Thomas Branagan

Thomas Branagan (born 1774; died 1843) was an American writer and abolitionist. He is known for his works of literature, particularly Avenia, and for his opposition to slavery.[1] He was described by English professor Christopher N. Philipps as a "kind of American counterpart to John Newton."[1] In 1953, he was described by Lewis Leary in The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography as "one of America's most prolific authors during the first two decades of the nineteenth century."[2]

Life and work

Illustration from The Penitential Tyrant
Illustraion from A preliminary essay on the oppression of the exiled sons of Africa

Branagan was born in 1774 in Dublin.[3] During his adolescence, he ran away from home to pursue a career as a sailor.[1] Working on slave ships, he progressed through the ranks[1] and eventually became the overseer of a sugar slave plantation located in Antigua.[3] After converting to Methodism,[1] he became morally opposed to slavery[3] and decided to leave his position to become a preacher.[1] In about 1798, he immigrated to Philadelphia.[3]

Branagan wrote extensively on the topic of the evil of slavery, producing six works on the subject from 1804 to 1810.[1] Four of these works were volumes of poetry.[1] Avenia, which he published in 1805, was the "first poem of any considerable length" published in America on the subject of the enslavement of African Americans.[2] In or around 1807, he argued that a black settlement should be created in the Louisiana Purchase territories, which would promote emancipation of slaves while "saving white society" from dangers he believed would occur in a biracial society.[4] In total, Branagan published 25 works between 1804 and 1839.[3] Later in his life, he worked as a watchman.[3] He sent several of his works to American president Thomas Jefferson.[3]

Branagan’s 1817 book, Pleasures of Contemplation[5], functioned as a meditation on divine order, nature, and moral relativism and included a fifty page appendix essay titled Some Causes of Popular Poverty[6], authored by New York Quaker physician Dr. Cornelius Camden Blatchley[7]. Branagan introduced the essay with praise, calling Blatchley’s remarks “ingenious and benevolent,” and explained that what had started as a private letter evolved into the published essay due to its compelling moral urgency.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Christopher N. Phillips; Phillips, Christopher N. (2009). "Epic, Anti-Eloquence, and Abolitionism: Thomas Branagan's Avenia and The Penitential Tyrant". Early American Literature. 44 (3): 605–637. doi:10.1353/eal.0.0075. ISSN 1534-147X. S2CID 161760589.
  2. ^ a b Leary, Lewis (1953-01-01). "Thomas Branagan: Republican Rhetoric and Romanticism in America". The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. 77 (3): 332–352. JSTOR 20088486.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Founders Online: Thomas Branagan to Thomas Jefferson, 28 April 1815". founders.archives.gov. Retrieved 2016-06-13.
  4. ^ Tomek, Beverly (2005-06-01). "'From motives of generosity, as well as self-preservation': Thomas Branagan, Colonization, and the Gradual Emancipation Movement". American Nineteenth Century History. 6 (2): 121–147. doi:10.1080/14664650500314505. ISSN 1466-4658. S2CID 145180785.
  5. ^ Thomas Branagan (1817). The Pleasures of Contemplation. Philadelphia: Eastwick & Stacy. LCCN 26007305. OCLC 72121156 – via Archive.org.
  6. ^ Cunliffe, John (2004). "Some Causes of Popular Poverty". In Erreygers, Guido (ed.). The Origins of Universal Grants. London: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 17–22. doi:10.1057/9780230522824_2. ISBN 978-1-4039-3918-3. Retrieved 2024-07-26. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)
  7. ^ "Thomas Branagan, The Pleasures of Contemplation, Blatchley appendix". New York City Municipal Archives. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
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