Benjamin Orange Flower (October 19, 1858 – December 24, 1918), known most commonly by his initials "B.O.", was an American

muckraking The muckrakers were reform-minded journalists, writers, and photographers in the Progressive Era in the United States (1890s–1920s) who claimed to expose corruption and wrongdoing in established institutions, often through sensationalist publ ...

journalist of the

Progressive era The Progressive Era (late 1890s – late 1910s) was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States focused on defeating corruption, monopoly, waste and inefficiency. The main themes ended during Am ...

. Flower is best remembered as the editor of the liberal commentary magazine '' The Arena,'' published in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, and

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Arena Publishing Co. from 1889 until 1909.

Biography

Early life and education

Benjamin Orange Flower was born in Albion, Illinois, on October 19, 1858, the son of Alfred Flower, a Disciples of Christ minister, and his wife Elizabeth, née Orange.Ralph E. Luker
"Benjamin Orange Flower,"
''American National Biography Online,'' Feb. 2000. His grandfather

George Flower George Albert "Buck" Flower (October 28, 1937 – June 18, 2004) was an American actor, writer, producer, assistant director, production manager, and casting director. He was sometimes credited as Ernest Wall, Buck Flower, George "Buck" Flower ...

had emigrated from England with his friend

Morris Birkbeck Morris Birkbeck (January 23, 1764 – June 4, 1825) was an English agricultural innovator, author/publicist, anti-slavery campaigner and early 19th-century pioneer in southern Illinois, in the United States. With George Flower he founded the Engl ...

after speaking with

Edward Coles Edward Coles (December 15, 1786 – July 7, 1868) was an American planter and politician, elected as the second Governor of Illinois (1822 to 1826). From an old Virginia family, Coles as a young man was a neighbor and associate of presidents ...

, and with their followers founded the English settlement in the

Illinois Territory The Territory of Illinois was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 1, 1809, until December 3, 1818, when the southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Illinois. Its ...

. Benjamin Flower was first educated in a religious school in Albion before moving with his family to

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

, where he attended the

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

high school. Following his high school graduation, Flower wished to become a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

minister, like his father and an older brother before him. He thus began studies at the Disciples of Christ's School of the Bible at

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...

in Lexington. Flower's religious and philosophical views evolved, however. He embraced

Unitarianism Unitarianism (from Latin ''unitas'' "unity, oneness", from ''unus'' "one") is a nontrinitarian branch of Christian theology. Most other branches of Christianity and the major Churches accept the doctrine of the Trinity which states that there i ...

and abandoned his religious career.Edd Applegate, "Benjamin Orange Flower (1858–1918)," in ''Muckrakers: A Biographical Dictionary of Writers and Editors.'' Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2008; pp. 58-60.

Early career

After college, Flower returned to Albion where he launched a short-lived journal, the ''Albion American Sentinel,'' which was terminated in 1880.Robert L. Gale (ed.), ''The Gay Nineties in America: A Cultural Dictionary of the 1890s.'' Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1992; pp. 127-128. He then moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, where he worked for a time as a secretary for his brother, a physician who operated a successful mail-order business. In September 1886, B.O. Flower married Hattie Cloud of

.Richard Herndon with Edwin N. Bacon (eds.)
''Men of Progress: One Thousand Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Leaders in Business and Professional Life in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.''
Boston: New England Magazine, 1896; pg. 131. Tragically, not long after their marriage his wife was stricken with mental illness which forced her permanent institutionalization.

''The Arena''

In 1886, Flower's brother opened a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

in Boston and moved there with him. At this time, Flower returned to the world of publishing, launching a new literary magazine called ''The American Spectator.'' This venture proved successful, achieving a circulation of more than 10,000 copies within three years. In December 1889, Flower merged this publication into a new social reform magazine he launched called '' The Arena.'' Flower was an advocate of bolstering public morality as a means of social improvement. In 1893, he proposed the establishment of a "League of Love" or "Federation of Justice" to better mobilize progressive-minded individuals for the betterment of humanity. This effort led to the formation of a new organization called the Union for Practical Progress, which attempted to establish itself on a national basis through the organization of local clubs.Regier, ''The Era of the Muckrakers,'' pg. 30. Local groups such as the

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Union for Public Good received favorable coverage of their activities and publicity in ''The Arena.'' This effort failed to achieve critical mass and soon failed, however. ''The Arena'' was an eclectic magazine, its pages open to writers of a wide range of ideological perspectives, ranging from advocates of

cooperatives A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

and

populists Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

to philosophical anarchists,

socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...

, and devotees of

Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of the Progressive Era. He inspired the eco ...

and the

Single Tax A single tax is a system of taxation based mainly or exclusively on one tax, typically chosen for its special properties, often being a tax on land value. The idea of a single tax on land values was proposed independently by John Locke and Bar ...

. Uniting it all was Flower's evolutionary rather than revolutionary view of social change and his deep-seated faith in the perfectibility of mankind through enlightenment about the world and reasoned response to its problems. Flower advocated for

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

s, libraries, and improved housing. He criticized ostentatious, costly, and encumbering women's clothing, "materialistic commercialism," and the wealthy class which monopolized society's economic resources. The magazine consistently advocated for initiative and referendum, for

prison reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are impacted by crimes ...

, against

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

, and for the

prohibition of alcohol Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic be ...

. Multiple articles were dedicated to

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

, reform of

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

law, the relationship between poverty and crime, and race relations between the white and black populations of the United States. New-Time-cover-Dec1897

Long an advocate of free silver and currency reform, Flower came out strongly for the candidacy of

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President ...

during the heated United States presidential election of 1896. Flower portrayed Bryan as the defender of freedom, prosperity, and the Republic. Flower urged ''Arena'' readers to support Bryan as the last best chance to stave off encroaching

plutocracy A plutocracy () or plutarchy is a society that is ruled or controlled by people of great wealth or income. The first known use of the term in English dates from 1631. Unlike most political systems, plutocracy is not rooted in any establishe ...

in America. The year 1896 marked the end of Flower's first stint at the helm of ''The Arena,'' with the magazine being transferred to the editorship of historian

John Clark Ridpath John Clark Ridpath (April 26, 1840 – July 31, 1900) was an American educator, historian, and editor. His mother was a descendant of Samuel Matthews, a colonial governor of Virginia. Among his most notable works is a series of volumes on a his ...

and the writer Helen Hamilton Gardener. Under its new editors, Flower's magazine continued to pursue the same political and ethical mission originally envisioned by its founder. Flower continued to contribute articles to the journal regularly throughout the subsequent interval. From the latter part of the 1890s and into the first decade of the 20th century, Flower was associated with a number of radical reform magazines. He was the co-editor of former Unitarian Charles H. Kerr's Chicago magazine ''The New Time'' — a forerunner of '' International Socialist Review'' — from 1897 to 1898, working with

Frederick Upham Adams Frederick Upham Adams (December 10, 1859 – August 28, 1921) was an American inventor, writer, editor, and political organizer. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of an American Civil War veteran and mechanical engineer. He died on A ...

. He then edited the

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

-based magazine ''The Coming Age,'' moving it to Boston where it merged with ''The Arena'' in 1900. ''The Arena'' was sold in 1903 to Charles A. Montgomery, a short-lived ownership situation which abruptly ended in 1904 with the magazine's sale to book publisher Albert Brandt. Upon purchasing the magazine, Brandt immediately brought back Flower as Editor-in-Chief of the publication that the latter had founded fifteen years before. Flower would remain in this position until the journal went

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in 1909.

Political philosophy

As has been noted by the historian Louis Filler, B.O. Flower did not consider himself a socialist.Louis Filler, ''The Muckrakers.'' Second Edition. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1993; pg. 40. Flower believed that the body of socialist ideas was thoroughly utopian and unachievable, and that revolution would result only in chaos and destruction. Instead, Flower advocated for a "neo-Christianity" based upon the re-establishment of personal character, and the rejection of greed and inequality and its propagation by self-interested men of wealth and their political adjutants. Direct democracy was seen by Flower as the path to spreading freedom and opportunity to the greatest number of Americans. Social ills were not to be dismissed or ignored however, Flower believed, but rather were matters to be addressed forthrightly, with a broad range of opinions solicited in the process of bringing about their rational solution.

Monopolies A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...

and monied interests promoting the sale and use of alcohol were seen as impediments to the morally based rectification of fundamental problems.

Christian Science

One particularly heated topic during the first decade of the 1900s was Christian Science, a Christian religious movement founded by

Mary Baker Eddy Mary Baker Eddy (July 16, 1821 – December 3, 1910) was an American religious leader and author who founded The Church of Christ, Scientist, in New England in 1879. She also founded ''The Christian Science Monitor'', a Pulitzer Prize-winning se ...

, which had come under attack in a lengthy series of exposés in ''

McClure's Magazine ''McClure's'' or ''McClure's Magazine'' (1893–1929) was an American illustrated monthly periodical popular at the turn of the 20th century. The magazine is credited with having started the tradition of muckraking journalism ( investigative, wat ...

'' in 1907. Flower spoke in defense of the Christian Science movement, charging that the Christian Scientists were the objects of a "persistent campaign of falsehood, slander and calumny." Further moved by his self-proclaimed love of "fair play and all things that make for a nobler and purer life," Flower would publish ''Christian Science As a Religious Belief and a Therapeutic Agent'', a book defending Christian Scientist practice in 1910, though he was not himself personally an adherent of the sect. Although initially a skeptic, Flower made note of anecdotal evidence of cases of illness cured through Christian Science-based treatment, which had baffled the medical practitioners of the day. Flower thus lent support to this growing Christian Science movement.

Later years, death, and legacy

Following the termination of ''The Arena,'' Flower launched a new publication in Boston dedicated to social reform called ''Twentieth-Century Magazine.'' This magazine proved short-lived, terminating in 1911. B.O. Flower died on December 24, 1918. He was 60 years old at the time of his death. Although Flower or his heirs destroyed many of his personal papers, some (mostly articles for publication) are with his family's papers at Knox College in Illinois. Flower was posthumously recognized for his leading place among the muckraking journalists of the Progressive era. In 1932, historian C. C. Regier remembered him as a man who "somewhat naively...believed that if people would but see the evil effects of their acts they would themselves mend their ways", a philosophy which led to upbeat and optimistic editorial tone in Flower's work.Regier, ''The Era of the Muckrakers,'' pg. 18. Flower was also recalled as one who was "sensitive to beauty in any form, loved painting, sculpture, and literature, and always kept flowers in his office."

Works

''Fashion's Slaves.''
Boston: Arena Publishing Co., 1892.
''Civilization's Inferno; or, Studies in the Social Cellar.''
Boston: Arena Publishing Co., 1893.
''Gerald Massey: Poet, Prophet, and Mystic.''
Boston: Arena Publishing Co., 1895.
''Whittier: Prophet, Seer and Man.''
Boston: Arena Publishing Co., 1896.
''The Century of Sir Thomas More.''
Boston: Arena Publishing Co., 1896.
''Persons, Places and Ideas: Miscellaneous Essays.''
Boston: Arena Publishing Co., 1896.
''How England Averted a Revolution of Force: A Survey of the Social Agitation of the First Ten Years of Queen Victoria's Reign.''
Trenton, NJ: Albert Brandt, 1903. * ''In Defense of Free Speech: Five Essays from the Arena.'' New York: The Free Speech League, 1908.
''How England Averted a Revolution of Force: A Survey of the Social Agitation of the First Ten Years of Queen Victoria's Reign.''
Trenton, NJ: Albert Brandt, Publisher, 1909.
''Christian Science as a Religious Belief and a Therapeutic Agent.''
Boston: Twentieth Century Co., 1910. * ''The Bubonic Plague.'' New York: National League for Medical Freedom, 1910.
''Progressive Men, Women, and Movements of the Past Twenty-Five Years.''
Boston: The Arena, 1914.
''Righting the People's Wrongs: A Lesson from History of Our Own Times.''
Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing Co., 1917.

Footnotes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flower, Benjamin Orange 1858 births 1918 deaths American male journalists American magazine editors People from Albion, Illinois Transylvania University alumni Progressive Era in the United States Christian Science Unitarian Universalists Writers from Boston Writers from Illinois Journalists from Illinois American Unitarians