Moses Harman | |
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| Born | (1830-10-12)October 12, 1830 |
| Died | January 30, 1910(1910-01-30) (aged 79) Los Angeles, California, US |
| Occupation(s) | Schoolteacher, publisher |
| Known for | Anarchism, women's rights |
| Children | Lillian Harman |
Moses Harman (October 12, 1830 – January 30, 1910) was an American schoolteacher and publisher notable for his staunch support forwomen's rights. He was prosecuted under theComstock Law for content published in hisanarchist periodicalLucifer the Lightbearer. He was arrested and jailed multiple times for publishing allegedly obscene material. His daughter,Lillian Harman, was also a notable anarchist.
Harman was born on October 12, 1830, inPendleton County, West Virginia[1] to Job and Nancy Harman. Their family later moved to Crawford County, Missouri. Harman taught subscription school courses and attendedArcadia College. After completing his schoolwork, Harman worked as a Methodist circuit rider and teacher.[2]
Harman married Susan Scheuck in 1866. Although they had several children, only two survived and Susan died in childbirth in 1877. Harman left the ministry and began his involvement with eugenics and social reform following Susan's death. In 1881, Harman edited theKansas Liberal newspaper inValley Falls, Kansas.[2]
Harman was avegetarian.[3] He convertedGeorge Bedborough to vegetarianism after a visit to Harman's home in Chicago.[4] Harman suggested they tour themeat-packing houses to test whether Bedborough would continue eating meat.[5]
Harman has been credited as one of the founders of what became theeugenics movement. "He gave the spur and start to this effort. Through his journals,Lucifer, the Light Bearer, later renamedThe American Journal of Eugenics, encouraged by a small circle of earnest men and women, he dug down below the surface endeavoring to bring forth a stronger and better type of men".[6]
In 1881, Harman co-edited theValley Falls Liberal, and eventually became the editor. On August 24, 1883, Harman changed the name of the publication toLucifer, the Light Bearer. He moved the location of the newspaper several times for financial and philosophical reasons: toTopeka, Kansas, in 1890, toChicago in 1896, and toLos Angeles in 1908. The name of the paper also changed toThe American Journal of Eugenics in 1906.[1]
Articles published inLucifer discussed topics such as religion, relationships, and raising children.[2] Through his work, Harman rejected all forms of religion and government, including marriage, and promoted freedom, love, wisdom, and the use of knowledge. Due to the radical nature of his views and publication, Harman constantly dealt with lawsuits, charges of immorality, ridicule, and issues with mailing what was considered obscene material through theUnited States Postal Service. Consequently, Harman was sentenced and released by courts several times in the 1890s.[1]
He died on January 30, 1910, aged 79, in Los Angeles.[7]
Harman, as the primary writer for the paperLucifer The Light-Bearer, extensively expressed his political opinions, with a primary focus on advocating for women's rights. He strongly criticized marriage, viewing it as a system that subjugated women to men and the state. His writings inLucifer The Light-Bearer sparked discussions and debates about gender equality and challenged societal norms of his time. The paper was home to many letters, petitions and articles that discussed societal and political changes for women in America. One such contribution was fromLois Waisbrooker and was a declaration of independence for women that prescribed societal expectations and rule upon men and women.
Whereas:-Man, as a sex, has no more right to make laws and insist upon our obedience than we, as a sex, have to make laws and insist upon his obedience, and
Whereas:-The race lives upon the heart's blood of woman daring its prenatal existence, thus making the character of its individual members largely dependent upon conditions surrounding her, and
Whereas:-Woman herself can best understand the conditions needed for her work as mother of the race, and
Whereas:-The present institutions of society are not adapted to woman's freedom,
Therefore we the undersigned, hereby repudiate man's role over as, demanding the right to ourselves and such a re-adjustment of conditions as will enable us to do our Best Work for the human race.[8]
Contributions such as this were representative of the level of political change that Harman advocated for. The church was another area of society that Harman targeted inLucifer through his support of other likeminded activists such as the writer and activist Matilda Joslyn Gage. Gage argued that the church's influence over the state had created the societal chains upon women that bound them to an unjust system, and the acts of the church to care for abandoned children only was necessary because of the societal pressures that church imposed on women and through them their children.[8]
Moses Harman Dies in Los Angeles at the Age of Nearly 80. ... Moses Harman, one of the pioneers of the eugenics movement in America, died yesterday in Los ...
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