Alton Observer, December 8, 1836
  The Reverend Elijah Lovejoy's front-page editorials denouncing slavery inflamed many Alton residents whose sympathies lay with the South.

The Lovejoy monument in Alton, Illinois has this statement attributed to Lovejoy: "But, gentlemen, as long as I am an American citizen, and as long as American blood runs in these veins, I shall hold myself at liberty to speak, to write, to publish whatever I please on any subject--being amenable to the laws of my country for the same."


Alton Observer, December 8, 1836

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Copyright 2002 The Chicago Historical Society
 
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