Josiah Warren

Early American Individualist Anarchist Publisher and Writer

1798 — April 14, 1874

Description : Equally notable as an inventive genius, a social philosopher, and a peaceful revolutionist, Josiah Warren stands forth, by descent, by his practical, all-round talents, by the force of an earnest life's work, as an American of the sturdy pioneer type whose brawn and brains have formed the true foundation of the republic. (From : William Bailie Bio)

Tags : anarchist, individualist, inventor, musician, author, american, editor, writer, communist.

Quotes :

"It is not till after long and painful experience and study that we discover that the precedents, traditions, authorities, and fictions upon which society has been allowed to grow up, do not coincide with each other, nor with the great unconquerable primitive or divine laws." (From : "True Civilization," by Josiah Warren.)
"It is worse than useless, it is calamitous, to legislate as if it were possible to divest ourselves of this involuntary instinct of self- preservation or self-sovereignty, and those who accept or act on such pledge commit as great an error as those who give it, and all contracts to this effect being impossible of fulfillment are null and void." (From : "True Civilization," by Josiah Warren.)
"Primitive nature insists on an Individuality in a personal lead, and it is in vain for us to contend against it." (From : "True Civilization," by Josiah Warren.)

Biography :

Josiah Warren 1

Equally notable as an inventive genius, a social philosopher, and a peaceful revolutionist, Josiah Warren stands forth, by descent, by his practical, all-round talents, by the force of an earnest life's work, as an American of the sturdy pioneer type whose brawn and brains have formed the true foundation of the republic. But it is as a representative of ideas and aspirations born amid the widespread movements for social regeneration which arose and flourished at various times during the first half of the nineteenth century, that this singular personality claims our interest. He was born in Boston in 1798, of historically famous Puritan stock. The Warrens of Pilgrim lineage from which he sprang have furnished Massachusetts with many distinguished citizens, of whom the most renowned was General Joseph Warren, the Revolutionary hero killed by the British at Bunker Hill.

Of Josiah's parents and early life but little is known. He had a taste for music, and at an early age played with his brother George in local bands as a professional. At the age of twenty he married and soon after set out from his native place to improve his fortunes in the West. In those days the city of Cincinnati was quite on the verge of civilization, with the vast unknown beyond; and when Warren reached it he decided to settle there and pursue his vocation as an orchestra leader and teacher of music. His talents soon gained him an honorable professional repute which extended beyond the city; but he had other interests. He devoted his leisure time to mechanical pursuits, of which the earliest fruit was a lamp for burning lard that would furnish a cheaper and better light than tallow, which was then selling at a high price. So successful was this invention, which Warren patented in 1823, that he was soon running a lamp manufactory in Cincinnati.

There were, however, more pressing problems than those of illumination shortly to arise and occupy the active mind and generous heart of the ingenious young New Englander.

From : "Josiah Warren: The First American Anarchist," A Sociological Study by William Bailie, Boston, Small, Maynard & Company, 1906.

Works :

Author of True Civilization (November 30, 1862)

Author of A Brief Outline of Equitable Commerce (April 14, 1852)

Author of Equitable Commerce (April 30, 1852)

Author of Last Letter (November 30, 1873)

Author of Manifesto (November 30, 1840)

Author of Modern Government and its True Mission (November 30, 1861)

Author of The Motives for Communism (November 30, 1871)

Author of Positions Defined (July 31, 1853)

Author of Social Experiment (November 30, 1830)

Author of A Few Words to the Writer in a Paper Called ‘the Circular’ on the Sovereignty of the Individual (January 01, 1970)

Author of From the March of Mind (January 01, 1970)

Author of Individuality (January 01, 1970)

Author of Liberty and Responsibility of the Individual (January 01, 1970)

Author of Modern Education (January 01, 1970)

Author of My Dear Sir (January 01, 1970)

Author of Narrative of Practical Experiments (January 01, 1970)

Author of Notebook D (January 01, 1970)

Author of Open Letter to Kossuth (January 01, 1970)

Author of The Peaceful Revolutionist (January 01, 1970)

Author of Plan of the Cincinnati Labor for Labor Store (January 01, 1970)

Author of Voluntary Subordination (January 01, 1970)

Author of Written Music Remodeled (January 01, 1970)

Chronology :

November 30, 1797 : Josiah Warren's Birth Day.
April 14, 1874 : Josiah Warren's Death Day.
November 16, 2016 : Josiah Warren's Added.
January 09, 2022 : Josiah Warren's Updated.

Links :

Anarchy Archives: Josiah Warren Archive
http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/bright/warren/warren.html
Anarchopedia: Josiah Warren
http://eng.anarchopedia.org/Josiah_Warren
Wikipedia: Josiah Warren
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josiah_Warren

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