About This Story
Jonesborough, Tennessee is a very old town — so old that it was established 17 years before the state itself. As you pick your way along the cobblestone sidewalks, walking past little storefronts, the historic courthouse, and the International Storytelling Center itself, you'll spot dozens of historic markers. One of these markers is the subject of our story today.
It reads:
FIRST ABOLITION PUBLICATIONS
On this site, in 1819-1820, were published The Manumission Intelligencer and The Emancipator. Edited and published by Elihu Embree and printed by Jacob Howard, these were the first periodicals in the United States devoted exclusively to the abolition of human slavery.
Many passers-by are surprised to learn that the country's first abolitionist newspaper was published in a Southern state, in a town that then had fewer than 500 people. (In fact, East Tennessee was one of many pockets in what would become the Confederacy where anti-slavery sentiments were relatively popular.) While The Emancipator's run was short — Embree published just seven editions before his death in December 1820 — it achieved national and even international reach.
But our story has another twist: Elihu Embree was also a slave owner.
Embree owned six slaves even as he spent thousands of dollars of his own money to publish an abolitionist newspaper. And he still owned those slaves at the time of his death.
This story by Sheila Arnold explores the nuances of this staggering contradiction, asking us to consider Embree's legacy in its fullness.
Questions for Further Discussion
How did Elihu Embree's personal life conflict with his professional accomplishments? Does one fact matter more than the other?
For more food for thought, download the educator's guide and reflection guide (at right).
