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 The Penitential Tyrant, 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

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 1804–1810.[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 1804–1839.[3] Later in his life, he worked as a watchman.[3] He sent several of his works to American president Thomas Jefferson.[3]

References
  1. 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.
  2. 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. "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.
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