Political Quotes

“In a time of national strife that we see our Nation in every now and then, it is good to remember history. Mr. Speaker, 180 years ago yesterday, a man named Elijah Parish Lovejoy was run out of St. Louis city for writing and publishing an abolitionist newspaper called the St. Louis Observer. He then moved across to Alton, Illinois, where he continued to advocate the end of slavery. On the 7th of November, 1837, Lovejoy received a new press. Many of his printing presses were thrown into the river. When he got the new press from the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, the local slave owners heard about the arrival of the new machine and they decided to destroy it. A group of his friends attempted to protect it, but during the attack, Lovejoy was shot in the head and died. Elijah Parish Lovejoy was America's first martyr to freedom of the press. Of course, we debate the press, but the press is still an important institution in our society. In 1952, the Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award was established and it is given to a member of the newspaper profession who continues the Lovejoy heritage of fearlessly defending freedom. Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to come back and remember a great moment in our history. ____________________”