Moorfield Storey (March 19, 1845 – October 24, 1929) was an American lawyer, anti-imperial activist, and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

leader based in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. According to Storey's biographer, William B. Hixson Jr., he had a worldview that embodied "

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ...

anti-imperialism Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is opposition to imperialism or neocolonialism. Anti-imperialist sentiment typically manifests as a political principle in independence struggles against intervention or influen ...

, and racial

egalitarianism Egalitarianism (; also equalitarianism) is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds on the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hum ...

fully as much as it did

laissez-faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( , from , ) is a type of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies or regulations). As a system of thought, ''laissez-faire'' ...

and moral tone in government." Storey served as the founding president of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

(NAACP), serving from 1909 to his death in 1929. He opposed United States expansionism beginning with the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

Early life

Moorfield Storey was born in 1845 in

Roxbury, Massachusetts Roxbury () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Roxbury is a Municipal annexation in the United States, dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for ne ...

, then a suburb of Boston. His family was descended from the earliest

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

settlers in New England and had close connections with the abolitionist movement. Storey's father was a Boston lawyer. The young Storey went to the

Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a Magnet school, magnet Latin schools, Latin Grammar schools, grammar State school, state school in Boston, Massachusetts. It has been in continuous operation since it was established on April 23, 1635. It is the old ...

and graduated in 1862, during the beginning of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. He then continued onto

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, where he was a member of the

Glee Club A glee club is a musical group or choir group, historically of male voices but also of female or mixed voices, which traditionally specializes in the singing of short songs by trios or quartets. In the late 19th century it was very popular in ...

, graduating in 1866, and then studied at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. In a speech almost thirty years later at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, Storey discussed the mindset of the young men of his generation, stating that "a great movement for intellectual, religious, and political freedom was just culminating".

Career

Storey established a law practice in

as a founding partner of the firm Storey, Thorndike, Palmer, Dodge (Currently " Locke Lord LLP"). From 1873 to 1879 he was editor of the '' American Law Review''. He was elected president of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

in 1896, and was a fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

. He served as president of the Massachusetts Bar Association during 1913–14. He was a well-known person in the "

Mugwump The Mugwumps were History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican political activists in the United States who were intensely opposed to political corruption. They were never formally organized. They famously Party switching, swit ...

" movement of 1884, and actively supported

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

. As a strong believer in the

gold standard A gold standard is a backed currency, monetary system in which the standard economics, economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the ...

, freedom of contract, and

property rights The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership), is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their Possession (law), possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely ...

, Storey opposed the candidacy of

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running three times as the party' ...

and supported the National Democratic Party (Gold Democrats)

third-party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a veh ...

ticket in 1896.Beito, David T., and Linda Royster Beito
"Gold Democrats and the Decline of Classical Liberalism, 1896–1900"
''Independent Review'' 4 (Spring 2000), 555–575. In 1887 he built a house on Great Cranberry Island. An opponent of military intervention, Storey spoke at the first

anti-imperialist Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is opposition to imperialism or neocolonialism. Anti-imperialist sentiment typically manifests as a political principle in independence struggles against intervention or influenc ...

mass meeting in Boston in June 1898, called because of the Spanish–American War. He was a vice president of the New England Anti-Imperialist League. In addition, he wrote a book brief for the Lodge Committee summarizing the

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

s of the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

. From 1905 until its dissolution in 1921 Storey was the Anti-Imperialist League's President. He perceived that "national subjugation overseas and racial persecution at home were related," which drove his efforts at reform. Storey was known to work 16-hour days, even into his later years. He was a fighter for unpopular issues, and as Bliss Perry wrote in his obituary for Storey, he was "usually in the minority at any given time." Storey himself was quoted as saying "It is not success to fight on the winning side. It is success to fight bravely for a principle even if one does not live to see it triumph." This determination to fight for the right, even if he did not win, led him to cross political swords with Presidents

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

, and

United States Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the President of the United States, U.S. president's United States Cabinet, Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's Presidency of George Washington, administration. A similar position, called either "Sec ...

Elihu Root Elihu Root (; February 15, 1845February 7, 1937) was an American lawyer, Republican Party (United States), Republican politician, and statesman who served as the 41st United States Secretary of War under presidents William McKinley and Theodor ...

1900 Congressional campaign

Late in the campaign of 1900, Storey seriously pondered running for president on a third-party ticket but decided against it as impractical. Instead, he ran a losing, but spirited and high-profile campaign for

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

anti-imperialist candidate. Other planks in his platform included support for the

and

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

Champion of civil rights

Storey consistently and aggressively championed civil rights, not only for blacks but also for American Indians and immigrants. He opposed immigration restrictions, and supported racial equality and

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

.Gawalt, Gerard W
"Reviewed Work: ''Moorfield Storey and the Abolitionist Tradition'' by William B. Hixson, Jr."
''The New England Quarterly'' Vol. 45, No. 3 (September 1972), pp. 451–453, accessed February 15, 2016. "When the white man governs himself, that is

self-government Self-governance, self-government, self-sovereignty or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any ...

," he declared, "but when he governs himself and also governs another man, that is more than self-government–that is

despotism In political science, despotism () is a government, form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute Power (social and political), power. Normally, that entity is an individual, the despot (as in an autocracy), but societies whi ...

Storey was the first president of the

(NAACP), from its founding in 1909 until his death in 1929. According to his biographer Hixson, he "launched and maintained the effective campaign to achieve the total destruction of the legal embodiment of white supremacy." He guided NAACP's legal challenges to discriminatory laws that violated the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments, especially related to disenfranchisement and segregation of blacks in the South, and led several important NAACP legal victories. Most notably, he was lead counsel before the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

in ''

Buchanan v. Warley ''Buchanan v. Warley'', 245 U.S. 60 (1917), is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States addressed civil government-instituted racial segregation in residential areas. The Court held unanimously that a Louisville, Kentucky, city ordi ...

'' (1917). In that case, the Court unanimously overturned a

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

law that racially segregated blacks by specific city blocks. The Court's opinion reflected the jurisprudence of property rights and freedom of contract as embodied in the earlier precedent it had established in ''

Lochner v. New York ''Lochner v. New York'', 198 U.S. 45 (1905), was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court holding that a New York (state), New York State statute th ...

''. On February 17, 1916, he testified in opposition to the nomination of Louis D. Brandeis to the United States Supreme Court. Storey was on the conservative side in the

Sacco and Vanzetti Nicola Sacco (; April 22, 1891 – August 23, 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (; June 11, 1888 – August 23, 1927) were Italian immigrants and anarchists who were controversially convicted of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parm ...

case. Storey was, with

James Weldon Johnson James Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871June 26, 1938) was an American writer and civil rights activist. He was married to civil rights activist Grace Nail Johnson. Johnson was a leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ...

, the organizer of the 1919 National Conference on Lynching. In 1920 Storey led the NAACP to take on the defense of the Elaine Twelve in their appeals from convictions for murder and the death penalty.Brown, Walter L
"Reviewed Work: ''A Mob Intent on Death: The NAACP and the Arkansas Riot Cases'' by Richard C. Cortner"
''The Arkansas Historical Quarterly'' Vol. 48, No. 3 (Autumn, 1989), pp. 289–291. The NAACP raised $50,000 for their defense, hiring two attorneys to manage the appeals in Arkansas. The cases were broken into two tracks because of technical trial issues, and six men (Ware et al.) were retried beginning in May 1920 after their defense team won the first appeal at the state supreme court. Storey worked with the team as the cases of six other men (Moore et al.) later reached the United States Supreme Court. In its ruling in '' Moore v. Dempsey'' (1923), the Court set an important precedent for reviewing state criminal cases against the standard of the

Due Process Clause A Due Process Clause is found in both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, which prohibit the deprivation of "life, liberty, or property" by the federal and state governments, respectively, without due proces ...

of the

Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. Considered one of the most consequential amendments, it addresses Citizenship of the United States ...

and application of Bill of Rights to state actions.

Later life

In the 1920s, Storey opposed the U.S. occupations of Haiti and of the Dominican Republic as the chairperson of the Haiti-Santo Domingo Independence Society. He was also on the advisory committee of the American Fund for Public Service Committee on

American Imperialism U.S. imperialism or American imperialism is the expansion of political, economic, cultural, media, and military influence beyond the boundaries of the United States. Depending on the commentator, it may include imperialism through outright mi ...

. He died in

Lincoln, Massachusetts Lincoln is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,014 according to the 2020 United States census, including residents of Hanscom Air Force Base who live within town limits. The town, located in the MetroWe ...

in 1929, survived by four of his five children with Gertrude Cutts, whom he had married in 1870. She had died in 1912. His children were Charles Moorfield Storey, Elizabeth Storey Lovett, Richard Storey, Gertude Storey Burke and Katharine Storey Donald.

Friendship with Edward Waldo Emerson and the Emerson family

Storey was longtime friends with Edward Waldo Emerson, son of famous American poet

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...

. The two were in the same graduating class at Harvard. Just after their graduation, Storey was one of two friends that accompanied Emerson on a camping trip. Also among the party was the elder Emerson, as well as Transcendentalist poet

William Ellery Channing William Ellery Channing (April 7, 1780 – October 2, 1842) was the foremost Unitarianism, Unitarian preacher in the United States in the early nineteenth century and, along with Andrews Norton (1786–1853), one of Unitarianism's leading theolo ...

. The camping party encountered a fierce storm on their second night out, and Storey worked to lighten the mood by singing through storm, with the younger Emerson joining in to sing the chorus. The event is recorded in Ralph Waldo Emerson's journals of the time. The two men's friendship continued for the next several decades, and they wrote a biography of former

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

Ebenezer R. Hoar together in 1911.

Time with Charles Sumner

From 1867 to 1869, Storey was a clerk for the

United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of the United States Senate, U.S. Senate charged with leading Foreign policy of the United States, foreign-policy legi ...

, and served as a private secretary to its chairman, Senator

Charles Sumner Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1851 until his death in 1874. Before and during the American Civil War, he was a leading American ...

. Storey was introduced to Sumner through his father, and moved to the Senator's house after his graduation from Harvard University. He accepted the position as it seemed the best route to continue his legal studies. Storey spent two years of his life as the Senator's right-hand man and one of his only friends, as the progressive Sumner had made many enemies in Washington. During his tenure, he initially supported the removal of President

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...

from office but soon became disenchanted by what he viewed as the

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

and

opportunism 300px, ''Opportunity Seized, Opportunity Missed'', engraving by Theodoor Galle, 1605 Opportunism is the practice of taking advantage of circumstances — with little regard for principles or with what the consequences are for others. Opport ...

of politicians on both sides. He was admitted to the bar in 1869.

Legacy

Writer and editor Damon W. Root touted Storey as an historical role model for

libertarian Democrat In American politics, a libertarian Democrat is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party with political views that are relatively libertarianism in the United States, libertarian compared to the views of the national p ...

s in a December 2007 article for ''

Reason Magazine ''Reason'' is an American libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation, with the tagline "Free Minds and Free Markets". The magazine aims to produce independent journalism that is "outside of the left/right echo chamber." A ...

''.

Bibliography

* ''

'' (1900) in "American Statesmen Series." * ''The Reform of Legal Procedure'' (1911). * ''

Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar (February 21, 1816 – January 31, 1895) was an American politician, lawyer, and jurist from Massachusetts. He served as United States Attorney General, U.S. Attorney General from 1869 to 1870, and was the first head of the ...

, a Memoir'' (1911), with Edward Waldo Emerson.
At Google Books

''Problems of To-Day''
(1920), the E. L. Godkin Lectures delivered at Harvard, March 1920. * ''The Conquest of the Philippines'' (1926) * Howe, M.A. DeWolfe. ''Portrait of an Independent: Moorfield Storey 1845–1929.'' Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1932.

Notes

References

* William B. Hixson Jr., ''Moorfield Storey and the Abolitionist Tradition,'' Oxford University Press, 1972, . * William B. Hixson, "Moorfield Storey and the Struggle for Equality." ''Journal of American History'' 55.3 (1968): 533–554, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Storey, Moorfield 1845 births 1929 deaths 19th-century American biographers 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American biographers 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American politicians American civil rights lawyers American legal writers American libertarians American male non-fiction writers American political writers American publicists Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Harvard Law School alumni Massachusetts independents NAACP activists National Democratic Party (United States) politicians Activists for Native American rights Activists from Boston Lawyers from Boston Presidents of the American Bar Association Progressive Era in the United States Writers from Boston Harvard College alumni Activists for African-American civil rights American founders