Thomas Branagan (born 1774; died 1843) was an American writer and abolitionist. He is known for his works of literature, particularly ''Avenia,'' and for his opposition to

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. He was described by English professor Christopher N. Philipps as a "kind of American counterpart to John Newton." In 1953, he was described by Lewis Leary in ''

The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography The ''Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the history of Pennsylvania. It has been published by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania since 1877. It is regarded as a prestigious historical ...

'' as "one of America's most prolific authors during the first two decades of the nineteenth century."

Life and work

Branagan was born in 1774 in Dublin. During his adolescence, he ran away from home to pursue a career as a sailor. Working on

slave ship Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting Slavery, slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea ( ...

s, he progressed through the ranks and eventually became the overseer of a sugar

slave plantation A slave plantation is an agricultural farm that uses enslaved people for labour. The practice was abolished in most places during the 19th century. Slavery Planters embraced the use of slaves mainly because indentured labor became expensive ...

located in

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

. After converting to

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

, he became morally opposed to slavery and decided to leave his position to become a preacher. In about 1798, he immigrated to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Branagan wrote extensively on the topic of the evil of slavery, producing six works on the subject from 1804 to 1810. Four of these works were volumes of

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

. ''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. In or around 1807, he argued that a black settlement should be created in the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

territories, which would promote emancipation of slaves while "saving white society" from dangers he believed would occur in a biracial society. In total, Branagan published 25 works between 1804 and 1839. Later in his life, he worked as a watchman. He sent several of his works to American president

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

. Branagan’s 1817 book, ''Pleasures of Contemplation'', functioned as a meditation on divine order, nature, and

moral relativism Moral relativism or ethical relativism (often reformulated as relativist ethics or relativist morality) is used to describe several Philosophy, philosophical positions concerned with the differences in Morality, moral judgments across different p ...

and included a fifty page appendix essay titled ''Some Causes of Popular Poverty'', authored by New York

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

physician Dr. Cornelius Camden Blatchley. Branagan introduced the essay with praise, calling Blatchley’s remarks “ingenious and benevolent,” and explained that what had started as a private letter evolved into the published essay due to its compelling moral urgency.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Branagan, Thomas 1774 births 1843 deaths 19th-century American writers American abolitionists Irish emigrants to the United States Writers from Philadelphia American Methodists Methodist abolitionists