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The Elijah P. Lovejoy Monument is a memorial in the United States to the advocate of free speech and the abolition of slavery, who died fighting for these ideas when his newspaper, the ''Alton Observer'', was attacked and destroyed by pro-slavery fanatics. ==History== Elijah P. Lovejoy was an abolitionist in the 1830s, running a newspaper called the ''St Louis Observer'', in Missouri, a slave state. Slavery advocates attacked and destroyed his presses a number of times, driving him to move across the river to Alton, IL in 1837, where he renamed it the Alton Observer. Although Illinois was a free state, in November 1837, his presses were attacked for what would have been the fourth time. He and some supporters were in the warehouse where they were stored, and as the building was stormed, the attackers apparently began firing guns. Lovejoy and his men returned fire, but in the conflict Lovejoy was killed.〔(Great River Road page on the monument. )〕 His death garnered national attention, and was viewed by abolitionists and others as a tragic martyrdom in the cause of both freedom of speech and the abolition of slavery. Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying:
By 1850, plans were made for a monument to Lovejoy's efforts and death, but it was not completed until 60 years after his death, when it was officially opened to the public on its anniversary. Having been buried in an unmarked grave, Lovejoy's remains were exhumed years later, and placed in the cemetery that is now overlooked by his monument. In the 1890s, work began in earnest on his monument. It was designed by R. P. Bringhurst, a St. Louis sculptor, and built by Culver Stone Company of Springfield, Illinois.〔(Historic Parks Association site of Illinois State. )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Elijah P. Lovejoy Monument」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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