Elihu Burritt (December 8, 1810March 6, 1879) was an American diplomat, philanthropist and social activist.
[Arthur Weinberg and Lila Shaffer Weinberg. ''Instead of Violence: Writings by the Great Advocates of Peace and Nonviolence Throughout History''. New York, Grossman Publishers, 1963.(p. 340-45).] He was also a prolific lecturer, journalist and writer who traveled widely in the United States and Europe.
Early life
Elihu Burritt was born December 8, 1810, in
New Britain, Connecticut
New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately southwest of Hartford. According to 2020 Census, the population of the city is 74,135.
Among the southernmost of the communities encompassed wit ...
. He was a descendant of William and Elizabeth Burritt from Stratford, Connecticut. He first worked as a
blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
. As an adult he was active as a lecturer in many causes, opposing
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, working for
temperance
Temperance may refer to:
Moderation
*Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed
*Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion
Culture
*Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...
, and trying to achieve world peace.
In the early 1840s Burritt began to tour
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
, speaking against war and promoting brotherhood. His sobriquet "Learned Blacksmith" arose from a period when he earned a living as a blacksmith in
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
. He founded a weekly paper, the ''Christian Citizen'', in Worcester in 1844.
By this time, Burritt had emerged at the head of a group of radical
pacifist
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
s within the
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 ...
, and took on
George Cone Beckwith
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
, who supported a gradualist attitude on multiple fronts. There was a confrontation in 1845. Burritt was given the chance to take over as editor of ''The Advocate of Peace'', the organ of the American Peace Society, but Beckwith employed delaying tactics. When Burritt came into post at the beginning of 1846, he renamed the publication as ''The Advocate of Peace and Universal Brotherhood''. But when Beckwith had mustered enough support, in May, the decision was reversed. The infighting cost the society its president, Samuel Elliott Coues, who resigned.
Move to England
In the summer of 1846, the disillusioned Burritt left the cautious Beckwith, and went to England. He stayed initially with
Joseph Sturge
Joseph Sturge (1793 – 14 May 1859) was an English Quaker, abolitionist and activist. He founded the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society (now Anti-Slavery International). He worked throughout his life in Radical political actions support ...
. Setting off in July on a walking tour, he went to
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
, the namesake town, to speak.
He travelled widely around a new home in
Harborne
Harborne is an area of south-west Birmingham, England. It is one of the most affluent areas of the Midlands, southwest from Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in ...
, then a rural village, largely on foot. He was sympathetic to the industrial and political culture of
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, and became a friend of many of its leading citizens, so that what he wrote about it was largely positive.
During his time in Birmingham he lived in a house which he named New Britain Villas. It was later home to
Edward Chitham
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...
, who also wrote a book on the
Black Country
The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during its ro ...
. Burritt was actively involved the local community, taking part in the committee for the rebuilding of
St. Peter's Church, Harborne
Saint Peter's is the ancient parish church of Harborne, Birmingham, England.
Background
There has been a church on the site since Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times and St Chad is even thought to have preached there. The base of an early preaching cross ...
.
During a trip abroad in 1846–47, Burritt was touched by the suffering of the Irish peasantry.
League of Universal Brotherhood
Burritt founded the peace organization the League of Universal Brotherhood in 1846.
He launched it at
Pershore
Pershore is a market town in the Wychavon district in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Avon. The town is part of the West Worcestershire parliamentary constituency. At the 2011 census, the population was 7,125. The town i ...
, and it was supported by Sturge,
James Silk Buckingham
James Silk Buckingham (25 August 1786 – 30 June 1855) was a British author, journalist and traveller, known for his contributions to Indian journalism. He was a pioneer among the Europeans who fought for a liberal press in India.
Early life
B ...
, and John Jefferson of the
London Peace Society
The Peace Society, International Peace Society or London Peace Society originally known as the Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace, was a pioneering British pacifist organisation that was active from 1816 until the 1930s.
Hi ...
. The Quaker Edmund Fry (1811–1866) became its secretary, and
Charles Gilpin a supporter. Burritt edited the monthly ''Bond of Brotherhood'', from London.
The league promoted the use of
free-labour produce. Female auxiliaries, called 'Olive Leaf Circles', raised funds for the league by selling articles made from free-labour cotton and other raw materials. By 1850 there were around 150 of such circles in Britain.
"
The peace movement
A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals, such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world pea ...
", as an
umbrella term
In linguistics, semantics, general semantics, and ontologies, hyponymy () is a semantic relation between a hyponym denoting a subtype and a hypernym or hyperonym (sometimes called umbrella term or blanket term) denoting a supertype. In other wor ...
that included supporters of
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was a prominent American Christian, abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely read antislavery newspaper '' The Liberator'', which he found ...
and the "moral force"
Chartists
Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of 1838 and was a national protest movement, w ...
, as well as the league and Peace Society radicals, was popularised by Burritt from 1847.
Burritt organized the
first international congress of the Friends of Peace, which convened in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
in September 1848.
The league was shortly an international movement, but its British branch became part of the London Peace Society in 1857. It influenced the later work in the United Kingdom of
Priscilla Peckover
Priscilla Hannah Peckover (27 October 1833 – 8 September 1931) was an English Quaker, pacifist and linguist from a prosperous banking family. After helping to raise the three daughters of her widowed brother, in her forties she became involve ...
.
A second "Peace Congress" met in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
in 1849, presided over by
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
. Burritt attended the "Peace Congresses" at
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
in 1850,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 1851,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
in 1852 and
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
in 1853. The outbreak of the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
and then the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
jolted his views.
Later life
Burritt's first stay in Britain ended in 1853. He returned to New England, taking an interest in farming and agricultural methods.
Burritt advocated that Britain, which introduced the
Uniform Penny Post
The Uniform Penny Post was a component of the comprehensive reform of the Royal Mail, the UK's official postal service, that took place in the 19th century. The reforms were a government initiative to eradicate the abuse and corruption of the e ...
in 1840, should introduce an international "ocean penny post" and reduce the cost from one
shilling
The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...
(12 pence) to
threepence. He argued this would increase international correspondence, trade, and hence universal brotherhood. He urged the use of illustrated propaganda envelopes. Postal rates were gradually reduced, but his objective was not entirely achieved in his lifetime.
In 1856–1857 Burritt spent much time on
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 ...
lecturing in the USA. He was promoting his version of "compensated emancipation".
Burritt was appointed
United States consul in Birmingham, England by
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
in 1864. When
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
was elected in 1868, he was not reappointed to the post.
He died on March 6, 1879, in New Britain, Connecticut.
Works
Burritt published at least 37 books and articles. They included:
*''Sparks from the Anvil''
*''Ten Minute Talks''.
*''A Journal of a Visit of Three Days to Skibbereen'' (1847). It made residents of the United States more aware of the
Great Famine of Ireland.
*''
Walks in the Black Country and its Green Border-Land''. Recorded his thoughts on the industrialization of communities in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
and the
Black Country
The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during its ro ...
, and brought the latter term into widespread common usage. It was the third of the travel books he wrote about Britain for American readers.
He was the author of the famous early description of the Black Country as "black by day and red by night", adding appreciatively that it "cannot be matched, for vast and varied production, by any other space of equal radius on the surface of the globe".
Legacy
Each August,
New Marlborough, Massachusetts
New Marlborough is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,528 at the 2020 census. New Marlborough consists of five villages: Clayto ...
, hosts an annual crafts and community fair in honor of Elihu Burritt. Burritt resided in the
Berkshire County
Berkshire County (pronounced ) is a county on the western edge of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its largest city and traditional county seat is Pittsfield. The county was founded in ...
Town in 1830. He is one of several blacksmiths who may have inspired the poem "
The Village Blacksmith
"The Village Blacksmith" is a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, first published in 1840. The poem describes a local blacksmith and his daily life. The blacksmith serves as a role model who balances his job with the role he plays with his family ...
" by
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...
.
Burritt College, which operated in
Spencer, Tennessee
Spencer is a town in Van Buren County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,683 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Van Buren County. It is home to Fall Creek Falls State Park.
History
Spencer is named after Thomas Sharp Sp ...
, from 1848 to 1939, was named in his honor.
[Francis Marion West, ‘]
Pioneer of the Cumberlands: A History of Burritt College
’ (master’s thesis, Tennessee Technological University, 1969). Accessed at ‘’Restoration History’’ website, 4 March 2015.
The library at the
Central Connecticut State University
Central Connecticut State University (Central Connecticut, CCSU, Central Connecticut State, or informally Central) is a public university in New Britain, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1849 as the State Normal School, CCSU is Connecticut ...
in New Britain, CT is named in his honor – The Elihu Burritt Library. It holds an archive of his work and correspondence. Another archive is held as part of the Swarthmore College Peace Collection.
See also
*
List of peace activists
This list of peace activists includes people who have proactively advocated diplomatic, philosophical, and non-military resolution of major territorial or ideological disputes through nonviolent means and methods. Peace activists usually work ...
*
Black Country flag
The Black Country flag is the flag of the Black Country region of England. It was registered with the Flag Institute as a regional flag in 2012.
History
The design was the winner of a competition run by the Black Country Living Museum in resp ...
the colours of which inspired by his description of the Black Country
References
External links
*
*
Elihu Burritt Bicentennial Eventsat Central Connecticut State University
Twenty Reasons for Total Abstinence from Slave-Labour Produce(185-) – at the Antislavery Literature Project
Contents of the Elihu Burritt Archivesat the Elihu Burritt Library
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burritt, Elihu
1811 births
1879 deaths
American pacifists
American pamphleteers
American political writers
American male non-fiction writers
19th-century American writers
American consuls
19th-century American diplomats
Writers from New Britain, Connecticut
19th-century American male writers
People from Birmingham, West Midlands
19th-century American philanthropists