Elizabeth Elkins Sanders (August 12, 1762 – ) was an American author and social critic. Beginning at age 66, she published a series of anonymous pamphlets decrying the treatment of Native Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Life and career

Elizabeth Elkins was born on August 12, 1762, in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

, the second daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth White Elkins. Her father died when she was one year old. In 1782, she married Thomas Sanders, who would become one of Salem's wealthiest merchants. They attended the First Unitarian Church of Salem. ''Conversations, Principally on the Aborigines of North America'' Her first pamphlet was published at the age of 66. ''Conversations, Principally on the Aborigines of North America'' (1828) is structured in the form of a dialogue between a mother and her daughters. Sanders expresses admiration for the culture of Native Americans and surveys Native American groups across North America. She decries the forced removal of Creeks and

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

s from Georgia and the atrocities committed against Native Americans by the US military. She bluntly labels

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

a "sanguinary chieftain" and "a second

Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

". She followed this up with a second pamphlet on the similar themes, ''The First Settlers of New England'' (1829). At age 82, she began publishing another series of pamphlets on the topic of missionary work: ''Tract on Missions'' (1844), ''Second Part of a Tract on Missions'' (1845), and ''Remarks on the "Tour Around Hawaii," by the Missionaries, Messrs. Ellis, Thurston, and Goodrich'' (1848). She feared that missionary work would destroy the native cultures of Pacific Islanders and had harsh words for "the gloomy doctrines" and "appalling formulas" of

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

. She also favorably cites

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...

's ''

Typee ''Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life'' is American writer Herman Melville's first book, published in 1846, when Melville was 26 years old. Considered a classic in travel and adventure literature, the narrative is based on Melville's experiences on ...

'' and may have been an influence on Melville. Elizabeth Elkins Sanders died on February 19, 1851, in Salem.

Children

Sanders and her husband had two sons and four daughters. Two of her daughters married two sons of Dr. Nathaniel Saltonstall (1746-1815). * Charles Sanders (b. 1783), the namesake of the

Sanders Theatre Memorial Hall, immediately north of Harvard Yard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is an imposing High Victorian Gothic building honoring Harvard men's sacrifices in defense of the Union during the American Civil War"a symbol of Boston's commitment ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

's Memorial Hall. * Catherine Sanders Pickman (b. 1784) * Mary Elizabeth Sanders Saltonstall (1788–1858), who married

Leverett Saltonstall I Leverett Saltonstall (June 13, 1783 – May 8, 1845), was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts who also served as Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, President of the Massachusetts Senate, ...

* Caroline Sanders Saltonstall (1793–1882), who married Nathaniel Saltonstall (1784–1838) * Lucy Sanders (bapt. 1793) * George Thomas Sanders (1804–1856)

Bibliography

* ''Conversations, Principally on the Aborigines of North America'' (1828) * ''The First Settlers of New England'' (1829) * ''Tract on Missions'' (1844) * ''Second Part of a Tract on Missions'' (1845) * ''Remarks on the "Tour Around Hawaii," by the Missionaries, Messrs. Ellis, Thurston, and Goodrich'' (1848)

References

External links

Books by Sanders
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Elizabeth Elkins Created via preloaddraft 1762 births 1851 deaths 19th-century American women writers 19th-century American non-fiction writers American women non-fiction writers Writers from Salem, Massachusetts American social activists Activists from Massachusetts 19th-century Unitarians