William Goodell | |
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| Born | (1792-10-25)October 25, 1792 |
| Died | February 14, 1878(1878-02-14) (aged 85) |
| Spouse | Clarissa C. Cady |
| Children | Two |
William Goodell (October 25, 1792 – February 14, 1878) was an abolitionist and reformer born inCoventry, New York.
Goodell spent several years of his early childhood confined to his room due to illness. It was during this confinement that he first discovered an appreciation for religion and writing. Following the deaths of his parents, William moved toPomfret, Connecticut, to live with his paternal grandmother. He attended school but could not afford to go on to college. As a young adult, Goodell spent several years in various jobs in several different areas of the country, yet none of the work incorporated both of his interests in writing and religion. While working inProvidence, Rhode Island, in 1823, William met and married Clarissa C. Cady. The couple later had two children.
In 1827, at age 35, Goodell became a journalist for a reform journal in Providence, allowing him to write from a religious perspective. His articles focused mostly ontemperance. After moving the journal's headquarters to New York, Goodell became the leader of theAmerican Temperance Society.
In 1833, Goodell helped found theNew-York Anti-Slavery Society, as well as theAmerican Anti-Slavery Society (AASS). He worked as an editor ofThe Emancipator and served on the AASS Executive Committee. In 1835, Goodell quit his job atThe Emancipator and directed his energy to the New York State Anti-Slavery Society, editing its paperThe Friend of Man inUtica, New York. While in Utica, Goodell focused on achievingabolition through political means. He helped form theLiberty Party in 1840, writing the convention address and party platform.
Two year later, Goodell leftThe Friend of Man and formed his own paper in order to promote church reform that followed abolitionist principles. Goodell believed that it was wrong for a church to hold even a neutral stance on slavery. He hoped to unite all of the churches denouncing slavery into a "Christian Union" and for nine years Goodell worked as a pastor of the anti-slavery churches inHoneoye, New York.
In1852, Goodell was chosen as theLiberty Party's nominee forPresident of the United States, withS.M. Bell ofVirginia as his running mate. His party fought for the complete abolition of slavery as well as equal rights for African Americans. Although Goodell promoted the same principles, he was also wary of the realities of prejudice. If abolition were to instigate true societal changes, he believed, prejudices would have to be eliminated and equal rights gained for African Americans. Goodell was also a potential candidate for the Liberty Party in1848, but did not receive the nomination.
Goodell edited yet another paper called theAmerican Jubilee (later renamed theRadical Abolitionist) during the 1850s. He also wrote an influential book entitledSlavery and Anti-Slavery: A History of the Great Struggle In Both Hemispheres; With a View of the Slavery Question in the United States, published in 1852. The next year he publishedThe American Slave Code in Theory and Practice.[1] That book previewed discussions of "law in books" and "law in action" made by the legal realists.[2] It also directly countered proslavery writing that increasingly justified slavery on economic grounds. Goodell countered such arguments in two ways. First, he argued that such utilitarian arguments ignored the human costs of slavery; second, he argued that slavery led to great costs and thus was not economically justified.
When the Civil War ended, Goodell returned to fighting for his original cause of temperance and assisted in the creation of the Prohibition Party. He moved toGoshen, Connecticut, and later toJanesville, Wisconsin, where he died.
Goodell's daughterLavinia Goodell (1839–1880) became the first woman admitted to practice law in Wisconsin, and his grandson,William Goodell Frost, served as president ofBerea College.
