Howard Hyde Russell (October 21, 1855 – June 30, 1946) was an American lawyer and clergyman, the founder of the

Anti-Saloon League The Anti-Saloon League (now known as the ''American Council on Addiction and Alcohol Problems'') is an organization of the temperance movement that lobbied for prohibition in the United States in the early 20th century. Founded in 1893 in Ober ...

Biography

Howard Hyde Russell was born in

Stillwater, Minnesota Stillwater is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Washington County. It is in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, on the west bank of the St. Croix River (Wisconsin-Minnesota), St. Croix River, across from H ...

on October 21, 1855. He was educated at Griswold College and the Iowa College of Law, and worked as a lawyer in Corning for six years. He married Lillian Davis on August 17, 1880, and they had two children. Following a

religious conversion Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...

, he gave up the practice of law to become a minister, studying theology at Oberlin College for five years. In 1893, he organized the Ohio Anti-Saloon League. In 1895, when the

was established at the national level, Russell was elected superintendent. He mentored future leaders of the league, including

Wayne Wheeler Wayne Bidwell Wheeler (November 10, 1869 – September 5, 1927) was an American attorney and longtime leader of the Anti-Saloon League. The leading advocate of the prohibitionist movement in the late 1800s and early 1900s, he played a major ...

and

Ernest Cherrington Ernest Cherrington (1877–1950) was a leading temperance journalist (see temperance movement). He became active in the Anti-Saloon League and was appointed editor of the organization's publishing house, the American Issue Publishing Company. He ed ...

. Russell also established the Lincoln-Lee Legion to promote the signing of temperance pledges by children and other young people. He is reported to have raised five million dollars to promote the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

. Russell was also the author of ''A Lawyer's Examination of the Bible'', which is a work of

Christian apologetics Christian apologetics ( grc, ἀπολογία, "verbal defense, speech in defense") is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity. Christian apologetics has taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in ...

that argues the evidences for the Bible's authenticity concerning the life, teachings, death and

resurrection of Jesus Christ The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lord ...

. Russell believed that the testimony of the writers of the gospels could be tested by technical legal criteria and argued that such testimony was trustworthy. In this respect, he followed the arguments presented by the 19th century Harvard Law School professor

Simon Greenleaf Simon Greenleaf (December 5, 1783 – October 6, 1853), was an American lawyer and jurist. He was born at Newburyport, Massachusetts before moving to New Gloucester where he was admitted to the Cumberland County bar. Early life and legal ...

in his book ''The Testimony of the Evangelist''. Russell's book was first published in 1893 and then re-released in 1935. He died at his home in

Westerville, Ohio Westerville is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin and Delaware County, Ohio, Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. A northeastern suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, the population was 39,190 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

on June 30, 1946.

Ernie Pyle Ernest Taylor Pyle (August 3, 1900 – April 18, 1945) was a Pulitzer Prize–winning American journalist and war correspondent who is best known for his stories about ordinary American soldiers during World War II. Pyle is also notable for the ...

devotes an entire chapter to Mr. Russell in his book, ''Home Country''.

References

* Aaron, Paul, and Musto, David. ''Temperance and Prohibition in America: An Historical Overview.'' In: Moore, Mark H., and Gerstein, Dean R. (eds.) ''Alcohol and Public Policy: Beyond the Shadow of Prohibition''. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1981. pp. 127–180. * Asbury, Herbert. ''The Great Illusion; An Informal History of Prohibition''. NY: Doubledsay, 1950. * Blocker, Jack S. ''American Temperance Movements: Cycles of Reform''. Boston: Twayne, 1989. * Odegard, Peter H. ''Pressure Politics: The Story of the Anti-Saloon League''. NY: Columbia University Press, 1928. * Russell, Howard Hyde. ''A Lawyer's Examination of the Bible''. Westerville: Bible Bond, 1935. (Originally released in 1909 by Fleming H. Revell Company). * Timberlake, James H. ''Prohibition and the Progressive Movements,: 1900-1920''. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1963. * Westerville (Ohio) Public Library. Leaders: Howard Hyde Russell. Westerville Public Library website.

External links

Howard Hyde Russell
(Westerville Public Library) {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Howard Hyde 1855 births 1946 deaths American temperance activists Christian apologists American Congregationalist ministers American male writers Oberlin College alumni University of Iowa College of Law alumni