also contributed to funds for the colonization of free negroes in Liberia
. He contributed personally for the famous Sharp rifles, which, packed as “books” and “primers,” were shipped to Kansas and afterwards came into the hands of Brown. During the contest in Kansas, Lawrence wrote frequently to President Franklin Pierce
(his mother's nephew) in behalf of the free-state settlers; and when John Brown was arrested he appealed to the governor of Virginia to secure for him a lawful trial. He repeatedly urged the necessity of offering no armed resistance to the Federal government, and he deplored Brown's fanaticism. In 1858 and 1860 he was the Whig candidate for governor of Massachusetts
. In 1862 he raised a battalion of cavalry which became the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry, of which Charles Russell Lowell
was colonel.
Lawrence financed the founding of the University of Kansas
(in the town of Lawrence
, named after him); founded in 1849 a college that evolved into Lawrence University
upon 5000 acres (20 km²) of land that he purchased in 1844 in the Fox River Valley, which became Appleton, Wisconsin
(named for his father-in-law); and contributed large sums of money to Harvard and the Episcopal Theological School (now Episcopal Divinity School
), in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, Lawrence Academy
, and the Groton School
. His farm outside of Boston became the campus for Boston College
. In 1857-1862 he was treasurer of Harvard College
, and in 1879-1885 was an overseer.
Amos Adams Lawrence is credited with founding an Episcopalian dynasty in Boston, Massachusetts, which prompted many Boston Brahmins to convert from Unitarianism
. His son, William Lawrence, took an even more avid interest in the Episcopalian church, and became the long-time bishop of Massachusetts.
Amos A. Lawrence Elementary school, a PK-8 school located in Brookline, Massachusetts, in also named after him. It is one of eight elementary schools which are part of the Public School of Brookline.
Amos Lawrence
Amos Lawrence, was an American merchant and philanthropist.-Biography:...
, was a key figure in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
abolition
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...
movement in the years leading up to the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, and instrumental in the establishment of the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
and Lawrence University
Lawrence University
Lawrence University is a selective, private liberal arts college with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, in Appleton, Wisconsin. Lawrence University is known for its rigorous academic environment. Founded in 1847, the first classes were held on November 12, 1849...
in Appleton, Wisconsin
Appleton, Wisconsin
Appleton is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is situated on the Fox River, 30 miles southwest of Green Bay and 100 miles north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the county seat of Outagamie County. The population was 78,086 at the 2010 census...
.
Biography
Lawrence was born in Groton, MassachusettsGroton, Massachusetts
Groton is a town located in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The population was 10,646 at the 2010 census. It is home to two noted prep schools: Groton School, founded in 1884, and Lawrence Academy at Groton, founded in 1793. The historic town hosts the National Shepley Hill Horse...
and educated at Groton Academy (now Lawrence Academy at Groton
Lawrence Academy at Groton
Lawrence Academy at Groton, , is a co-educational preparatory school located in Groton, Massachusetts, in the United States...
) and Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
. He then entered business for himself as a commission merchant and eventually became owner of Ipswich Mills, the largest producer of knit goods in the country located in Ipswich, Massachusetts
Ipswich, Massachusetts
Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,987 at the 2000 census. Home to Willowdale State Forest and Sandy Point State Reservation, Ipswich includes the southern part of Plum Island...
. In addition, he was a devout member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, where he met and married his wife, Sarah Appleton (a relative of Samuel Appleton
Samuel Appleton
Samuel Appleton was an American merchant and philanthropist, active in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Great Britain. The city of Appleton, Wisconsin was named in his honor by Amos Lawrence.-Biography:...
), as well as a trustee of Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital is a teaching hospital and biomedical research facility in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts...
and president of the Young Men's Benevolent Society.
Lawrence was radicalized by living through the Anthony Burns
Anthony Burns
Anthony Burns was born a slave in Stafford County, Virginia. As a young man, he became a Baptist and a "slave preacher"...
affair in the spring of 1854: "[W]e went to bed one night old fashioned, conservative, Compromise Union Whigs & waked up stark mad Abolitionists." Lawrence became a key figure in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
abolition movement in the years leading up to the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, during which he contributed large amounts of capital to the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company
Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company
The New England Emigrant Aid Company was a transportation company created to transport immigrants to the Kansas Territory to shift the balance of power so that Kansas would enter the United States as a free state rather than a slave state...
and John Brown
John Brown (abolitionist)
John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
's abolitionism
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...
, played a major role in the crucial border state of Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
(see Kansas-Nebraska Act
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opening new lands for settlement, and had the effect of repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820 by allowing settlers in those territories to determine through Popular Sovereignty if they would allow slavery within...
), and also contributed to funds for the colonization of free negroes in Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
. He contributed personally for the famous Sharp rifles, which, packed as “books” and “primers,” were shipped to Kansas and afterwards came into the hands of Brown. During the contest in Kansas, Lawrence wrote frequently to President Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...
(his mother's nephew) in behalf of the free-state settlers; and when John Brown was arrested he appealed to the governor of Virginia to secure for him a lawful trial. He repeatedly urged the necessity of offering no armed resistance to the Federal government, and he deplored Brown's fanaticism. In 1858 and 1860 he was the Whig candidate for governor of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. In 1862 he raised a battalion of cavalry which became the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry, of which Charles Russell Lowell
Charles Russell Lowell
Charles Russell Lowell, Jr. was a railroad executive, foundryman, and general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was mortally wounded at the Battle of Cedar Creek and was mourned by a number of leading generals...
was colonel.
Lawrence financed the founding of the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
(in the town of Lawrence
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
, named after him); founded in 1849 a college that evolved into Lawrence University
Lawrence University
Lawrence University is a selective, private liberal arts college with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, in Appleton, Wisconsin. Lawrence University is known for its rigorous academic environment. Founded in 1847, the first classes were held on November 12, 1849...
upon 5000 acres (20 km²) of land that he purchased in 1844 in the Fox River Valley, which became Appleton, Wisconsin
Appleton, Wisconsin
Appleton is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is situated on the Fox River, 30 miles southwest of Green Bay and 100 miles north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the county seat of Outagamie County. The population was 78,086 at the 2010 census...
(named for his father-in-law); and contributed large sums of money to Harvard and the Episcopal Theological School (now Episcopal Divinity School
Episcopal Divinity School
The Episcopal Divinity School is a seminary of the Episcopal Church based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Known throughout the Anglican Communion for prophetic teaching and action on issues of civil rights and social justice, its faculty and students have been directly involved in many of the social...
), in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Lawrence Academy
Lawrence Academy at Groton
Lawrence Academy at Groton, , is a co-educational preparatory school located in Groton, Massachusetts, in the United States...
, and the Groton School
Groton School
Groton School is a private, Episcopal, college preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, U.S. It enrolls approximately 375 boys and girls, from the eighth through twelfth grades...
. His farm outside of Boston became the campus for Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
. In 1857-1862 he was treasurer of Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, and in 1879-1885 was an overseer.
Amos Adams Lawrence is credited with founding an Episcopalian dynasty in Boston, Massachusetts, which prompted many Boston Brahmins to convert from Unitarianism
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
. His son, William Lawrence, took an even more avid interest in the Episcopalian church, and became the long-time bishop of Massachusetts.
Amos A. Lawrence Elementary school, a PK-8 school located in Brookline, Massachusetts, in also named after him. It is one of eight elementary schools which are part of the Public School of Brookline.