About John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier (Haverhill, December 17, 1807 – Hampton Falls, September 7, 1892) was a renowned American poet, journalist and a fervent advocate for the abolition of slavery. He belonged to the group known as the Fireside Poets. As a young man, he already attracted attention for his journalism, and at just twenty-four he published his first book of poems, “Legends of New England” (1831). He is long remembered for his anti-slavery pamphlet, “Justice and Expediency,” written in 1833, which became the focal point of his journalistic work for the next thirty years of his membership and activism in the abolitionist campaign. Alongside his various poetry works, he wrote the novel “Leaves from Margaret Smith's Journal” (1849). Written at the end of his life, The “Conflict with Slavery” (1886) is a testament to his commitment against slavery and a valuable source on the history of the American abolitionist movement. To this day, no complete collection of his extensive journalistic output exists. He expressed his abolitionist views in his journalistic work as well as in poems such as “Ichabod.” In 1871, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.During his lifetime, Whittier was one of the most respected literary figures in the United States; today he is almost forgotten. Only a few of his hymns are still sung, most notably “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind.” In the volumes of his poetry that have survived, however, the theme of black emancipation is strongly present, and the popular and religious customs of New England are well-defined. His works, especially the poems Maud Muller and Barbara Frietchie, were adapted into several silent-era films. In 1915, a glacier in Alaska was named after him, which also gave rise to the name of the nearby town. Numerous landscapes and places were named after him, including the Quaker settlement of Whittier in California and Mount Whittier in Carroll County, New Hampshire, in the northern Ossipee Mountains.
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This is truth the poet sings . . .
