Colonel
Robert Green Ingersoll (August 11, 1833 – July 21, 1899) was a
Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
veteran,
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
political leader, and
oratorAn orator, or oratist, is a speaker.An orator may also be called an oratarian - literally, "one who orates".-Etymology:...
during the
Golden Age of FreethoughtThe Golden Age of Freethought is a term sometimes used to describe the limited vogue for freethinking that developed in the late 19th-century United States. It began around 1870 and lasted at least through the end of the century; author Susan Jacoby places the end of the Golden Age at the start of...
, noted for his broad range of culture and his defense of
agnosticismAgnosticism is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims — particularly metaphysical claims regarding theology, afterlife or the existence of deities, spiritual beings, or even ultimate reality — are unknown or, in some forms of agnosticism, unknowable.It is not a...
.
Robert Ingersoll was born in
Dresden, New York----Dresden is a village in Yates County, New York, USA. The population was 307 at the 2000 census. The village was named after Dresden in Germany.The Village of Dresden is in the Town of Torrey and is twelve miles south of Geneva, New York...
. His father, John Ingersoll, was an abolitionist-leaning Presbyterian preacher, whose radical views forced his family to move frequently.
In 1853, "Bob" Ingersoll taught a term of school in
Metropolis, IllinoisMetropolis is a city located along the Ohio River in Massac County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,482...
, where he let one of his students, the future Judge Angus M.
Colonel
Robert Green Ingersoll (August 11, 1833 – July 21, 1899) was a
Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
veteran,
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
political leader, and
oratorAn orator, or oratist, is a speaker.An orator may also be called an oratarian - literally, "one who orates".-Etymology:...
during the
Golden Age of FreethoughtThe Golden Age of Freethought is a term sometimes used to describe the limited vogue for freethinking that developed in the late 19th-century United States. It began around 1870 and lasted at least through the end of the century; author Susan Jacoby places the end of the Golden Age at the start of...
, noted for his broad range of culture and his defense of
agnosticismAgnosticism is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims — particularly metaphysical claims regarding theology, afterlife or the existence of deities, spiritual beings, or even ultimate reality — are unknown or, in some forms of agnosticism, unknowable.It is not a...
.
Biography
Robert Ingersoll was born in
Dresden, New York----Dresden is a village in Yates County, New York, USA. The population was 307 at the 2000 census. The village was named after Dresden in Germany.The Village of Dresden is in the Town of Torrey and is twelve miles south of Geneva, New York...
. His father, John Ingersoll, was an abolitionist-leaning Presbyterian preacher, whose radical views forced his family to move frequently.
In 1853, "Bob" Ingersoll taught a term of school in
Metropolis, IllinoisMetropolis is a city located along the Ohio River in Massac County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,482...
, where he let one of his students, the future Judge Angus M. L. McBane, do the "greater part of the teaching, while Latin and history occupied his own attention". At some point prior to his Metropolis position, Ingersoll had also taught school in
Mount Vernon, IllinoisMount Vernon is a city located near the center of Jefferson County, Illinois, in the United States. In the 2000 census, the city's reported population was 16,269 people....
Later that year, the family settled in
Marion, IllinoisMarion is a small city in Southern Illinois and serves the rural area as one of the region's largest retail trade centers. It is located at the intersection of Illinois Route 13 and Interstate 57...
, where Robert and his brother Ebon Clarke Ingersoll were admitted to the bar in 1854. A county historian writing 22 years later noted that local residents considered the Ingersolls as a "very intellectual family; but, being Abolitionists, and the boys being deists, rendered obnoxious to our people in that respect."
While in Marion, he studied law under Judge Willis Allen and served as deputy clerk for John M. Cunningham, Williamson County's County Clerk and Circuit Clerk. In 1855, after Cunningham was named registrar for the federal land office in southeastern Illinois at
Shawneetown, IllinoisOld Shawneetown is a village in Gallatin County, Illinois, along the Ohio River. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 278.-History:...
, Ingersoll followed him to the riverfront city along the Ohio River. After a short time there he took the deputy clerk position with John E. Hall, the county clerk and circuit clerk of Gallatin County, and also a son-in-law of
John Hart CrenshawJohn Hart Crenshaw was an American landowner and slave trader based out of Gallatin County, Illinois. Although Illinois was a free state, Crenshaw leased the salt works in nearby Equality, Illinois from the government, which permitted the use of slaves for the arduous labor of hauling and boiling...
of the infamous Old Slave House. On November 11, 1856, Ingersoll caught Hall in his arms when the son of a political opponent assassinated his employer in their office.
When he moved to Shawneetown, he continued to read law under Judge William G. Bowman who had a large library of both law and the classics. In addition to his job as a clerk, he and his brother opened their law practice under the name "E.C. & R.G. Ingersoll". During this time they also had an office in
Raleigh, IllinoisRaleigh is a village in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 330 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Raleigh is located at ....
, then the county seat of neighboring
Saline CountySaline County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of 2000, the population was 26,733. Its county seat is Harrisburg, Illinois. Saline County is home to the smallest post office and the largest KFC in the United States. There are three major towns in Saline County connected by U.S...
. As attorneys following the court circuit he often practiced along side Cunningham's soon-to-be son-in-law,
John A. LoganJohn Alexander Logan was an American soldier and political leader. He served in the Mexican-American War and was a General in the Union Army in the American Civil War. He served the state of Illinois as a Senator and was an unsuccessful candidate for Vice President of the United States.-Early life...
, the state's attorney and political ally to Hall.
As the trial of Hall's assassin dominated the scene and with his earlier mentor Cunningham having moved back to Marion following the land office's closing in 1856, and Logan's move to
Benton, IllinoisBenton is a city in Franklin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,880 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Franklin County. It is about 120 miles south of St. Louis, Missouri.- History :...
, after his marriage that fall, Ingersoll and his brother moved to
Peoria, IllinoisPeoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city was the fifth-largest in Illinois, with a population of 112,936; by 2007 it was the sixth-largest city and had population of 113,546...
, where they finally settled in 1857.
For a period of time, Rev. John Ingersoll filled the pulpit for American revivalist
Charles G. FinneyCharles Grandison Finney was a Presbyterian minister who became an important figure in the Second Great Awakening. His influence during this period was enough that he has been called "The Father of Modern Revivalism"....
while Finney was on a tour of Europe. Upon Finney's return, Rev. Ingersoll remained for a few months as co-pastor/associate pastor under Finney. His son apprenticed himself to lawyers there and
hung out his shingleCommercial signage identifies a business or similar entity, assists in wayfinding and attracts customers. In societies where literacy is not widespread, such signs are necessarily primarily based on images rather than words...
.
With the outbreak of the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
, he raised the 11th Illinois Cavalry Regiment and took command. The regiment fought in the
Battle of ShilohThe Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. Confederate forces under Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and P.G.T. Beauregard launched a surprise...
. Ingersoll was later captured, then released on his promise that he would not fight again, which was common practice early in the war.
After the war, he served as
Illinois Attorney GeneralThe Illinois Attorney General is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by election through universal suffrage...
. He was a prominent member of the
Republican PartyThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
and, though he never held an elected position, he was nonetheless an active participant in politics. His speech nominating James G. Blaine for the 1876 presidential election was unsuccessful, as
Rutherford B. HayesRutherford Birchard Hayes was an American politician, lawyer, military leader and the 19th President of the United States . Hayes was elected President by one electoral vote after the highly disputed election of 1876...
received the Republican nomination, but the speech itself, known as the "Plumed Knight" speech, was considered a model of political oratory. (Franklin Roosevelt probably used it as a model for his "Happy Warrior" speech when nominating Alfred E. Smith for president in 1928).
Ingersoll was involved in several prominent trials as an attorney, notably the
Star RouteStar routes is a term used in connection with the United States postal service and the contracting of mail delivery services. The term is defunct as of 1970, but still is occasionally used to refer to Highway Contract Routes or which replaced the Star routes...
trials, a major political scandal in which his clients were acquitted. He also defended a
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
man charged with
blasphemyBlasphemy is the use of reference to one or more gods in a manner considered objectionable by a religious authority. It may include using sacred names as stress expletives without intention to pray or speak of sacred matters; it is also sometimes defined as language expressing disbelief or...
. Although he did not win acquittal, his vigorous defense is considered to have discredited blasphemy laws and few other prosecutions followed.
Ingersoll was most noted as an
oratorAn orator, or oratist, is a speaker.An orator may also be called an oratarian - literally, "one who orates".-Etymology:...
, the most popular of the age, when oratory was public entertainment. He spoke on every subject, from
ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
to Reconstruction, but his most popular subjects were
agnosticismAgnosticism is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims — particularly metaphysical claims regarding theology, afterlife or the existence of deities, spiritual beings, or even ultimate reality — are unknown or, in some forms of agnosticism, unknowable.It is not a...
and the sanctity and refuge of the family. He committed his speeches to memory although they were sometimes more than three hours long. His audiences were said never to be restless.
His radical views on
religionA religion is a system of human thought which usually includes a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power, deity or deities, or ultimate truth...
,
slaverySlavery is a form of forced labor in which people are considered to be the property of others. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive compensation...
, woman's
suffrageSuffrage is the civil right to vote, or the exercise of that right. It is also called political franchise or simply the franchise. Suffrage may apply to elections, but also extends to initiatives and referendums...
, and other issues of the day effectively prevented him from ever pursuing or holding political offices higher than that of state attorney general.
IllinoisIllinois , the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation...
Republicans tried to pressure him into running for governor on the condition that Ingersoll conceal his
agnosticismAgnosticism is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims — particularly metaphysical claims regarding theology, afterlife or the existence of deities, spiritual beings, or even ultimate reality — are unknown or, in some forms of agnosticism, unknowable.It is not a...
during the campaign, which he refused on the basis that concealing information from the public was immoral.
Many of Ingersoll's speeches advocated
freethoughtFreethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason, and should not be influenced by authority, tradition, or any other dogma...
and
humanismHumanism is a perspective common to a wide range of ethical stances that attaches importance to human dignity, concerns, and capabilities, particularly rationality. Although the word has many senses, its meaning comes into focus when contrasted to the supernatural or to appeals to authority...
, and often poked fun at religious belief. For this the press often attacked him, but neither his views nor the negative press could stop his rising popularity. At the height of Ingersoll's fame, audiences would pay $1 or more to hear him speak, a giant sum for his day.
Ingersoll died from
congestive heart failureHeart failure is a condition in which a problem with the structure or function of the heart impairs its ability to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the body's needs...
at the age of 65. Soon after his death, his brother-in-law, Clinton P. Farrell, collected copies of Ingersoll’s speeches for publication. The 12-volume
Dresden Editions kept interest in Ingersoll's ideas alive and preserved his speeches for future generations. Ingersoll is interred in
Arlington National CemeteryArlington National Cemetery, in Arlington County, Virginia is a military cemetery in the United States, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a descendant of Martha Washington. The...
(Section 3, Lot 1620, Grid S-16.5).
In 2005, a popular edition of Ingersoll's work was published by Steerforth Press. Edited by the
Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by Hungarian-American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City....
-winning music critic
Tim PageTim Page is a writer, editor, music critic, producer and professor. He was a Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic for the Washington Post and also played an essential role in the revival of American author Dawn Powell.-Career:Page grew up in Storrs, Connecticut, where his father, Ellis B...
, "What's God Got to Do With It: Robert Ingersoll on Free Speech, Honest Talk and the Separation of Church and State" brought Ingersoll's thinking to a new audience.
Walt Whitman
Ingersoll enjoyed a friendship with the poet
Walt WhitmanWalter Whitman was an American poet, essayist, journalist, and humanist. He was a part of the transition between Transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
, who considered Ingersoll the greatest orator of his time. "It should not be surprising that I am drawn to Ingersoll, for he is Leaves of Grass... He lives, embodies, the individuality, I preach. I see in Bob [Ingersoll] the noblest specimen--American-flavored--pure out of the soil, spreading, giving, demanding light."
The feeling was mutual. Upon Whitman's death in 1892, Ingersoll delivered the eulogy at the poet's funeral. The eulogy was published to great acclaim and is considered a classic
panegyricA panegyric is a formal public speech, or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing, a generally highly studied and discriminating eulogy, not expected to be critical. It is derived from the Greek πανηγυρικός meaning "a speech fit for a general assembly"...
.
Further reading
- Tim Page, editing Robert Green Ingersoll, What's God Got to Do with It? : Robert Ingersoll on Free Thought, Honest Talk and the Separation of Church and State, Random House (August, 2005), trade paperback, ISBN 1-58642-096-8
- Robert G. Ingersoll, The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Dresden (1902), 12 volume set
- Orvin Larson, American Infidel: Robert G. Ingersoll a Biography, Citadel Press (1993)
Works
- The gods and other lectures (New York : D. M. Bennett, 1876)
- Some mistakes of Moses (Washington, D.C. : C. P. Farrell, 1879)
- Walt Whitman (New York, The Truth Seeker Co, 1890)
- Col. Ingersoll's reply to his critics in the N.Y. "Evening Telegram." (Toronto : J. Spencer Ellis, 1892)
- Shakespeare, a lecture (New York, Farrell, 1895)
- Abraham Lincoln, a lecture (New York, Farrell, 1895)
- Voltaire, a lecture (New York, Farrell, 1895)
- Great speeches of Col. R. G. Ingersoll; complete (Chicago : Rhodes & McClure, 1895)
- The works of Robert G. Ingersoll v. 1 (New York : The Dresden pub. co., C. P. Farrell, 1902)
- The works of Robert G. Ingersoll v. 2 (New York : The Dresden pub. co., C. P. Farrell, 1902)
- The works of Robert G. Ingersoll v. 3 (New York : The Dresden pub. co., C. P. Farrell, 1902)
- The works of Robert G. Ingersoll v. 4 (New York : The Dresden pub. co., C. P. Farrell, 1902)
- The works of Robert G. Ingersoll v. 5 (New York : The Dresden pub. co., C. P. Farrell, 1902)
- The works of Robert G. Ingersoll v. 6 (New York : The Dresden pub. co., C. P. Farrell, 1902)
- The works of Robert G. Ingersoll v. 7 (New York : The Dresden pub. co., C. P. Farrell, 1902)
- The works of Robert G. Ingersoll v. 8 (New York : The Dresden pub. co., C. P. Farrell, 1902)
- The works of Robert G. Ingersoll v. 9 (New York : The Dresden pub. co., C. P. Farrell, 1902)
- The works of Robert G. Ingersoll v. 10 (New York : The Dresden pub. co., C. P. Farrell, 1902)
- The works of Robert G. Ingersoll v. 11 (New York : The Dresden pub. co., C. P. Farrell, 1902)
- The works of Robert G. Ingersoll v. 12 (New York : The Dresden pub. co., C. P. Farrell, 1902)
External links