James G. Birney portrait   Save
James G. Birney Collection
Description: James G. Birney (1792-1857) was born on February 4, 1792, in Danville, Kentucky. An anti-slavery advocate from the beginning, he called for a gradual end to slavery and even moved to Alabama to help spread his message there. He eventually moved to Cincinnati in 1835, where he began publication of a newspaper, "The Philanthropist", which called for an immediate end to slavery and equal rights for African-Americans. He was unpopular both in the South and in Cincinnati and twice had his printing press destroyed by local mobs, but continued to publish until 1843. In September 1837, he moved with his family to New York, where he became the secretary of the American Anti-Slavery Society. He ran unsuccessfully for president of the United States in 1840 and 1844. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04101
Subjects: Newspaper publishing; Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights; Abolitionists
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio);