Henry Ward Beecher Collection (35 vols.)

by William C. Beecher; Samuel. Scoville; Eunice White Beecher; Edna Dean Proctor

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4 more

Publishers:

Sampson Low, Marston & Company; Philips, Sampson and Company

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14 more

, 1858–1903

Overview

Henry Ward Beecher was both the William Wilberforce and the Billy Graham of his day. Famed as America’s most powerful public speaker during his time and often noted for his uncompromising stance on the issues of his day, Beecher achieved social reform, led a dedicated Christ-serving congregation, and brokered international peace—all from behind the pulpit.

“The Shakespeare of the Christian pulpit.”—Charles Spurgeon

From as early as the 1840s, Henry Ward Beecher spoke out against slavery. His church was a noteworthy part of the Underground Railroad movement. Collections from his church were used to buy the freedom of many slaves, and he helped rally the Union to support Abraham Lincoln as Lincoln boldly signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

“The most influential man in America.”—Abraham Lincoln

Beecher was also outspoken for women’s voting rights—nearly half a century before the United States Legislature would introduce the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Beecher worked with women’s rights leader Susan B. Anthony and his sister, famed writer Harriet Beecher Stowe, to convince the public of the equality of a woman’s political voice.

“The Hercules of American Protestantism.”—Walt Whitman

Now you can have his sermons, speeches, and writings accessible in your favorite Bible-study and research program. This collection contains several biographies of Henry Ward Beecher, Beecher’s famous biography of Jesus, and hundreds of his sermons, speeches, and orations—including his famous address at Fort Sumter and his eulogy for Abraham Lincoln.

The Logos advantage makes these volumes far more valuable than print copies. Seeing Beecher’s Bible references on mouseover and following his cross-references through your library make research faster and reading more fun. You can look up theological concepts and terms with just a click, or instantly search these volumes to find ideas or themes Beecher wrote or spoke on.

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About Henry Ward Beecher

Henry Ward Beecher (1813–1887) was the seventh child of Lyman Beecher, a well-respected and widely-known preacher and pastor, and of Roxana Foote Beecher, an artist and granddaughter of Revolutionary War officer General Andrew Ward. His siblings included woman’s rights activist Isabella Holmes Beecher Hooker, minister Charles Beecher, famed writer Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Edward Beecher, former president of Illinois College, editor of The Congregationalist, and antislavery leader.

Henry Ward Beecher studied at Amherst College and Lane Seminary. After seven years of education, he had a humble beginning as a pastor at poorer churches in Illinois until he was invited to speak at the newly-formed Plymouth Church in Brooklyn. From this pulpit, he campaigned against slavery, supported women’s suffrage, championed temperance, and drew the ear of the entire nation.

When, in 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed and the Missouri Compromise repealed, Plymouth Church paid to ship rifles to antislavery settlers in Kansas and Nebraska in crates marked “Bibles,” famously making them known as “Beecher’s Bibles.” His church was also a safe haven along the Underground Railroad, and he would regularly hold faux auctions to buy the freedom of slaves with donations from his congregation.

Beecher was a voice among many pressuring President Abraham Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. Once the Civil War erupted, President Lincoln sent Beecher on a mission to Great Britain, to address the political councils to keep Great Britain out of trade with the Confederate South and out of the war.

In 1872, Victoria Woodhull accused Beecher of committing adultery with Elizabeth Tilton, the wife of his best friend, in one of America’s biggest public scandals. The result was several trials, lawsuits, and rifts in family and society. Beecher’s wife stood by his side and maintained his innocence throughout the ordeal.

Henry Ward Beecher passed away in March of 1887 after suffering a stroke. Brooklyn declared it a day of mourning, the state legislature recessed, and national figures (including President Cleveland) sent letters of condolence. He was survived by his wife and only four of his eleven children.