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The ''Alton Observer'' (1837) was an 
On November 7, 1837, abolition opponents mobbed the warehouse where Lovejoy had his press, and gunfire was exchanged between them and his supporters. Lovejoy and his supporters killed one man in the mob, named Bishop, and wounded others. While they were trying to prevent the burning of the warehouse, Lovejoy and Royal Weller were shot; Lovejoy died immediately. The mob threw the press out the window and into the river. Publication of the ''Alton Observer'' ended after Lovejoy's murder, but his brother
abolitionist
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The British ...
newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
established in Alton, Illinois
Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend area in the Metro-East region of the ...
, by the journalist and newspaper editor Elijah Lovejoy
Elijah Parish Lovejoy (November 9, 1802 – November 7, 1837) was an American Presbyterian minister, journalist, newspaper editor, and abolitionist. Following his murder by a mob, he became a martyr to the abolitionist cause opposing slavery ...
after he was forced to flee St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
. Lovejoy left St. Louis, where he edited the ''St. Louis Observer
The ''St. Louis Observer'' was an abolitionist newspaper established by Elijah Lovejoy, a New England Congregationalist minister, in St. Louis, Missouri. After the newspaper's printing press was destroyed for a third time by a pro-slavery mob, ...
'', after his printing press was destroyed for the third time.
Although Illinois was a free state and Alton was linked to the Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...
, the city also had a large pro-slavery faction, including slave catchers and others dependent on slaves. The former earned money by their capture of slaves' escaping across the Mississippi from Missouri. Southern Illinois had numerous slavery supporters, where farmers used slave labor for cultivation.
On November 7, 1837, abolition opponents mobbed the warehouse where Lovejoy had his press, and gunfire was exchanged between them and his supporters. Lovejoy and his supporters killed one man in the mob, named Bishop, and wounded others. While they were trying to prevent the burning of the warehouse, Lovejoy and Royal Weller were shot; Lovejoy died immediately. The mob threw the press out the window and into the river. Publication of the ''Alton Observer'' ended after Lovejoy's murder, but his brother Owen Lovejoy
Owen Lovejoy (January 6, 1811 – March 25, 1864) was an American lawyer, Congregational minister, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, and Republican United States Congress, congressman from Illinois. He was also a "conductor ...
became a leader of the abolitionists in Illinois and carried on the struggle. Elijah Lovejoy was considered a martyr by abolitionists across the country.
See also
*Abolitionism in the United States
In the United States, abolitionism, the movement that sought to end slavery in the country, was active from the late colonial era until the American Civil War, the end of which brought about the abolition of American slavery through the Thi ...
* Elijah P. Lovejoy Monument
*''St. Louis Observer
The ''St. Louis Observer'' was an abolitionist newspaper established by Elijah Lovejoy, a New England Congregationalist minister, in St. Louis, Missouri. After the newspaper's printing press was destroyed for a third time by a pro-slavery mob, ...
''
References
* Vaughn, Stephen L. (editor) ''Encyclopedia of American Journalism'' (Routledge, 2009) p. 5 Abolitionist newspapers published in the United States Newspapers established in 1837 Publications disestablished in 1837 Defunct newspapers published in Illinois 1837 establishments in Illinois 1837 disestablishments in Illinois {{Illinois-newspaper-stub