Henry Clarke Wright
Encyclopedia
For more than two decades Henry Clarke Wright (1797-1870) was a controversial abolitionist, pacifist, anarchist and feminist.
to father Seth Wright, a farmer and house-joiner, and mother Miriam, a stay-at-home seamstress.
When Wright was four his family moved to the “western country” of Hartwick
; it was a small, poor town, on the frontier in upstate New York
.
Working as an apprentice to a hat-maker in Norwich, New York
, he experienced an emotional religious conversion during a revival meeting
and went on to study first under the local minister, and then at the Andover Seminary School in 1819 for four years. Afterwards, in 1823, Wright married a wealthy widow by the name of Elizabeth LeBreton Stickney, and moved to the upscale area of Newburyport, Massachusetts
.
By this time Wright had adopted radical positions on two controversial reform issues that were breaking up evangelical consensus. In the peace movement, he sided with radical pacifists who promoted an ethic of non-violence in all forms of conflict. Consequently, in 1836 he was appointed an agent of the American Peace Society
. On matters of anti-slavery, he sided with William Lloyd Garrison
promoting immediate abolition.
Wright later, upon resigning from the American Peace Society, was quickly employed by Garrison and the American Anti-Slavery Society
. He wrote columns for Garrison’s famous anti-slavery newspaper, The Liberator, and gained respect among Northerners for his strong moral beliefs contained within his call for non-violent immediate abolition. He also had the special responsibility of organizing children’s anti-slavery movements in towns across the Northeast.
Later, his Newburyport home served as headquarters in summer 1837 for Angelina Grimké
and Sarah Grimké
when they began to create controversy over women speaking in public on behalf of the slaves. Wright was accused of encouraging the Grimkés to take too bold a stand on a woman's public role. He published two accounts of conversations he had with the Grimkés about extending his radical pacifist views to question all forms of domination in the family. At times he challenged whether coercive civil government was consistent with Christian faith. Critics of abolitionism used Wright as an example of the anarchy let loose by immoderate abolitionist attacks on traditional institutions. In September 1837 he was fired from the American Anti-Slavery Society because he was too great a liability to the cause.
in December 1859, stemming from an earlier speech delivered in May 1857 in front of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Still claiming to be faithful to non-resistance, Wright argued to the Society that true abolitionists should furnish arms for slave insurrection. Later, in his revised speech delivered in Natick, entitled Resistance to Slaveholders & the Right and Duty of Southern Slaves and Northern Freemen, Wright argues
This militant antislavery article was published prior to John Brown
’s execution in December 1859 in order to provoke support for the immediate abolitionist cause. Wright’s rhetoric calls for complete resistance, in every form, to the institution of slavery. To him, John Brown symbolized the courage of such resistance. At one point, Wright compares Brown to Christ
and finds Brown superior, writing
The Natick Resolution was well-recognized immediately prior to the American Civil War
as a leading document of militant abolitionism.
Henry Clarke Wright's radical notions and writings had a profound affect on abolitionism and the society in which he lived. After his militant writings, he spent the rest of his life as a freelance author and lecturer throughout the Midwest. Wright died in Pawtucket, Rhode Island
in 1870, but still leaves a lasting impression in history.
Early life
Clarke was born in Sharon, ConnecticutSharon, Connecticut
Sharon is a town located in Litchfield County, Connecticut, in the northwest corner of the state. It is bounded on the north by Salisbury, on the east by the Housatonic River, on the south by Kent, and on the west by Dutchess County, New York...
to father Seth Wright, a farmer and house-joiner, and mother Miriam, a stay-at-home seamstress.
When Wright was four his family moved to the “western country” of Hartwick
Hartwick, New York
Hartwick is a town located in Otsego County, New York, USA. As of the 2000 census, the town had a population of 2,203.Town of Hartwick is located in the middle of the county, southwest of Village of Cooperstown....
; it was a small, poor town, on the frontier in upstate 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...
.
Working as an apprentice to a hat-maker in Norwich, New York
Norwich (city), New York
Norwich is a city in Chenango County, New York, United States. Surrounded on all sides by the Town of Norwich, the city is the county seat of Chenango County. The name is taken from Norwich, Connecticut. Its population was 7,355 at the 2000 census.Lt...
, he experienced an emotional religious conversion during a revival meeting
Revival meeting
A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held in order to inspire active members of a church body, to raise funds and to gain new converts...
and went on to study first under the local minister, and then at the Andover Seminary School in 1819 for four years. Afterwards, in 1823, Wright married a wealthy widow by the name of Elizabeth LeBreton Stickney, and moved to the upscale area of Newburyport, Massachusetts
Newburyport, Massachusetts
Newburyport is a small coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 35 miles northeast of Boston. The population was 21,189 at the 2000 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island...
.
Missionary work
Elizabeth Wright's interest in reform movements preceded Henry’s own. She influenced his decision to turn away from the parish ministry and enter the field of missionary work and reform in the 1830s.By this time Wright had adopted radical positions on two controversial reform issues that were breaking up evangelical consensus. In the peace movement, he sided with radical pacifists who promoted an ethic of non-violence in all forms of conflict. Consequently, in 1836 he was appointed an agent of the American Peace Society
American Peace Society
The American Peace Society is a pacifist group founded upon the initiative of William Ladd, in New York City, May 8, 1828. It was formed by the merging of many state and local societies, from New York, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, of which the oldest, the New York Peace Society, dated...
. On matters of anti-slavery, he sided with William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, and as one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society, he promoted "immediate emancipation" of slaves in the United...
promoting immediate abolition.
Wright later, upon resigning from the American Peace Society, was quickly employed by Garrison and the American Anti-Slavery Society
American Anti-Slavery Society
The American Anti-Slavery Society was an abolitionist society founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan. Frederick Douglass was a key leader of this society and often spoke at its meetings. William Wells Brown was another freed slave who often spoke at meetings. By 1838, the society had...
. He wrote columns for Garrison’s famous anti-slavery newspaper, The Liberator, and gained respect among Northerners for his strong moral beliefs contained within his call for non-violent immediate abolition. He also had the special responsibility of organizing children’s anti-slavery movements in towns across the Northeast.
Later, his Newburyport home served as headquarters in summer 1837 for Angelina Grimké
Angelina Grimké
Angelina Emily Grimké Weld was an American political activist, abolitionist and supporter of the women's suffrage movement.- Family background :...
and Sarah Grimké
Sarah Grimké
Sarah Moore Grimké was an American abolitionist, writer, and suffragist.-Early life:Sarah Grimké was born in South Carolina. She was sixth of fourteen children and the second daughter of Mary and John Faucheraud Grimké, a rich plantation owner who was also an attorney and a judge in South Carolina...
when they began to create controversy over women speaking in public on behalf of the slaves. Wright was accused of encouraging the Grimkés to take too bold a stand on a woman's public role. He published two accounts of conversations he had with the Grimkés about extending his radical pacifist views to question all forms of domination in the family. At times he challenged whether coercive civil government was consistent with Christian faith. Critics of abolitionism used Wright as an example of the anarchy let loose by immoderate abolitionist attacks on traditional institutions. In September 1837 he was fired from the American Anti-Slavery Society because he was too great a liability to the cause.
Natick Resolution essay
Wright is perhaps most famous for his radical Natick Resolution essay delivered to an audience in Natick, MassachusettsNatick, Massachusetts
Natick is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Natick is located near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 33,006 at the 2010 census. Only west from Boston, Natick is considered part of the Greater Boston area...
in December 1859, stemming from an earlier speech delivered in May 1857 in front of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Still claiming to be faithful to non-resistance, Wright argued to the Society that true abolitionists should furnish arms for slave insurrection. Later, in his revised speech delivered in Natick, entitled Resistance to Slaveholders & the Right and Duty of Southern Slaves and Northern Freemen, Wright argues
“That it is the right and duty of the slaves to resist their masters, and the right and duty of the people of the North to incite them to resistance, and to aid them in it.”
This militant antislavery article was published prior to 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 execution in December 1859 in order to provoke support for the immediate abolitionist cause. Wright’s rhetoric calls for complete resistance, in every form, to the institution of slavery. To him, John Brown symbolized the courage of such resistance. At one point, Wright compares Brown to Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
and finds Brown superior, writing
“The sin of this nation, as it was asserted in that meeting, is to be taken away, not by Christ, but by John Brown. Christ, as represented by those who are called by his name, has proved a dead failure, as a power to free the slaves. John Brown is and will be a power far more efficient.”
The Natick Resolution was well-recognized immediately prior to the American 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...
as a leading document of militant abolitionism.
Henry Clarke Wright's radical notions and writings had a profound affect on abolitionism and the society in which he lived. After his militant writings, he spent the rest of his life as a freelance author and lecturer throughout the Midwest. Wright died in Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 71,148 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth largest city in the state.-History:...
in 1870, but still leaves a lasting impression in history.