Description
Whittier was generally regarded as the most well-known Quaker in America, prompting the founders of Whittier city to select
him as the namesake of their new town. The Collection emphasizes the poet’s life as a demonstration of one particularly well-known
Quaker mode of living and how it may have influenced the aspirations of the founders of Whittier city and Whittier College.
Background
John Greenleaf Whittier was born to a Quaker family in Haverhill, Massachusetts in 1807, and as a young man became a moderately
well-known poet who primarily published in newspapers and periodicals. Although he held some political aspiration, he published
abolitionist pamphlets and founded the American Anti-Slavery Society, acts that made him unlikely to garner the support needed
to be elected to office. Instead, he operated as a political lobbyist and poet. Past 1838, the majority of his poems addressed
themes of slavery, freedom, and human dignity.
Whittier’s poetry increased in popularity during the Civil War, and by 1887, Whittier was generally regarded as the most well-known
Quaker in America, prompting the founders of Whittier city to select him as the namesake of their new town. Whittier was reportedly
pleased by the naming, and corresponded with the planners of what would become Whittier College during its construction, although
he never visited the city. This finding aid was created by Paige Harris in 2023.
Restrictions
Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce must be obtained from Wardman Library, Whittier College.