The 'Hoary-Headed Apostle of Satan' and Press Freedom in America:
The Seditious Blasphemy Libel and Censorship Trials
of Freethought Journalist Abner Kneeland
a paper submitted for presentation at the Association for Education in
Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) 1997 Conference
by
Charles M. Mayo
Assistant Professor
and
Richard Alan Nelson
Professor
Manship School of Mass Communication
221 Journalism Building
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803-7202
Phone: (504) 388-3488 (Mayo) and (504) 388-6686 (Nelson)
_ 1997 Charles M. Mayo and Richard Alan Nelson
The 'Hoary-Headed Apostle of Satan' and Press Freedom in America:
The Seditious Blasphemy Libel and Censorship Trials
of Freethought Journalist Abner Kneeland
ABSTRACT
Forging an American national consensus on the legal status of
journalists--particularly those arguing for unpopular positions--is an ongoing
process. Many do not realize that the First Amendment rights of the press
recorded in the U.S. Constitution, often taken for granted today especially in
the area of political speech, were not applied to the states until many decades
later. Indeed, the notion that state powers over journalists remained
predominant was commonly held until the 20th century. This study looks at the
career of Abner Kneeland, an important freethought figure in 1830s, and the
legal actions for seditious blasphemy brought against him by Massachusetts
authorities in his capacity as the Boston-based publisher-editor of the
nationally-distributed The Investigator. As a freethinker, Kneeland devoted his
journalistic efforts to promoting news and opinion about religious and political
matters formed independently from traditional authority or established beliefs.
His hard-fought censorship trials for individual liberty, reminiscent of earlier
dissident pamphleteers seeking freedom from authoritarian actions by European
monarchs, point to the rejection of democratic secular humanism at a critical
time in American national history. Even though Kneeland lost his case appeals,
the issues articulated in his defense influenced later fighters for free speech
and brought about an end to seditious blasphemy prosecutions in the U.S. The
'Hoary-Headed Apostle of Satan' and Press Freedom in America:
The Seditious Blasphemy Libel and Censorship Trials
of Freethought Journalist Abner Kneeland
On December 20, 1833, The Investigator (commonly called The Boston
Investigator), a magazine with a "temper that of Thomas Paine, but more negative
in theology,"[1] published a "scandalous, impious, obscene, blasphemous and
profane libel"[2] of and concerning God. The publisher/editor was former Baptist
and Universalist preacher Abner Kneeland. A vocal exponent of free thought,
Kneeland was convicted in November 1835 of blasphemous libel under a 1782
Massachusetts statute linking irreverence to sedition. Kneeland's appeal to the
state's Supreme Judicial Court was heard March 1836. Arguing before the court
on his own behalf, Kneeland cited the works of famous writers who also
questioned the beliefs of traditional Christian orthodoxy, presented a grammar
lesson to the court on how the use of commas changes the meanings of sentences,
and evoked the guarantees of religious and press freedoms offered in the
Commonwealth's Bill of Rights.
The court took two years to issue an opinion which sustained Kneeland's
conviction. In upholding the conviction, Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw, a minister's
son, defined blasphemy as:
". . .speaking evil of the Diety with impious purpose to derogate from the
divine
majesty, and to alienate the minds of others from the love and reverence of
God.
It is purposely using words concerning God, calculated and designed to impair
and destroy the reverence, respect, and confidence due to him. . . .It is a
wilful and
malicious attempt to lessen men's reverence of God."[3]
Shaw opined that Kneeland's offense prohibited by the statute was the "wilful
denial of God. . . with an intent and purpose" to harm the reverence due God.
After five trials and four years, and in spite of a petition put before the
governor of Massachusetts signed by 168 prominent clergy and laymen who declared
that "the freedom of speech and the press. . .is never to be restrained by
legislation,"[4] the 62-year old Kneeland served his 60-day sentence.
This paper will examine free speech implications of the Kneeland case, which
took place before the First Amendment was applied to the states. Over the years
the Kneeland case has received more attention from legal researchers
investigating religious freedoms than from journalism scholars exploring the
implications of the trial in terms of freedom of the press. This neglect is
unfortunate since Kneeland was an influential figure in the new republic,
authoring books and pamphlets and editing and/or publishing six publications,
the content of which were heavily influenced by his growing conviction of the
importance of individual liberty and heretical approach to church involvement in
public life.[5]
After providing a brief biography of Kneeland, this article will discuss the
social and political environments of the 1830s to provide context to the case
and to suggest that forces other than religio-moral principles were at stake.
Courtroom arguments made by protagonists will also be presented, including
Kneeland's strenuous and articulate legal defense which pointed to Article XVI
of the Massachusetts Bill of Rights to argue for an individual's right to
publish without fear of government suppression.
Many of Kneeland's contemporaries believed he was "a hoary-headed apostle of
Satan"[6] and an immoral being who polluted everything he touched. However,
Kneeland regarded himself as a champion of free thought and liberty of
conscious. While not alone in his heretical beliefs, Kneeland was certainly more
outspoken than most of his fellow freethinkers and less cautious about offending
those in power. The Kneeland case aroused freethinkers around the United States
and led, at Kneeland's urging, to the formation of the United Moral and
Philosophical Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, the first national
free-thought society in the United States. This episode also earned Kneeland an
important footnote in American legal history: He was the last person imprisoned
by Massachusetts for the crime of blasphemy.
Kneeland, born in 1774 in Gardner, Mass., experienced periods of religious
doubt throughout a young adulthood that included pastorates as a Baptist
preacher in Vermont and a Universalist preacher in New Hampshire and
Massachusetts. He also was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives
in 1810 and 1811, and worked in the mercantile business for a while in Salem,
Mass. In 1817 he moved to Whitestown, N.Y., to preach, then to the Lombard
Street Universalist Church in Philadelphia. It was there he edited his first
magazine the Christian Messenger from 1819 to 1821, then the Universalist
Magazine and Christian Messenger from 1821 to 1823, and the Gazetteer in 1824.
As was his chosen denomination, which was at odds with the Puritanical orthodoxy
espoused by many New England churches, his discourse was often controversial.[7]
He left Philadelphia for the Prince Street Universalist Church in New York City,
but by 1827 he had caused such a division in the church because of his sermons,
he resigned. Kneeland then became the leading editor of The Olive Branch, a
Universalist weekly paper published by the New York Universalist Book Society,
of which he was president. But again, controversy erupted as he challenged the
New York church he had left and the Hudson River Universalist Association. He
then established the Second Universalist Society of New York and appointed
himself pastor. Kneeland also became sole editor of the Olive Branch and
Christian Inquirer, a weekly devoted to "free inquiry, pure morality and
rational christianity."[8] However, his religious doubts increased and by 1829
Kneeland's heretical views led to his voluntary dismissal from the Universalist
Church. He renounced Christianity in a series of public lectures in New York
City, which were later published as A Review of the Evidences of
Christianity.[9]
Kneeland moved to Boston in 1830 and became a lecturer at the newly formed
First Society of Free Enquirers and in 1831 founded The Investigator, a
magazine devoted to free thought. Holding lectures in the Federal Street
Theatre, Kneeland preached from his Bible of Reason. His lectures attracted
audiences of 2,000 and a like number subscribed to The Investigator, an
inexpensive publication with a large circulation among the city's poor.
Kneeland was a man of boundless energy and initiative. Besides his work during
this period on periodicals, he taught himself Greek, Latin and Hebrew and in
1822 published a translation of the New Testament. In addition, Kneeland was a
pioneer of phonetic reform and in 1827 published A Key to the New System of
Orthography as a way to promote a new alphabet that would make learning the
alphabet easier for children.[10] He also distributed birth control information
and, according to Melton, was probably the anonymous publisher of the first
birth control book in the United States Fruits of Philosophy.[11]
To help frame this story, described by Levy as the "most important and colorful
of all American blasphemy cases,"[12] in American history, one must consider the
many factors contributing to the growing identity crisis that was evolving in
America at that time.
As Kneeland began his ministry in the early 19th Century, the political
Establishment in the young country faced many uncomfortable decisions regarding
how to treat the new American immigrants. Between 1800 and 1820 approximately
184,000 immigrants entered the new nation. In 1837, the annual influx of
immigrants, mostly Europeans, into the United States numbered 79,340. To deny
these new Americans certain basic rights would have seemed tantamount to
rejecting the very principles of the Declaration of Independence for which the
Founding Fathers had fought so hard and to ignore the tenets espoused in the
Bill of Rights and often by state constitutions as well. To have rejected their
claims would have also denied them access to a cheap source of labor. The
solution many found was to allow them in but to make their life unpleasant.[13]
As a result, workingmen's parties were established to address laborers'
grievances in a political and economic system dominated by leaders perceived by
many as aristocratic, aloof and contemptuous of common folk. In 1833 a
convention of workingmen from all of New England was held in Boston. The
convention passed resolutions opposing child labor and imprisonment for debt and
supporting lien laws and tax law equity. When Boston shipwrights and caulkers
attempted to unionize, owners claimed such activities un-American,
unconstitutional, immoral and un-Christian. Additionally, immigrants brought
with them to new America all kinds of aberrant philosophies, including socialism
and communism. These philosophies gained followers and advocates as these groups
gained members and struggled for a political voice.
There was also a continuation of the revolutionary zeal that had delivered
America from the hands of England's oppressors. Now, however, this radicalism
was directed toward a reform movement that aimed to set right everything that
seemed to be going wrong with the American dream. Inequality, injustice, and
economic exploitation were just a few of the many themes taken up by America's
new radicals and espoused by such people as the English reformer Robert Dale
Owen, and Frances Wright of Scotland, who travelled with Lafayette on his
triumphant return to America in 1818. (Together Owen and Wright edited the
radical magazine the Free Inquirer and became friends with Kneeland.) These
views were regarded by the political Establishment as unsettling to civil
society and the morality of the people. The result was a stark separation of
classes. One European visitor commented that "There does exist. . .an
aristocracy of the most odious kind,--an aristocracy of knowledge, education,
and refinement, which is inconsistent with the true democratic principle of
absolute equality."[14] Reform movements embraced such themes as temperance,
women's rights, capital punishment, prisons, treatment of the insane and
handicapped, peace movements, and even vegetarianism.
The early 19th Century also saw notions of continuity, traditional wisdom and
the ultimate authority of God give way to the power of human reason, to science,
and to the will of the majority of the people. The concepts of reason and
science were perceived by some as assaults on traditional Christianity. The
Classical Christian Consciousness suggested that man was inherently frail, weak
and tainted by original sin with tendencies for self-love and
self-aggrandizement. The foundation of this philosophy was that in any social
order power would be abused. If one applied the power of reason in this setting,
the likely outcome would be tyranny. Salvation came through faith and grace.
Secular Democratic Consciousness believed in the natural goodness and imminent
perfectibility of man. The struggle between the status quo, defended by those
who benefitted unduly from it, and the masses who wished for a better society,
was an ongoing one. The battle for America's consciousness between the
Classical-Christian orthodoxy and the Secular Democratic orientation was
manifested in the election of 1828 when Andrew Jackson, a Democrat and a man for
the common folk, defeated John Quincy Adams, a National Republican and part of
the New England, aristocratic elite who had ruled the country since Washington.
In other words, traditional Christian orthodoxy was being questioned by many
local philosophical and religious groups and Massachusetts was a hot-bed of
so-called free religion.
Kneeland's indictment for blasphemy contained three counts based on articles
in The Investigator. The first count alleged an obscenity relating to the story
of the immaculate conception and the second count alleged an irreverent ridicule
of prayer. The third count was based on a published letter written by Kneeland
to the editor of the Universalist Trumpet. He had written:
"1. Universalists believe in a god which I do not; but believe that their god,
with
all his moral attributes (aside from nature itself) is nothing more than a
chimera
of their own imagination.
2. Universalists believe in Christ, which I do not; but believe that the whole
story
concerning him is as much a fable and a fiction, as that of the god Prometheus,
the
tragedy of whose death is said to have been acted on the stage in the theatre
at
Athens, 500 years before the christian era.
3. Universalists believe in miracles, which I do not; but believe that every
pretension
to them can either be accounted for on natural principles or else is to be
attributed
to mere trick and imposture.
4. Universalists believe in the resurrection of the dead, in immortality and
eternal
life, which I do not; but believe that all life is mortal, that death is an
eternal
extinction of life to the individual who possess it, and that no individual
life is, ever
was, or ever will be eternal."[15]
Levy asserts that for the state of Massachusetts this was evidence enough that
"the flag of atheism had been planted in its midst in preparation for an
'exterminating warfare' against Christianity."[16]
Andrew Dunlap, a high-ranking Massachusetts Democrat and former state attorney
general, defended Kneeland in Judge Peter Thatcher's Municipal Court in January
1834. The Commonwealth's prosecutor was Samuel D. Parker, the son of an
Episcopal bishop. Parker compared Kneeland's writings with the radical beliefs
of Owen and Wright and argued that if Kneeland was not stopped, moral restraints
would cease to exist, illicit sexual relations would be the order of the day,
and laws of property would be repealed, thus ushering in to Boston the socialist
experiments attempted by Owen and Wright in other places. Parker also pointed
out Kneeland's writings about contraceptive methods and the "physiology of the
female genital system" and charged that this constituted a "complete recipe" for
corrupting the youth of Boston. Thus, in Parker's view, Kneeland was guilty of
disseminating moral and political poison.[17] Penalties for blasphemy in
Massachusetts included imprisonment for up to one year, or sentencing to the
pillory, to whipping, or by being made to sit on the gallows with a rope around
the blasphemer's neck. In his charge to the jury Thatcher, a Whig, warned of
dire consequences should religious restraints disintegrate. He pointed out that
if an individual may be punished for injurious slander against a fellow citizen,
it would seem "to be a great defect in the law. . .there were no punishment for
him, who should maliciously slander Almighty God."[18] This first trial ended
with a conviction and Kneeland appealed.
The second trial began in May 1834 before Judge Samuel Putnam of the Supreme
Judicial Court. Parker presented the same arguments he posed to the jury in the
first trial. In his presentation the prosecutor reviewed the important topics
involved in the trial, including:
"1. The rights of conscience--I would not impugn them--they are guaranteed by
our Institutions--use your as you please, but leave me mine--abuse not, vilify
not,
obliterate not my creed. . .we have a right to be protected from insult and
not have
our feelings hurt by offensive and disgusting obscenity. Such is the true
construction of religious freedom.
2. The liberty of free discussion--We indulge it to the utmost latitude-we ask
only
that it be decent--that it be fair--that it be sincere--that it violate not the
laws of
the land. . . .
3. The liberty of the Press--We admit and would support it to the fullest
extent. . .
But restrain its licentiousness--It may be the engine of mischief as well as of
good.
It is the liberty of fire arms--the liberty of the sword--of the element of
fire, to be
rightfully and lawfully used on proper occasions, but not for murder or
assassination,
or mischief or malice on persons or reputation. . .Every may has a right to
investigate
with decency controversial points of the Christian Religion, but man,
consistently,
with a law which exists only under its sanctions, has a right to deny its very
existence, and to pour fourth such shocking and insulting invectives as the
lowest
establishments of civil authority ought not to be subjected to, and which would
soon be borne down my insolence and disobedience, if they were. . . ."[19]
This second trial ended with a hung jury: eleven agreed with the prosecution in
ten minutes. The lone dissenter was a friend of Dunlap's, Charles Gordon Greene,
the Jacksonian editor of the Boston Morning Post.
The third trial before Judge Samuel Wilde in November 1834 also ended in a hung
jury. David Henshaw, leader of the Democratic party in Massachusetts, published
a pamphlet which detailed the biased charges against Kneeland and espoused the
cause for civil liberties. The pamphlet stated that Kneeland's trial "strikes at
the root of the liberty of conscience, and the freedom of the Press" and has
consequences which threaten "the destruction of the free institutions of this
country."[20]
A fourth trial in Judge Wilde's court one year later ended in a conviction.
Kneeland's next appeal was to Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw's Supreme Judicial
Court. Commonwealth v. Kneeland commenced March 1836. Dunlap had died and
Kneeland represented himself, as he had done in the previous trial in Wilde's
court. The state was represented by Attorney General James T. Austin. Kneeland
repeated all the arguments used in previous four trials and claimed that the
charges as recorded in the indictment constituted no offense. He pointed out
that Putnam had admitted that an atheist might propagate his opinions and Wilde
had admitted that the truth of the scriptures might be denied. However, both
"annex the condition that it must be done decently"[21] Kneeland offered the
court examples of works by noted authors such as Voltaire, Priestly and Swift
who also discussed the Immaculate Conception, the subject of the first count of
indictment against him. "Is vulgarity the privileged monopoly of the high
dignitaries of the Church, like Swift?. . .Why begin with me?"[22] asked
Kneeland. On the second count concerning the ridicule of prayer, Kneeland
offered more examples of noted authors, including Charles Chauncey, the second
president of Harvard, who attacked prayers as "hell-bred superstition." Kneeland
summed up the second count saying ". . .unless about one half of the community
are guilty of blasphemy, the language used in the second article complained of
in the indictment is 'decent.'"[23]
The third count, upon which the attorney general built his main case, concerned
the letter Kneeland had written to the Universalist preacher. The letter
contained no cursing or "contumelious reproach" and Kneeland maintained that a
disbelief in the doctrines of Christianity was not prohibited by the statute. He
posed part of his argument on the grounds of grammatical analysis of his words.
He had expressed a disbelief in God in the letter, not a denial. A disbelief is
an expression of doubt, he argued, and a denial is a positive assertion without
any doubt. The statute upon which the state's case was built referred only to
wilful denial. ". . .I never intended to express even a disbelief in, much less
a denial of, God,"[24] claimed Kneeland. Kneeland also pointed to the
punctuation used in two sentences included in the indictment: "Universalists
believe in a god which I do not." and "Universalists believe in Christ, which I
do not." The use of commas in the sentences, he claimed, underscored his
argument. The first sentence has no comma after god. "I did not intend to
express. . .my disbelief in God, but in 'a god,' that is, the 'god' or belief of
the Universalists," he explained. In the second sentence, because of the comma,
his intention was clearly to express a disbelief in Christ, he added. Kneeland
cited Murray's Grammar, vol. 1, p. 31, to defend his argument. He also claimed
he intended to express a disbelief in "a god," the "god" or belief of the
Universalist Church. This he compared to the Trinitarians, who believe in god as
the son, the father and the holy spirit, as an expression of an extended belief
in God, rather than a narrow belief of God as on the divine spirit.[25]
He turned his attention next to the constitutionality of the statute under
which he was being prosecuted. "This Bill of Rights is a shield for the weak,
not a weapon of persecution for the hand of the strong," he contended.[26] He
argued that the statute violated Article II of the Massachusetts Declaration of
Rights which granted persons the right to worship "in the manner and season most
agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience; or for his religious
profession, or sentiments."[27] Judge Wilde's decision in the previous trial had
stripped him of this protection by declaring Kneeland's atheistic denial of God
an irreligious profession. Kneeland argued for a broad interpretation of Article
II under the maxim of Jefferson, that "error of opinion may be safely tolerated,
when reason is left free to combat it." If the court applied a strict
interpretation and branded his sentiments as irreligious, then the legislature
and the courts might be free to "harass by penal prosecutions" all who
maintained religious observances they considered irreligious. Kneeland pointed
out that this meant only conformists could have no fear of being persecuted. He
declared that Article II was intended for those who professed unpopular
sentiments respecting religion. Kneeland pointed out that Austin had argued that
the defendant would wish to carry the liberty of the press "to anything and
everything I might choose to print." He admitted that was true, in relation to
religion and all other general subjects. "But if I slander my neighbor," said
Kneeland, "he has a right to a civil action for damages. . ."[28] Kneeland
concluded his argument saying:
"I stand on a ground as broad as space, and as firm as a rock of ages; to wit,
on the
right of conscience, together with the privilege of the freedom of speech and
the
liberty of the press."[29]
Among the 2,200 opinions written by Shaw, whom Oliver Wendell Holmes regarded as
"the greatest magistrate" in American history,[30] this one does not so much
reveal his greatness as it confirms that Shaw was "a man of intense and doting
biases."[31]
According to Shaw, the two-year delay in handing down the decision was caused
by the difficult questions raised by the case and by the different opinions
among the judges. In spite the deliberation claimed by the Chief Justice, the
court opined that because no evidence was erroneously admitted, or rejected, and
no incorrect direction in matter of law were given, the verdict of guilty by the
lower court would be considered "taken as proved."[32] Kneeland's argument that
he had merely expressed a disbelief in God, and not a denial, violated Shaw's
definition of blasphemy because, in Shaw's view, his disbelief constituted a
denial. The opinion did not address the issue of whether Kneeland be held
responsible for the articles not written by him, in spite of court's order that
the case be considered on the "whole indictment and all the circumstances."[33]
Shaw's argument regarding Kneeland's claim that the statute violated the state
constitution was based on an interpretation that blasphemy was a common-law, or
judge-made, crime, which supersedes the fundamental law of the constitution. In
other words, Christianity was part and parcel of the common law and therefore
Kneeland's argument that the statute was repugnant to the state constitution was
irrelevant. According to Shaw, the defendant's argument concerning freedom of
the press was couched in common law as expounded by Chief Justice James De
Lancey in the Zenger case in 1735 and Sir William Blackstone in his book on the
laws of England.[34] The court claimed Kneeland's definition of freedom of the
press would make "all incitation to treason, assassination, and all other crimes
however atrocious, if conveyed in printed language. . .dispunishable."[35] This
of course ignored Kneeland's point that the author of slanderous language be
held accountable. This argument also interpreted Article XVI as a prohibition of
prior restraint.
Shaw also found no grounds for Kneeland's argument that the statute violated
religious liberty. Shaw interpreted "willfully" as "with a bad purpose."[36]
This interpretation meant that the statute was intended not to restrain the
profession of any religious sentiments, but to punish acts that would have a
"tendency to disturb the public peace."[37] Therefore, in Shaw's view,
Kneeland's guilt was based on the tendency of his espoused opinions. This
bad-tendency test was at variance with other interpretations of freedom of
opinion on religion at that point in time. For example, Virginia's Statute for
Establishing Religious Freedom enacted in 1786 opined that government should not
interfere until the avowed principles break out into overt acts against
peace.[38]
In his lone dissenting opinion, Judge Marcus Morton argued that Article II
should be broadly interpreted to include religious and irreligious professions
in order to protect the beliefs and disbeliefs of individuals. He opined that
individuals' opinions on the existence of God are "entirely above all civil
authority" and that religious truths do not need to be legislated. In his view,
for Kneeland's acts to be deemed criminal Kneeland's denial of God must have
been inspired by malice for the purpose of injuring others and a willful denial
was no crime because "willful" meant "obstinate." Morton declared that no man
"may be punished for doing what he has a legal right to do," and concluded that
Kneeland's conviction "rests very heavily upon my mind."[39]
A petition, signed by 168 reformers and intellectuals who urged a pardon for
Kneeland, was presented to Massachusetts Governor Edward Everett. Everett, a
Whig who had faced the Jacksonian dissenter Morton in the previous four
elections, rejected the petition. Kneeland served his 60-day sentence in summer
of 1838.
In 1839 Kneeland migrated westward to Iowa and attempted to establish a
utopian community, perhaps following the examples of his social reformer friends
Robert Dale Owen and Frances Wright. Called Salubria, this community was to be
co-operative and based on the precepts of free thought. The colony never
succeeded in attracting residents but Kneeland became involved in local Iowa
politics as a Democrat. But Kneeland's beliefs tagged him as an "infidel" and he
withdrew from politics in 1842. Kneeland died of a stroke August 27, 1844.[40]
As an historical figure of the early Republic, Kneeland bridged the gap between
free-thinking iconoclasts and revolutionaries such as Thomas Paine to later
"respected" free-thinkers such as Robert Ingersoll. Through his own writings as
well as those he published, Kneeland sought to bring enlightenment to the
general public and free the masses from the domination and terror produced by
clergy not far removed philosophically from those who led the earlier Salem
witch trials. He helped in the fight to unravel the feminine mystique by openly
discussing sexual needs and issues such as contraception, thus foreshadowing the
work of Margaret Sanger and other New England feminists.
In the end, Kneeland was significant as one of the first American journalists
to view the magazine as a major vehicle for social commentary and public policy
issues.Though he failed to find justice in the courts and as a builder of a
utopian community, without Kneeland's inspiration many later "truth seekers"
would not have had the courage to take on American political-religious-social
structures stacked against independence of thought. Indeed, Kneeland's free
speech fight and journalistic commitment to pursuing the facts as he saw them
continue to reverberate today among those for whom dissent is not a four-letter
word.
###
ABNER KNEELAND (1774-1844) TIMELINE:
1774, April 7DAbner Kneeland born in Gardner, Mass.
1795DMoved to Dumerston, Vt., where he works as a carpenter and school teacher.
Subsequently joins the Baptist church and briefly serves as a preacher.
However, his views are soon viewed by some as heretical and he later turns to
Universalism.
1803DLicensed as a Universalist preacher, working in Langdon, N.H., where he
also regularly preaches to Congregationalists.
1805, October 30DRegularly ordained as pastor of the Universalist Church in
Langdon, continuing in that role until 1811.
1810DElected to New Hampshire House of Representatives, serving in 1810 and 1811
sessions.
1812-1814DPastor of a church in Charlestown, Mass.
1814-1817DAfter religious doubts, engages in merchandise business in Salem,
Mass. Continues correspondence with his friend, the Rev. Hosea Ballou, on the
authenticity of the scriptures and their letters are published in 1816.
1817DResumes preaching and briefly holds a pastorate in Whitestown, N.Y.
1818DBecomes pastor of the Lombard Street Universalist Church in Philadelphia.
1822DPublishes a translation of the New Testament.
1825DMoves to New York City as pastor of the Prince Street Universalist Church.
1827DSchism in Prince Street Church caused by Kneeland's "boldness in preaching"
leads to his resignation. Kneeland also publishes A Key to the New System of
Orthography.
1827, JuneDSecond Universalist Society of New York organized, with Rev. Abner
Kneeland as pastor.
1829, MayDResigns from the Universalist Church.
1830DMoves to Boston in 1830 and lectures at the newly formed First Society of
Free Enquirers.
1831, AprilDFounds a weekly newspaper devoted to religious free thought, The
Investigator, in Boston. This evolves from earlier Universalist publications he
edited to become the nation's first nationally-circulated news outlet for
dissident deist/atheist views.
1833, December 20DAn article in The Investigator results in legal action
against Kneeland early in the following year.
1835DConvicted of religious blasphemy in a Massachusetts trial for circulating
"moral poison" in his "infidel newspaper," The Investigator. This evolved from
earlier Universalist publications Kneeland edited, to become the nation's first
nationally-circulated news outlet for deist/atheist views. Although Kneeland
later turned the management of The Investigator over to Horace Seaver and
others, it continued to influence the entire freethought movement and served to
inspire later leaders such as Robert Ingersoll.
1836, MarchDAppeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is heard.
1838DTrials and appeals of Kneeland conclude with his conviction. He moves to
Iowa Territory, helps found the utopian community of Salubria, and becomes
active in politics.
1844, August 27DKneeland dies.
1904, July 30--The Investigator, being issued at a loss by L. K. Washburn,
suspends publication and turns over its subscription list to The Truth Seeker.
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING:
(1) Books, Pamphlets, Sermons and Related Materials by Kneeland:
Kneeland, Abner. A Brief Sketch of a New System of Orthography. 1807. The first
of a number books and articles by Kneeland promoting reformed spelling.
Kneeland, Abner. For the Use of Those who are "Slaves to No Sect." Boston:
Boston Investigator, 1836. Free-thought hymnbook.
Kneeland, Abner. A Funeral Sermon On The Death Of Captain Abijah Harding: Who
was Killed by The Fall of a Tree in Barre, Mass., February 23, 1826, Aged 84
Years. Delivered at the Special Request of His Surviving Relatives and Friends
in the First Universalist Church in the City of New York, on Sunday, March 12,
1826 by Abner Kneeland. New York: Finch, 1826, 16 pages.
Kneeland, Abner. Key to the New System of Orthography. 1827.
Kneeland, Abner. Letters from the Editor, Abner Kneeland, to the Boston
Investigator, June 1839 - December 1839. Microfilm, 1 reel.
Kneeland, Abner. Minutes of a Discussion on Question: "Is the Punishment of the
Wicked Absolutely Eternal? Or is it Only a Temporal Punishment in This World,
for Their Good, and to be Succeeded by Eternal Happiness After Death?" Between
Abner Kneeland and W. W. M'calla, Which Commence at the First Independent
Church Of Christ, Called Universalist, in Lombard Street, Philadelphia, on
Tuesday Morning, July 13th, and Concluded on the Evening of Friday Following.
Taken in ShortDHand by R. L. Jennings. [Philadelphia?]: Printed for the
publisher, 1824; 336 pages.
Kneeland, Abner. Sermon book used as a scrap book, containing his call to the
ministry, 1813; "Prayer of the Freethinker," 1831; and Argument of the
prosecution in the blasphemy case, 1834. In Davenport Vault, .K733 - Kneeland.
State of Iowa. Historical Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs. State
Historical Society of Iowa. Library/Archives Bureau. Des Moines.
Kneeland, Abner. Three Sermons: Delivered in the First Universalist Church, in
the City of New York on Easter Sunday, March 26, 1826, in Which is Embodied a
Brief Portraiture of Christian Theology. New York: J. Finch, 1826, iv, 42
pages.
Kneeland, Abner. Valedictory Address. Boston: The Investigator, 1839. Pamphlet
reprint of an article originally appearing in the April 3, 1839 issue of The
Investigator.
(2) Newspapers and Magazines Edited by Abner Kneeland, Arranged
Chronologically:
The Christian Messenger. [edited by the Rev. Abner Kneeland]. Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania: Published by the editor, 1819 - Vol. 1, no. 1 (August 7, 1819) -
Vol. 2, no. 51 (July 21, 1821). Superseded Philadelphia Universalist Magazine
and Christian Messenger. Microfilm. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University
Microfilms, 1948. 1 microfilm reel. "American Periodical Series, 1800-1850";
82.
The Philadelphia Universalist Magazine and Christian Messenger. [edited by the
Rev. Abner Kneeland]. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Published by the editor,
1821 - Vol. 1, no. 1 (August 1821) - Vol. 2, no. [ ], (July 1823). Superseded
The Gazetteer (Philadelphia, Pa.). Continues Christian Messenger
(Philadelphia, Pa.). Microfilm. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilms,
1951. 1 microfilm reel. "American Periodical Series, 1800-1825"; 187. This
Universalist periodical was a continuation of The Christian Messenger devoted
to "doctrine, religion, and morality." It offered moral and religious essays,
poetry, and sermons, as well as news of church activities.
The Gazetteer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: edited by Abner Kneeland, 1824 -
Vol. 1, no. 1 (January 7, 1824) - Vol. 1, no. 52 (December 29, 1824).
Continued Philadelphia Universalist Magazine and Christian Messenger.
Microfilm. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilms, 1949. 1 microfilm
reel. "American Periodical Series, 1800-1850"; 107.
Olive Branch. New York, N.Y: edited by Abner Kneeland, 1828 - Vol. 1, no. 1
(June 1827) - April 1828, when merged in Christian Inquirer, May 1828.
Universalist weekly newspaper.
Olive Branch and Christian Inquirer. New York, N.Y: edited by Abner Kneeland,
May 1828-May 1829. Also a weekly devoted to "free inquiry, pure morality and
rational christianity."
Kneeland had some connection (contributor? stories about?) with The Enquirer,
New Harmony, Indiana (October 29, 1828- September 25, 1830) and with
Disseminator, New Harmony, Indiana (January 3, 1835 - June 25, 1836). Copies
of these issues are in the Iowa State Historical Society on microfilm B K733.
The Investigator (commonly called The Boston Investigator). Boston, Mass.: The
Investigator, April 1831-July 30, 1904, edited by Abner Kneeland (1831-1838).
In 1904, the content and mailing list were merged into The Truth Seeker.
(3) Publications by Others Referring to Kneeland:
Ballou, Rev. Hosea. Series of Letters in Defense of Divine Revelation; in Reply
to the Rev. Abner Kneeland's Serious Inquiry into the Authenticity of the Same.
Salem, Mass: 1816; 2d ed. Boston: 1820.
Harlan, E. R. Van Buren County Group of Famous Men. 1926. In Iowa State
Historical Society Library, features profile on Kneeland.
Hoornstra, Jean and Trudy Heath, eds. American Periodicals, 1741-1900: An Index
to the Microfilm Collections--American Periodicals 18th Century, American
Periodicals, 1800- 1850, American Periodicals, 1850-1900, Civil War and
Reconstruction. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International, 1979.
McCabe, Joseph. A Biographical Dictionary of Ancient, Medieval, and Modern
Freethinkers. (online ed.,
http://www.infidels.org/./library/historical/joseph_mccabe/dictionary.html).
Kneeland, Stillman F. Seven Centuries in the Kneeland Family. New York: Author,
1897. Stillman F. Kneeland was a Judge Advocate General of the state of New
York and Abner Kneeland's nephew. Copy on microfilm B K 733 at State Historical
Society of Iowa. Library/Archives Bureau. Des Moines.
Life of William Ellery Channing. Boston: American Unitarian Association, 1899.
See, especially, p. 306.
(4) Other Kneeland Trial- and Journalism-Related Materials:
"Blasphemy." Columbia Law Review 70 (1970), pp. 694-733.
Levy, Leonard W. The Law of the Commonwealth and Chief Justice Shaw. Cambridge,
Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1957.
McCormick, John, and Mairi MacInnes. Versions of Censorship. Garden City, N.Y.:
Doubleday, 1962.
Mott, Frank Luther. American Journalism, a History: 1690-1960. New York:
Macmillan, 1962.
Nelson, Harold L. Freedom of the Press from Hamilton to the Warren Court.
Indianapolis, Ind.: Bobbs-Merrill, 1967.
Nelson, Richard Alan. A Chronology and Glossary of Propaganda in the United
States. New York and London: Greenwood Press, 1996.
Tedford, Thomas L. Freedom of Speech in the United States. New York: Random
House, 1985.
(5) Key Library Indexing Terms:
Blasphemy.
ChristianityDControversial literature.
Free thought.
Freedom of ReligionDMassachusetts.
Freedom of Speech.
Humanism.
Journalism--United States--History--19th Century.
Kneeland, Abner, 1774-1844.
Massachusetts. Municipal Court (Boston).
PunishmentDUniversalism.
Salubria, Iowa.
Trials (Blasphemy).
Universalism.
UniversalismDPeriodicals.
Universalists. -----
"Kneeland, Abner (1774-1844), early American Freethinker. A carpenter who
entered the clergy and left the church to become a journalist and one of the
most devoted propagandists of atheism. In 1833 he was sent to prison for two
months for saying publicly that he did not believe in God. He read Hebrew,
Greek, and Latin, published the New Testament in Greek and English, Edited
Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary, and wrote a number of works."--From Joseph
McCabe, A BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF ANCIENT, MEDIEVAL, AND MODERN FREETHINKERS
(online ed.,
http://www.infidels.org/./library/historical/joseph_mccabe/dictionary.html)
.
[1] Quotes are from Mary R. Whitcomb, "Abner Kneeland: His Relations to Early
Iowa History." Annals of Iowa. 3rd Series, 6:5 (April 1904), p. 346 (340-363),
and are unattributed.
[2] Commonwealth v. Kneeland, found in Massachusetts Reports 37 (Pickering's
Mass. Reports 20) (1838), pp. 206-246
[3] Commonwealth v. Kneeland. See also Harold L. Nelson, "Seditious Libel in
Colonial America,"American Journal of Legal History 3 (1959), pp. 160+; and
Daniel Ross, "Judicial Speaking During the Blasphemy Trials of Holyoake and
Kneeland," Free Speech 52 (October 1981), pp. 5-10. Recognizing the importance
that the later American freethought leader Robert Ingersoll attached to these
cases in his defense of Charles B. Reynolds for blasphemy, the latter paper
analyzes the arguments advanced in the blasphemy trials of George Holyoake and
Abner Kneeland. Ross "suggests institutionalized religion remained a social
source for restricting and regulating intellectual freedom."
[4] Bancroft Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society. See also Leonard
Williams Levy, compiler. Blasphemy in Massachusetts: Freedom of Conscience and
the Abner Kneeland Case, a Documentary Record. New York: Da Capo Press, 1973, p.
xx. Contemporary case-related materials include: Abner Kneeland, defendant,
Trial of Abner Kneeland for Blasphemy, Part 1, In the Municipal Court, Jan. 21,
1834 and Abner Kneeland, defendant,Trial of Abner Kneeland for Blasphemy, Part
2, In the Municipal Court, May 13, 1834. Pamphlets. Xerox copies in State of
Iowa. Historical Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs. State
Historical Society of Iowa. Library/Archives Bureau. Des Moines and Iowa City. B
K733; Abner Kneeland, defendant, An Introduction to the Defence of Abner
Kneeland, Charged with Blasphemy, before the Municipal Court, in Boston, Mass.
at the January Term, in 1834. Boston: printed for the author, 1834, 43 pages;
Abner Kneeland, Speech of Abner Kneeland: Delivered Before the Supreme Court of
the City of Boston, in His Own Defence, on an Indictment for Blasphemy. November
Term, 1834. Boston: J. Q. Adams, 1834, 32 pages; An Appeal to Common Sense and
the Constitution, in Behalf of Unlimited Freedom of Public Discussion:
Occasioned by the Late Trial of Rev. Abner Kneeland, for Blasphemy. Boston:
n.p., 1834, 14 pages; and A Review of the Trial, Conviction, and Final
Imprisonment . . . of Abner Kneeland, . . . 1838. Copy at Harvard University
Library.
[5] See Henry Steele Commager, "The Blasphemy of Abner Kneeland," New England
Quarterly 29 (1935); and Roderick Stuart French, The Trials of Abner Kneeland: A
Study in the Rejection of Democratic Secular Humanism. Ph.D. dissertation,
George Washington University, 1971. Available on microfilm, 1 reel, from Ann
Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilms, 1971. French's 382-page work includes a
useful bibliography.
[6] Samuel Gridley Howe, "Atheism in New England," The New England Magazine, 7
(January 1835), pp. 500-509.
[7] Whitcomb, p. 341.
[8] Whitcomb, p. 343.
[9] Abner Kneeland, A Review of the Evidences Of Christianity; in a Series of
Lectures, Delivered in Broadway Hall, New-York, August, 1829. To Which is
Prefixed, an Extract fromWyttenbach's Opuscula, on The Ancient Notices of the
Jewish Nation Previous to the Time of Alexander the Great. 2d ed. New York:
Published at Tammany Hall [etc., etc.], 1830, 192 pages. 6th ed. Boston: Office
of The Investigator, 1835, 204 pages. Republished, Boston: Office of The
Investigator, 1887. Copy of the latter in State Historical Society of Iowa on
microfilm. See also
Abner Kneeland, "Rev. Abner Kneeland's Resignation," in New York Olive Branch,
Newspaper Division, State Historical Society of Iowa; and J. Gordon Melton,
Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders. New York: Garland,
1986.
[10] Whitcomb, p. 342.
[11] Melton, p. 143.
[12] Leonard W. Levy, Blasphemy. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993, p. 413. Also
of interest is the earlier Leonard W. Levy, Treason Against God: A History of
the Offense of Blasphemy. New York: Schocken Books, 1981.
[13] Levy (1993), p. xix.
[14] The quote is attributed to Thomas Hamilton of Scotland in Page Smith, A
People's History of the Ante-Bellum Years: The Nation Comes of Age. Vol. IV. New
York: McGraw Hill: 1981, p. 797
[15] American State Trials, Vol. XIII. St. Louis: Thomas Law Book Co., 1921, p.
453. The full text of the articles in question might also be found in Levy
(1973), pp. 4-38.
[16] Levy (1993), p. 415.
[17] American State Trials, Vol. XIII, p. 512.
[18] American State Trials, Vol. XIII, p. 512. A reprint may also be found in
Levy (1973), pp. 271-291.
[19] Samuel Dunn Parker, Report of the Arguments of the Attorney of the
Commonwealth: At the Trials of Abner Kneeland, for Blasphemy, in the Municipal
and Supreme Courts, in Boston, January and May, 1834. S. D. Parker, in Behalf of
the Commonwealth Opened the Cause... Boston: Printed by Beals, Homer & Co.,
1834; 93 pages. Note: Collected and published at the request of some Christians
of various denominations. Copy at Harvard University Library. The cited text can
also be found in Levy (1973), p. 193. See also Sketches of the Arguments of the
Attorney of the Commonwealth at the Trials of Abner Kneeland, . . . 1834. Copy
at Harvard University Library. Samuel Dunn Parker lived from 1780-1873.
[20] David Henshaw, Review of the Prosecution Against Abner Kneeland for
Blasphemy. Boston: 1835. Compare to Review of the Prosecution Against Abner
Kneeland for Blasphemy by a cosmopolite. Boston: [s.n.], 1835, 32 pages. See
also Andrew H. Ward, "David Henshaw," Memorial Biographies of the New England
Historic and Genealogical Society. Vol. I. Boston: 1880-1908, p. 492; and Levy
(1973), p. xii.
[21] Abner Kneeland, Speech of Abner Kneeland: Delivered Before the Full Bench
of Judges of the Supreme Court, in His Own Defence, for the Alleged Crime of
Blasphemy. Law Term March 8, 1836. Boston: J. Q. Adams, 1836, p. 11 (viii, 44
pages).
[22] Kneeland (1836), p. 13.
[23] Kneeland (1836), p. 16.
[24] Kneeland (1836), p. 17.
[25] Kneeland (1836), p. 18.
[26] Kneeland (1836), p. 31.
[27] Kneeland (1836), p. 28.
[28] Kneeland (1836), p. 43.
[29] Kneeland (1836), p. 40.
[30] Levy (1973), p. xv. See also George E. Macdonald, Fifty Years of
Freethought. Vol. I. 1929, p. 487, where the following appears: "One of our
Oakland subscribers, Mrs. Dolly Broneer, was a descendant of Good Abner
Kneeland, founder of The Investigator, who back in the '30's had been a
prisoner for blasphemy in Massachusetts. Mrs. Broneer showed me an acrostic
written by Uncle Abner when he was 68 (two years before his death) to Dorcas
Jane Rice, who was Dolly Broneer's mother. It ran thus, in quite classical form:
"Delightful theme as e'er engaged the tongue,
Or more sublime than ever poet sung,
Remote from bigotry or slavish fear,
Conjoined with love and all that men hold dear,
Are modest virtue, pure in every sense;
Sincerity of heart, benevolence,
Justice and kindness join to make the sum,
As all the graces harmonize as one,
Now the result of all is happiness --
E'en bigots here must surely this confess.
Rejoice, then, now that we have found the road,
Immortal bliss is ever doing good;
Contented in its lot, does not repine;
Enrobed in truth the graces ever shine."
Signed "Abner Kneeland" with a neat and proper flourish and dated at Salubria,
I. T., the initials standing for Iowa Territory. MacDonald (1929), Vol. II, p.
252, also notes the end of Kneeland's creation as follows: "The condition of the
Freethought papers in 1904 showed a falling away. The Boston Investigator,
established in 1831 by Abner Kneeland, and now being issued at a loss by L. K.
Washburn, suspended publication on July 30 and turned over its subscription list
to The Truth Seeker, Mr. Washburn signing up as contributing editor."
[31] Charles Francis Adams, Richard Henry Dana, Vol. I. Boston: 1891, p. 354.
[32] Commonwealth v. Kneeland, pp. 211-225.
[33] Commonwealth v. Kneeland, pp. 216-217.
[34] Leonard W. Levy, Emergence of a Free Press. New York: Alfred A. Knopf,
1985, pp. 12-13.
[35] Commonwealth v. Kneeland, p. 210.
[36] Commonwealth v. Kneeland, p. 221.
[37] Commonwealth v. Kneeland, p. 221
[38] Preamble to statute of 1786 in Hening Statutes 12, p. 84.
[39] Commonwealth v. Kneeland, pp. 225-246.
[40] Ruth A. Gallaher, "Abner Kneeland--Pioneer Pantheist,"The Palimpsest, 20:7
(1939), pp. 209-225; Margaret Atherton Bonney, "The Salubria Story,"The
Palimpsest 56:2 (March/April 1975), pp. 34-45; George Shane, "Few Recall
'Infidel' Town of Salubria," Annals of Iowa, 3rd series, 37 (1964), pp. 397-399;
Don Doyle Brown, Tell a Tale of Iowa. Des Moines, Iowa: Wallace-Homestead Co.,
1965, chapter 12; and Abner Kneeland, Salubria Memories of the Abner Kneeland
Project in Van Buren County, Iowa. Salubria, Iowa: Author, n.d. Pamphlet, copy
in Iowa State Historical Society.
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