William Ladd (May 10, 1778 – April 9, 1841) was one of the earliest

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

anti-war activists, and the first president of 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 ...

Biography

Ladd was born in

Exeter, New Hampshire Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 16,049 at the 2020 census, up from 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood. ...

as a direct lineal descendant of Daniel Ladd, Sr. (1613–1693). After he graduated from

Harvard 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 ...

in 1797 he shipped as a seaman from

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsmou ...

in a vessel owned by his father, a local merchant. At 20 years old he was a capable

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 ...

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and had seen much of the world. He briefly had a plantation in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

which ultimately failed as he refused to use slave labor. A disbeliever in war for any purpose, he turned at the outbreak of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, when the British blockade temporarily stopped commerce. He moved to

Minot, Maine Minot is a town in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,766 at the 2020 census. The town includes the villages of West Minot and Minot Center. It is part of both the Lewiston- Auburn, Maine metropolitan statistical a ...

, became a prosperous farmer, and devoted both his tongue and his pen to preaching

non-resistance Nonresistance (or non-resistance) is "the practice or principle of not resisting authority, even when it is unjustly exercised". At its core is discouragement of, even opposition to, physical resistance to an enemy. It is considered as a form of pri ...

. In 1823 he wrote the first of 32 ''Essays on Peace and War'', published in the ''Christian Mirror'' of

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

, which laid out a Christian case for pacifism. These essays were published pseudonymously as a book in 1825 (Portland, ME: Shirley & Edwards) under the title ''The Essays of Philanthropos on Peace and War''; a second revised and corrected edition was published in 1827 (Exeter, NH: J. T. Burnham in behalf of the Exeter and other peace societies). Subsequent essays would criticize the slave trade and the raising of the

Bunker Hill Monument The Bunker Hill Monument is a monument erected at the site of the Battle of Bunker Hill in Boston, Massachusetts, which was among the first major battles between the Red Coats and Patriots in the American Revolutionary War. The 221-foot (67 m) gran ...

Charlestown, Massachusetts Charlestown is the oldest neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Originally called Mishawum by the Massachusett tribe, it is located on a peninsula north of the Charles River, across from downtown Boston, and also adjoins t ...

as a memorial to war. State and local "peace societies" already existed in the 1820s, but in 1828 the

was formed with Ladd as its first president. The first meeting was held in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Ladd wrote and published the society's newspaper, ''The Harbinger of Peace'' (later ''The Calumet'') from his house in

. In 1837, due to Ladd's influence and against the arguments of other members, including the president of

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

, the constitution of the

was amended to declare that all war was contrary to the Christian Gospel. In 1840 Ladd proposed a plan for a World

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

and Court of Nations, somewhat similar to the later

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. He published ''An Essay on a Congress of Nations'' (1840). He was partly influenced by the military build-up the year before in his home state of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

because of a border dispute with Britain, the so-called

Aroostook War The Aroostook War (sometimes called the Pork and Beans WarLe Duc, Thomas (1947). The Maine Frontier and the Northeastern Boundary Controversy. ''The American Historical Review'' Vol. 53, No. 1 (Oct., 1947), pp. 30–41), or the Madawaska War, wa ...

. Ladd is buried in

Notes

References

William Ladd: Apostle of Peace
Reprint of biography from ''Sprague's Journal of Maine History'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ladd, William 1778 births 1841 deaths Harvard University alumni American political writers American male non-fiction writers American philanthropists People from Minot, Maine American sailors American Christian pacifists American anti-war activists People from Exeter, New Hampshire Farmers from Maine Activists from New Hampshire Activists from Maine

Biography

See also

Notes

References