John Greenleaf Whittier By: Tiffany Keyt and Matt Gentry

Early Life He was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts on December 17, 1807. He received very little formal education. However, he read a lot. He studied his father’s books about the Quakers.

He was very interested with religion. He went to Haverville Academy. He completed high school in only two terms. He worked at several newspapers. While he worked at The New England Weekly Review. It was during his time there that he discovered his interest in politics.

He ran for a position in Congress in 1832. He started to become an abolitionist when his old boss, William Lloyd Garrison, asked him to join the cause. Whittier published an antislavery pamphlet called Justice and Expediency in 1833. For the next twenty years, he devoted his life to abolishing slavery.

Whittier’s Works He wrote Snow-Bound, Legends of New England, In War Time, Lays of My Home, and The song for Vermonters. Some of his poems were turned into hymns. One of his works, The Brewing of Soma, was turned into the widely known piece, Dear Lord and Father of Mankind.

Legacy There are many schools and buildings named after John. There is also a city named Whittier in California named after him. He died September 7, 1892.