James Madison Bell

James Madison Bell (April 3, 1826 – 1902) was an African-American poet, orator, and political activist who was involved in the abolitionist movement against slavery.[2]

James Madison Bell
Born	April 3, 1826 Gallipolis, Ohio U.S.
Died	1902 Toledo, Ohio U.S.
Spouse	Louisiana Sanderlin[1]

Cover page to one of Bell's book of poetry

Early life

Bell was born in Gallipolis, Ohio, on April 3, 1826.[1] He moved to Cincinnati in 1842 where he lived with his brother-in-law George Knight and worked as a plasterer.[3] In the evenings, he attended Cincinnati High School for Colored People, which had been established by Reverend Hiram S. Gilmore.[4] In his studies, Bell was exposed to ideas of abolitionism.[4]

Career

In 1854, Bell and his family moved to Chatham, Ontario in Canada, where he became involved with politics. In Canada, he became friends with John Brown and supported his raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859.[5]

In 1860, Bell moved to San Francisco where he continued activism and wrote poetry on the themes of abolition.[4] Bell became one of the most well-known American black poets of the nineteenth century.

Bell moved to Toledo, Ohio in 1865, and continued fighting for civil rights.[4]

Bell died in 1902.[1]

Works and publications

Poems

• A Poem (1862)
• The Day and the War (1864)
• Poem (about the assassination of Lincoln, 1865)
• Valedictory on Leaving San Francisco (1866)
• The Progress of Liberty (1866)
• Modern Moses (1866)
• The Triumph of Liberty (1870)

Publications

• Bell, James Madison; Arnett, Benjamin William (1904). The Poetical Works of James Madison Bell (2nd ed.). Lansing, Mich: Press of Wynkoop, Hallenback, Crawford. ISBN 978-0-404-00005-9. OCLC 11075041.
• Bell, James Madison (Rev. J.M.) (1874). "A discourse commemorative of John Frye Bell, member of Hopkins high school, Hadley, delivered in North Hadley, Sunday, Oct. 4th, 1874". Memoriam, John Frye Bell. Died August 4, 1874: A Father's Tribute to the Memory of His Eldest Son. Northampton, MA: Gazette printing company. LCCN 34020285.

References

1. Larsen, Julia Henning. "Bell, James Madison (1826-1902)". BlackPast. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
2. Logan, Rayford W.; Winston, Michael R. (1982). Dictionary of American Negro Biography (1st ed.). New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-01513-3. OCLC 906389345.
3. Bell, James Madison; Arnett, William Benjamin (1904). The poetical works of James Madison Bell. pp. 5. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
4. Locke, Mamie E. (2005). Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, Second Edition. Oxford University Press. pp. 422. ISBN 0195170555.
5. Henderson, Ashyia (2003). "James Madison Bell". Contemporary Black Biography Profiles from the International Black Community. Detroit, Mich: Gale Research, Inc. 40. ISSN 1058-1316. OCLC 228301126.

Further reading

• Sherman, Joan R. (1974). Invisible Poets: Afro-Americans of the Nineteenth Century. University of Illinois Press.
• Nelson, Emmanuel Sampath (2000). African American Authors, 1745-1945: Bio-bibliographical Critical Sourcebook. Greenwood Publishing Group.
• "JOHN BROWN'S RAID". Sacramento Daily Union. 16 January 1889.