Essays · Chapter
Herald of Freedom explained
Thoreau praises Nathaniel P.
What happens
Thoreau praises Nathaniel P. Rogers and his abolitionist newspaper, the Herald of Freedom, celebrating its spirited, natural, and morally indignant style. He discusses Rogers' role as a fearless editor who champions liberty, criticizes the church and clergy, and uses wit and satire to attack slavery. Thoreau includes extracts from Rogers' writings, including a satirical piece on the funeral of politicians killed on the Princeton, highlighting the exclusion of a slave who died with them, and a call for anti-slavery activists to gather in Boston.
Themes in this chapter
Freedom and Slavery
Central theme of the chapter, focusing on the abolitionist cause and the critique of slavery through Rogers' writings and the Princeton incident.
Civil Disobedience and Justice
Rogers' call for action against slavery and his defiance of conventional norms reflect a spirit of civil disobedience and moral justice.
The Role of the Poet and Writer
Thoreau celebrates Rogers as a writer who uses the press as a living organ to reach hearts, embodying the role of the poet in society.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Rogers
Nathaniel P. Rogers, editor of the Herald of Freedom, praised for his spirited, natural, and morally indignant writing style and his commitment to abolition.
- Thomas Carlyle
Mentioned as a great master of free, brave, and original writing, to whom Rogers' style is compared.
- Henry David Thoreau
Author of the chapter, writing in praise of Rogers and the Herald of Freedom.
- The State
Referenced indirectly through the critique of the government's handling of the Princeton explosion and the slave's funeral.
Key passages
“We have occasionally, for several years, met with a number of this spirited journal, edited, as abolitionists need not to be informed, by Nathaniel P. Rogers, once a counsellor at law in Plymouth, still farther up the Merrimac, but now, in his riper years, come down the hills thus far, to be the Herald of Freedom to these parts.”
Thoreau says he has often come across the Herald of Freedom, edited by Nathaniel P. Rogers, who used to be a lawyer in Plymouth but now, in his mature years, has moved to become the paper's editor.
Introduces Rogers and his newspaper.
“The effect of one of his effusions reminds us of what the hydropathists say about the electricity in fresh spring-water, compared with that which has stood over night to suit weak nerves.”
Rogers' writing is like fresh spring water, full of energy, unlike stale water that has lost its vitality.
Metaphor for the freshness and vigor of Rogers' editorials.
“He will fight this fight with what cheer may be.”
Rogers will continue his struggle against slavery with whatever good spirits he can muster.
Highlights Rogers' determined yet cheerful approach to abolition.
“I saw account of the burial of those slaughtered politicians. The hearses passed along, of Upshur, Gilmer, Kennon, Maxcy, and Gardner—but the dead slave, who fell in company with them on the deck of the Princeton, was not there.”
Rogers notes that the funeral procession for the politicians killed on the Princeton did not include the slave who died alongside them.
Satirical critique of the nation's disregard for the slave's life.