[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 182 (Wednesday, November 8, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H8608]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




REMEMBERING ELIJAH PARISH LOVEJOY, AMERICA'S FIRST MARTYR TO FREEDOM OF 
                               THE PRESS

  (Mr. SHIMKUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, 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.

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