Gerrit Smith

A Radical Nineteenth-Century Libertarian

By Laurence M. Vance

Gerrit Smith (1797-1874), in his day a well-known philanthropist, publicist, orator, abolitionist, temperance advocate, social reformer, and member of Congress, has been overshadowed by his acquaintances Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Lysander Spooner, Susan B. Anthony, and John Brown. He deserves to be better known, especially by libertarians, for his radical stand in defense of liberty.