William Whipper

William Whipper (1804–1876) was an African American abolitionist and businessman. He advocated nonviolence and co-founded the American Moral Reform Society, an early African American abolitionist organization.

Background Information

Born to a Black house servant and her white employer, William Whipper epitomized the unique prosperity that Northern Blacks were able to attain in the mid-1800s. Whipper was a successful businessman and played a key role in the antislavery movement as a reformer.

William Whipper was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1804 and after moving to Philadelphia in the 1820s, he began focusing his energies on his business pursuits. In 1834 he opened a free labor and temperance grocery store. His support of the temperance movement was motivated by liquors destructive effect on Africa and the belief that alcohol consumption was a contributing factor for Africans selling their own people into slavery.¹ In conjunction with his support for the temperance movement, Whipper began actively participating in the antislavery movement as well.

As A Successful Businessman

In 1835 Whipper relocated to Columbia, Pennsylvania with fellow black entrepreneur Stephen Smith. The pair created one of the state’s premier lumberyards and accrued substantial wealth demonstrating the benefits of northern freedom. Whipper used his newfound wealth to further his personal fight for moral reform and abolition. He utilized his assets to the benefit of the antislavery movement by helping runaway slaves escape to the north. He operated a major underground railroad station and provided shelter for slaves primarily from Virginia and Maryland.²

Ideology and Contributions to the Abolitionist and Antislavery Movement

Whipper’s ideology regarding antislavery was unique and complex. One of his main tenets rested in moral reform. Moral reform refers to the idea that the abolitionist movement “served as a check on the evil dispositions of blacks and inculcated moral principles.”³

Initially Whipper believed that white prejudice against Black Americans stemmed from the condition in which blacks found themselves, not just the color of their skin. In order to overcome their condition, Whipper stipulated that “blacks had to improve their mental, economic, and moral situations.”⁴ By making such improvements, blacks would seemingly conform to white standards of living, making social acceptance more attainable.

Another key component of Whipper’s ideology was rooted in idea of nonviolence and rational persuasion. At the age of 24, Whipper published his famous speech Address on Non-Resistance to Offensive Aggression. This address suggested that nonviolent means of moral righteousness were necessary to encourage a peaceful political movement towards change. This address has been a considered a precursor to what would become some of the same nonviolent strategies followed during later civil rights movements.

Furthermore, Whipper demonstrated his dedication to the notion of moral reform via the creation of the American Moral Reform Society. In 1835 he attended the annual convention of the Improvement of Free People of Color. He urged delegates to adopt a resolution, which ended the usage of the word “colored.”⁵ Because of his persistence, the delegates decided to organize a society that would have no racial boundaries. The convention gave birth to the American Moral Reform Society, and gave Whipper credit as a founding father. The American Moral Reform Society attempted to promote general aims such as educating blacks, establishing a black press, and printing histories of the blacks.⁶

Historical Significance

William Whipper was not content with simply accruing personal financial wealth and economic stability. Instead he used his wealth and standing for the betterment of the Black community, with emphasis on Blacks that were still slaves. He organized and spoke. He wrote important literature. And he helped fugitive slaves escape their oppression. To many, Whipper is considered to be the forerunner of a civil rights movement that preceded the works of Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi. Whipper's claims in his Address on Non-Resistance to Offensive Aggression, where he equated non-violence with a sense of reason, was an integral part of the abolitionist movement and, later, the civil rights movement towards a common peace.

Endnotes

¹Mamie E. Locke. “Whipper William,” American National Biography Online, http://www.anb.org/articles/15/15-00752.html, (accessed Feb 05 2008).

²Locke.

³Locke.

⁴William Whipper, A Thoughtful Abolitionist.” The African American Registry. . (accessed Feb 05 2008).

⁵David Zimmerman, “William Whipper and the Black Abolitionist Tradition.”Millersville University. . (accessed Feb 05 2008).

⁶Locke.

External Links and Sources

* [http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/2467/William_Whipper_a_thoughtful_abolitionist Aaregistry.com (date of death appears to be incorrect)] .
* [http://www.afrolumens.org/ugrr/dwhipper01.htm biography]

Locke, Mamie E. “Whipper William.” American National Biography Online. . (accessed Feb 05 2008).

“William Whipper, A Thoughtful Abolitionist.” The African American Registry. . (accessed Feb 05 2008).

Zimmerman, David. “William Whipper and the Black Abolitionist Tradition.”Millersville University. . (accessed Feb 05 2008).