Evans, George Henry

Evans, George Henry
born March 25, 1805, Bromyard, Herefordshire, Eng.
died Feb. 2, 1856, Granville, N.J., U.S.

British-born U.S. newspaper editor and social reformer.

He immigrated to the U.S. in 1820. In 1829 he founded the Working Man's Advocate, the first major U.S. labour newspaper, and cofounded the Workingmen's Party. He organized the National Reform Association to lobby Congress for free homesteads in the West, arguing that the availability of free land would draw away excess workers from the East and keep wages high for those who remained (see Homestead Movement). His efforts led to the passage of the Homestead Act in 1862. He also fought for the abolition of slavery and advocated equal rights for women.

* * *

▪ American social leader and editor
born March 25, 1805, Bromyard, Herefordshire, Eng.
died Feb. 2, 1856, Granville, N.J., U.S.

      American pro-labour social reformer and newspaper editor who sought to enhance the position of workers by agitating for free homesteads.

      Evans immigrated with his father to the United States in 1820 and was apprenticed to a printer in Ithaca, N.Y. By the end of the decade, he had founded his own newspaper, the Working Man's Advocate, and in 1829 he joined with Robert Dale Owen and Frances Wright to help found the Workingmen's Party.

      In his newspaper and later in his book History of the Origin and Progress of the Working Men's Party (1840), Evans elucidated his reform program while opposing other reform philosophies. Wages would stay high, he asserted, as long as there was a “safety valve” (i.e., cheap farmland) to draw off excess workers. Believing that land policies could be changed through political action, Evans organized the National Reform Association. Through its numerous state branches, the organization pressed for free homesteads in the West. The group's motto was “Vote yourself a farm,” and Congress eventually responded by passing the Homestead Act (1862).

      Evans also fought for the abolition of slavery, of imprisonment for debt, and of all types of monopolies (including the Bank of the United States). Unlike many male social reformers of his era, moreover, Evans also advocated equal rights for women.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Evans, George Henry — (25 mar. 1805, Bromyard, Herefordshire, Inglaterra– 2 feb. 1856, Granville, N.J., EE.UU.). Director de diario y reformador social estadounidense nacido en Inglaterra. Inmigró a EE.UU. en 1820 y en 1829 fundó el Working Man s Advocate, el primer… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • George Henry (disambiguation) — George Henry may refer to:* George Augustus Henry Sala (1828 1895), English journalist * George Henry (baseball) (1863 1934), baseball player * George Henry (painter) (1858 1943), Scottish painter * George Henry Andrews (1926 1997), former… …   Wikipedia

  • George Henry Lewes — (* 18. April 1817 in London; † 28. November 1878 ebenda) war ein englischer Schriftsteller, Literaturkritiker und Philosoph. George Henry Lewes Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • George Henry Evans — Born in England, George H Evans was a radical reformer, with experience in the Working Men s movement of 1829 and the trade union movements of the 1830s. In 1844, Evans, trade unionist John Windt, former Chartist Thomas Devyr and others founded… …   Wikipedia

  • George Henry Bogert — Infobox Artist bgcolour = #6495ED name = George Henry Bogert imagesize = caption = birthname = birthdate = birth date |1864|2|6| location = New York City deathdate = death date and age |1944|12|13|1864|2|6| deathplace = New York City nationality …   Wikipedia

  • Lewes, George Henry — ▪ English philosopher, actor, and scientist born April 18, 1817, London, Eng. died Nov. 28, 1878, London  English biographer, literary critic, dramatist, novelist, philosopher, actor, scientist, and editor, remembered chiefly for his decades long …   Universalium

  • Lewes, George Henry — (1817 1878)    Philosopher and miscellaneous writer, b. in London, and ed. at Greenwich, and in Jersey and Brittany. His early life was varied; he tried law, commerce, and medicine successively, and was then for two years in Germany, on returning …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • George — George, David Lloyd George, Henry George, Pierre George, Stefan * * * (as used in expressions) Aberdeen, George Hamilton Gordon, 4 conde de George William Russell Akerlof, George A. Alexander, Harold (Rupert Leofric George) Alexander, 1 conde… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Evans — Evans, Arthur John Evans, Herbert * * * (as used in expressions) Mary Ann Evans Marian Evans Evans, Bill William John Evans Evans, Dame Edith (Mary) Evans, Frederick H(enry) Evans, George Henry Evans, Maurice (Herbert) Evans, Oliver Evans, Sir… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • henry — /hen ree/, n., pl. henries, henrys. Elect. the SI unit of inductance, formally defined to be the inductance of a closed circuit in which an electromotive force of one volt is produced when the electric current in the circuit varies uniformly at a …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”