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Moses Harman (October 12, 1830January 30, 1910) was an American schoolteacher and publisher notable for his staunch support for
women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
. He was prosecuted under the
Comstock Law The Comstock laws were a set of federal acts passed by the United States Congress under the Grant administration along with related state laws.Dennett p.9 The "parent" act (Sect. 211) was passed on March 3, 1873, as the Act for the Suppression of ...
for content published in his
anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessar ...
periodical ''Lucifer the Lightbearer''. He was arrested and jailed multiple times for publishing allegedly obscene material. His daughter,
Lillian Harman Lillian Susan Harman-O'Brien (; December 23, 1869 – 1929) was an American sex radical feminist and editor. Her father Moses Harman edited ''Lucifer, the Light-Bearer'', a regional, weekly paper that introduced her to issues of women's sexua ...
, was also a notable anarchist.


Biography

Moses Harman was born on October 12, 1830 in
Pendleton County, West Virginia Pendleton County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,143, making it the second-least populous county in West Virginia. Its county seat is Franklin. The county was created by the ...
to Job and Nancy Harman. Their family later moved to Crawford County, Missouri. Harman taught subscription school courses and attended Arcadia College. After completing his schoolwork, Harman worked as a Methodist circuit rider and teacher. Harman married Susan Scheuck in 1866. Although they had several children, only two survived and Susan died in childbirth in 1877. Harman left the ministry and began his involvement with eugenics and social reform following Susan's death. In 1881, Harman edited the ''Kansas Liberal'' newspaper in
Valley Falls, Kansas Valley Falls is a city in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,092. History Valley Falls was originally called Grasshopper Falls, from the falls in the Grasshopper River (now known as ...
. Harman has been credited as one of the founders of what became the
eugenics Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...
movement. "He gave the spur and start to this effort. Through his journals, ''Lucifer, the Light Bearer'', later renamed ''The American Journal of Eugenics'', encouraged by a small circle of earnest men and women, he dug down below the surface endeavoring to bring forth a stronger and better type of men". In 1881, Harman co-edited the ''Valley Falls Liberal'', and eventually became the editor. On August 24, 1883, Harman changed the name of the publication to ''Lucifer, the Light Bearer''. He moved the location of the newspaper several times for financial and philosophical reasons: to
Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Unit ...
in 1890, to Chicago in 1896, and to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
in 1908. The name of the paper also changed to ''The American Journal of Eugenics'' in 1906. Articles published in ''Lucifer'' discussed topics such as religion, relationships, and raising children. Through his work, Harman rejected all forms of religion and government, including marriage, and promoted freedom, love, wisdom, and the use of knowledge. Due to the radical nature of his views and publication, Harman constantly dealt with lawsuits, charges of immorality, ridicule, and issues with mailing what was considered obscene material through the
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...
. Consequently, Harman was sentenced and released by courts several times in the 1890s. He died on January 30, 1910, aged 79, in Los Angeles.


Work In Lucifer

Harman as the primary writer for the paper ''Lucifer The Light-Bearer'' expressed many political opinions in his writing. The primary focus of the paper was the discussion of women's rights especially in regards to marriage as he viewed it as the subjugation of women by men and the state. The paper was home to many letters, petitions and articles that discussed societal and political changes for women in America. One such contribution was from Lois Waisbrooker and was a declaration of independence for women that prescribed societal expectations and rule upon men and women.
Whereas:-Man, as a sex, has no more right to make laws and insist upon our obedience than we, as a sex, have to make laws and insist upon his obedience, and Whereas:-The race lives upon the heart's blood of woman daring its prenatal existence, thus making the character of its individual members largely dependent upon conditions surrounding her, and Whereas:-Woman herself can best understand the conditions needed for her work as mother of the race, and Whereas:-The present institutions of society are not adapted to woman's freedom, Therefore we the undersigned, hereby repudiate man's role over as, demanding the right to ourselves and such a re-adjustment of conditions as will enable us to do our Best Work for the human race.
Contributions such as this were representative of the level of political change that Harman advocated for. The church was another area of society that Harman targeted in Lucifer through his support of other likeminded activists such as the writer/activist Matilda Joslyn Gage. Gage argued that the church's influence over the state had created the societal chains upon women that bound them to an unjust system, and the acts of the church to care for abandoned children only was necessary because of the societal pressures that church imposed on women and through them their children. Harman's political activism often put him at risk of law suits and led to multiple jail sentences but despite the risks and costs that he faced his support for ground up societal changes never deserted him.


References


Further reading

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External links

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Moses Harman: A Kansas Portrait
from the
Kansas State Historical Society The Kansas Historical Society is the official state historical society of Kansas. Headquartered in Topeka, it operates as "the trustee of the state" for the purpose of maintaining the state's history and operates the Kansas Museum of History, Kan ...

Moses Harman: The Paradigm of A Male Feminist
by
Wendy McElroy Wendy McElroy (born 1951) is a Canadian individualist feminist and voluntaryist writer. She was a co-founder along with Carl Watner and George H. Smith of ''The Voluntaryist'' magazine in 1982 and is the author of a number of books. McElro ...

Sex Slavery
by
Voltairine de Cleyre Voltairine de Cleyre (November 17, 1866 – June 20, 1912) was an American anarchist known for being a prolific writer and speaker who opposed capitalism, marriage and the state as well as the domination of religion over sexuality and women's li ...
, an 1890 essay supporting Harman and attacking the institution of marriage {{DEFAULTSORT:Harman, Moses 1830 births 1910 deaths American anarchists American eugenicists American male non-fiction writers American political writers Anarcha-feminists Anarchist writers Feminism and history Free love advocates Individualist anarchists Individualist feminists Male feminists People from Valley Falls, Kansas Schoolteachers from Missouri Schoolteachers from West Virginia American publishers (people)