Then, in 1837, a horrific murder demonstrated that the continued existence of slavery threatened the constitutional rights of free speech and freedom of the press. Elijah Lovejoy, an antislavery newspaper publisher, was murdered in Alton, Illinois by a pro-slavery mob that had crossed the river from the slave state of Missouri. Lovejoy thereby became the first white martyr for abolitionist movement. | Then, in 1837, a horrific murder demonstrated that the continued existence of slavery threatened the constitutional rights of free speech and freedom of the press. Elijah Lovejoy, an antislavery newspaper publisher, was murdered in Alton, Illinois by a pro-slavery mob that had crossed the river from the slave state of Missouri. Lovejoy thereby became the first white martyr for abolitionist movement. |