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First to Fall: Elijah Lovejoy and the Fight for a Free Press in the Age of Slavery
A vividly told tale of a forgotten American hero—an impassioned newsman who fought for the right to speak out against slavery.
The history of the fight for free press has never been more vital in our own time, when journalists are targeted as “enemies of the people.” In this brilliant and rigorously researched history, award-winning journalist and author Ken Ellingwood animates the life and times of abolitionist newspaper editor Elijah Lovejoy.
First to Fall illuminates this flawed yet heroic figure who made the ultimate sacrifice while fighting for free press rights in a time when the First Amendment offered little protection for those who dared to critique America’s “peculiar institution.”
Culminating in Lovejoy’s dramatic clashes with the pro-slavery mob in Alton, Illinois—who were destroying printing press after printing press— First to Fall will bring Lovejoy, his supporters and his enemies to life during the raucous 1830s at the edge of slave country. It was a bloody period of innovation, conflict, violent politics, and painful soul-searching over pivotal issues of morality and justice.
In the tradition of books like The Arc of Justice , First to Fall elevates a compelling, socially urgent narrative that has never received the attention it deserves. The book will aim to do no less than rescue Lovejoy from the footnotes of history and restore him as a martyr whose death was not only a catalyst for widespread abolitionist action, but also inaugurated the movement toward the free press protections we cherish so dearly today.
The history of the fight for free press has never been more vital in our own time, when journalists are targeted as “enemies of the people.” In this brilliant and rigorously researched history, award-winning journalist and author Ken Ellingwood animates the life and times of abolitionist newspaper editor Elijah Lovejoy.
First to Fall illuminates this flawed yet heroic figure who made the ultimate sacrifice while fighting for free press rights in a time when the First Amendment offered little protection for those who dared to critique America’s “peculiar institution.”
Culminating in Lovejoy’s dramatic clashes with the pro-slavery mob in Alton, Illinois—who were destroying printing press after printing press— First to Fall will bring Lovejoy, his supporters and his enemies to life during the raucous 1830s at the edge of slave country. It was a bloody period of innovation, conflict, violent politics, and painful soul-searching over pivotal issues of morality and justice.
In the tradition of books like The Arc of Justice , First to Fall elevates a compelling, socially urgent narrative that has never received the attention it deserves. The book will aim to do no less than rescue Lovejoy from the footnotes of history and restore him as a martyr whose death was not only a catalyst for widespread abolitionist action, but also inaugurated the movement toward the free press protections we cherish so dearly today.
400 pages, Hardcover
Published May 4, 2021
10 people are currently reading
162 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 2, 2022
One of the best books I've read this calendar year. The author relates the story of the attack on free speech and the free press in pre-Civil War America. Along the way we meet a strong cast of characters that comprised several demographics and populations. We learn of the struggles Elijah Lovejoy encountered as a newspaper editor and preacher. The story builds to the ultimate struggle with the mob that eventually claims his life. A fascinating look at a forgotten chapter in American history.
July 2, 2024
Really glad to see Lovejoy getting modern attention. The way the book wrapped up felt scattered and the storyline wasn't entirely chronological but flipped back and forth, but overall this is a good introduction to Elijah Lovejoy and the battle for a free press.
October 27, 2021
Ken Ellingwood's First to Fall recounts the life of Elijah Lovejoy, the Illinois abolitionist who met his death at the hands of a proslavery mob in 1837. Ellingwood does a fine job placing Lovejoy's struggle to publish an abolitionist newspaper within a broader context of backlash against antislavery. The 1830s were arguably the nadir of the fight against American slavery, with defenders of the "peculiar institution" North and South trying to stifle inflammatory speech by any means necessary. Thus the United States Postal Service blocked abolitionist mail from being sent south; thus Congress passed a "gag rule" preventing debate over the issue for nine years. Thus mobs regularly attacked abolitionists William Lloyd Garrison and William Birney north of the Mason-Dixon Line - and woe to anyone below it. Thus Ellingwood presents Lovejoy as much a martyr to free speech as antislavery, heroically attacking human bondage in a region hostile enough to such opinions to resort to violence. Lovejoy himself is a prickly, difficult figure as most abolitionists were: we undoubtedly admire his resolute stand on slavery, but his ironclad certainty extended to other topics (say, opposing Irish immigration and religious freedom) where it's far less admirable. Still, it's good to be reminded that past generations wrestled with the same issues of censorship, press freedom and violence against "enemies of the people" - if not exactly inspiring that we have to fight these same battles, again and again.
July 4, 2021
Excellent. That past as prologue. Relevant to things going on now—particularly the suppression of the vote and of CRT. Fascinating look at the testing of the limits of a free press and the fight to uphold the Bill of Rights. Enlightening with respect to mob violence in the decades before the Civil War. And, of course, fascinating to learn more about one of Colby’s (Waterville College) highest profile alums.
June 2, 2021
Compelling characters, an amazing plot line, and a pitch-perfect tension-filled ending....all the things you hope to find in every great work of fiction. That this an incredibly well researched tale of true events in a critical time in our nation's history coupled with relevance to current events makes it an even greater achievement. And a very satisfying read indeed.
August 28, 2021
A jarring narrative of the struggles of the freedom of the press in the early days of newspaper journalism.
The author uses the life and death of Elijah Lovejoy as a backbone for his chronicle, but First to Fall is much more than an academic biography (Ellingwood is the first to remind us that he is not a historian). The book brings together the life of a pioneering journalist and free speech activist with historic lessons of the tensions between the North and South that exploded in war a quarter of a century later. He elegantly connects these lessons to the slow development of the social sentiment and legal protections wet take for granted today.
Ellingwood the journalist clearly comes out as he exposes the legal and social environment surrounding Lovejoy’s life, and how these factors were active participants in his death.
More than 160 years after a mob took his life, Lovejoy’s story brings several lessons for the 21st century reader. It reminds us:
- How the words and actions of authorities (or should I say willing inaction?) and their relationship with the press have real life and death consequences. Then and now.
- How it would be simplistic to say journalists in the USA feel the warmth of the 14th amendment and view attacks on the press as only a nuisance. One needs only to look south of the border to learn about 160 journalists killed in the last decade to remember that journalism and human rights activism is still a life-threatening occupation in many countries.
- How one hideous crime enables other perpetrators down the road to do the same. Charleston in 2015, Charlottesville in 2017, and by 2018 the FBI was reporting an increase in hate crimes for a 3rd consecutive year. One can only wonder how those events emboldened the attack on the capitol this year.
These are my own reflections, as the author does not make any present-day political statements but -in my opinion-, the historical parallels are there, in plain sight.
Finally, in a wonderful epilogue about the tortuous consolidation of the freedom of the press, Ellingwood reminds us that “a free press is not just a clause in the Bill of Rights but a cause that has been cultivated and defended by generations of its practitioners, too many of whom have died in its exercise”. Thus the title of this review: A perfect companion to Netflix’s ‘Amend’ docu-series.
The author uses the life and death of Elijah Lovejoy as a backbone for his chronicle, but First to Fall is much more than an academic biography (Ellingwood is the first to remind us that he is not a historian). The book brings together the life of a pioneering journalist and free speech activist with historic lessons of the tensions between the North and South that exploded in war a quarter of a century later. He elegantly connects these lessons to the slow development of the social sentiment and legal protections wet take for granted today.
Ellingwood the journalist clearly comes out as he exposes the legal and social environment surrounding Lovejoy’s life, and how these factors were active participants in his death.
More than 160 years after a mob took his life, Lovejoy’s story brings several lessons for the 21st century reader. It reminds us:
- How the words and actions of authorities (or should I say willing inaction?) and their relationship with the press have real life and death consequences. Then and now.
- How it would be simplistic to say journalists in the USA feel the warmth of the 14th amendment and view attacks on the press as only a nuisance. One needs only to look south of the border to learn about 160 journalists killed in the last decade to remember that journalism and human rights activism is still a life-threatening occupation in many countries.
- How one hideous crime enables other perpetrators down the road to do the same. Charleston in 2015, Charlottesville in 2017, and by 2018 the FBI was reporting an increase in hate crimes for a 3rd consecutive year. One can only wonder how those events emboldened the attack on the capitol this year.
These are my own reflections, as the author does not make any present-day political statements but -in my opinion-, the historical parallels are there, in plain sight.
Finally, in a wonderful epilogue about the tortuous consolidation of the freedom of the press, Ellingwood reminds us that “a free press is not just a clause in the Bill of Rights but a cause that has been cultivated and defended by generations of its practitioners, too many of whom have died in its exercise”. Thus the title of this review: A perfect companion to Netflix’s ‘Amend’ docu-series.
January 1, 2022
Despite the author's feeble attempt in the introduction to morally equivocate Lovejoy's stance for the freedom of the press to modern-day journalists defending their right to publish libelous material (and, thus, lamenting the label of "fake news" because of their willingness to publish said libel), this book illustrates the challenges of the early to mid 19th century in dealing with the issue of slavery and the free-press in condemning - or supporting - it.
Elijah Lovejoy was such a man that vigorously defended his right to publish his moral concern that slavery was a crime against humanity and should be abolished. Opinions on such matter rightfully deserve the battlefield of the press machines, as moral issues rightfully deserve today. If there is any moral equivocation to be made between Lovejoy's era and today's political environment, it is to be found here, where ideas can be launch their volleys and win or lose in the minds of the people. When the press becomes partisan and then collectively work to prevent the free exchange of ideas - even to the point of justifying slander and libel, they will find themselves quickly in the ranks of the mob and deserve condemnation for it.
Once the story of 19th century abolitionism gets rolling in First to Fall: Elijah Lovejoy and the Fight for a Free Press in the Age of Slavery, the book becomes a page-turner. It is well-researched and well-written. Fair judgments are made in Lovejoy's actions as well as the mob that would subsequently kill him. Ellingwood's portrayal of the town of Alton and the subsequent events surrounding the night of November 7, 1837 are accurate and nuanced. You'll reach the end of the book wishing there were more to the story against Lovejoy's murderers, who were never convicted in a court of law. We will have to make due with a moral conviction in the court of human dignity. On a side note, In 1897, Lovejoy would receive a memorial where he is buried in Alton, Illinois to commemorate his sacrifice.
Overall, this book is worth the read and I highly recommend it.
Elijah Lovejoy was such a man that vigorously defended his right to publish his moral concern that slavery was a crime against humanity and should be abolished. Opinions on such matter rightfully deserve the battlefield of the press machines, as moral issues rightfully deserve today. If there is any moral equivocation to be made between Lovejoy's era and today's political environment, it is to be found here, where ideas can be launch their volleys and win or lose in the minds of the people. When the press becomes partisan and then collectively work to prevent the free exchange of ideas - even to the point of justifying slander and libel, they will find themselves quickly in the ranks of the mob and deserve condemnation for it.
Once the story of 19th century abolitionism gets rolling in First to Fall: Elijah Lovejoy and the Fight for a Free Press in the Age of Slavery, the book becomes a page-turner. It is well-researched and well-written. Fair judgments are made in Lovejoy's actions as well as the mob that would subsequently kill him. Ellingwood's portrayal of the town of Alton and the subsequent events surrounding the night of November 7, 1837 are accurate and nuanced. You'll reach the end of the book wishing there were more to the story against Lovejoy's murderers, who were never convicted in a court of law. We will have to make due with a moral conviction in the court of human dignity. On a side note, In 1897, Lovejoy would receive a memorial where he is buried in Alton, Illinois to commemorate his sacrifice.
Overall, this book is worth the read and I highly recommend it.
June 8, 2023
Good and thorough history of Elijah P. Lovejoy, an abolitionist newspaper editor and minister, in the antebellum Midwest. The author went into detail about Lovejoy's philosophy and its evolution. Lovejoy started out believing that the slavery problem could be solved through gradual emancipation and sending the formerly enslaved Africans to colonize Liberia. Eventually, through discussions with abolitionists, Lovejoy realized that this colonization scheme was an unworkable plan that was being propagated by slave holders to put off the day of reckoning. Lovejoy's work with abolitionists and his printing of abolitionist material helped him to see that true and immediate emancipation would be the way to heal America's original sin. I liked learning the history of the attempted censorship of the free press by the Southern slave-holding states. It was interesting to learn of anti-abolitionist sentiment even in free states like Illinois. The story of what happened to Elijah Lovejoy and his family and friends at the hands of the mobs who came to ruin him and his printing press was a suspenseful one. This was an interesting book.
May 13, 2022
“History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes.” Often attributed to Mark Twain, thus aphorism is continues to prove true. Ken Ellingwood’s excellent biography of Presbyterian minister and journalist Elijah Lovejoy, “First to Fall” is the tragic account of the desperate attempts to silence Lovejoy and his newspapers because of his views on the abolition of slavery. As I read of political skullduggery by some and political cowardice by others, I was constantly reminded that the same tactics are being used today to silence those who dare to disagree openly with the prevailing opinion put forth by the ruling class.
In Lovejoy’s day it was local politicians and businessmen who stirred up mobs to violence. The only difference today is the breadth of the opposition via social media, and national government. The mobs are still willing tools of those who cannot countenance disagreement.
Elijah Lovejoy gave his life because he wouldn’t be cowed by the mob. He was the first to fall, but we haven’t witnessed the last. Stirring book!
In Lovejoy’s day it was local politicians and businessmen who stirred up mobs to violence. The only difference today is the breadth of the opposition via social media, and national government. The mobs are still willing tools of those who cannot countenance disagreement.
Elijah Lovejoy gave his life because he wouldn’t be cowed by the mob. He was the first to fall, but we haven’t witnessed the last. Stirring book!
March 27, 2022
Lest we forget our heritage, freedoms and those who throw stones
Elijah Lovejoy was a minister and slavery foe who edited a newspaper mostly of pointed commentary. I’m not denominationally religious and I spent my career writing for and editing secular community newspapers. But we shared something all journalists know too well.
If you dislike the message, hate the messenger.
For me, it was troubling. For Lovejoy, it cost him his life.
This book is so important because it reminds us of founding principles that even in 2020 gave way to a mob, when the sitting president of our country called journalists with whom he disagreed “enemies of the people.”
We need to respect free speech of word and print, especially that about which we disagree, as a benefit to our freedoms and legacy - not a threat.
Otherwise, we devolve into the 1830s mob in Alton, Illinois who killed Lovejoy.
How little bedrock attitudes change. I thank this author for reminding us.
Elijah Lovejoy was a minister and slavery foe who edited a newspaper mostly of pointed commentary. I’m not denominationally religious and I spent my career writing for and editing secular community newspapers. But we shared something all journalists know too well.
If you dislike the message, hate the messenger.
For me, it was troubling. For Lovejoy, it cost him his life.
This book is so important because it reminds us of founding principles that even in 2020 gave way to a mob, when the sitting president of our country called journalists with whom he disagreed “enemies of the people.”
We need to respect free speech of word and print, especially that about which we disagree, as a benefit to our freedoms and legacy - not a threat.
Otherwise, we devolve into the 1830s mob in Alton, Illinois who killed Lovejoy.
How little bedrock attitudes change. I thank this author for reminding us.
April 24, 2021
Gripping biography of the Presbyterian minister turned Abolitionist newspaperman who was murdered by an angry pro-slavery mob in Alton, Illinois, in 1837. Elijah Lovejoy's story is vividly told, but the author also paints the world around with him with clarity and insight. You'll learn about America's passion for newspapers (apparently we've long led the world in their consumption -- who knew?), the long-gestating freedom of the press (the First Amendment did not apply to state governments until after the Civil War -- again, a revelation for me), and the South's attempts to censor any criticism of slavery both in its borders and the halls of Congress. Still, Lovejoy never fades from view: His deepening devotion to the Abolitionist cause, to the ruin of his family and his business and ultimately his life, unfolds like an expertly paced thriller. I couldn't put this book down.
May 28, 2021
Being from St Louis I've always heard about the killing of Elijah Lovejoy, but never knew the details. This book gives a detailed account of Lovejoy's life as a newspaper publisher and Presbyterian minister. While I knew Lovejoy had been ran out of St Louis by slave-supporting Missourians angry over his abolitionist views, I didn't know that his lynch mob was made up of slavery-supporting Illinois residents (one who went onto become Mayor of Alton). The highlight of this book for me is the fact Lovejoy went down shooting and may have taken one of the lynch mob with him. This was an excellent read. Giving it 4 stars because not enough information on Lovejoy's time in St Louis was included.
February 12, 2022
Ken Ellingwood’s “First to Fall” is a well-written, deeply researched story of Elijah Lovejoy and Lovejoy’s determination to publish an anti-slavery newspaper in the 1830s against the violence of pro-slavery mobs. As I read I couldn’t help compare the contentions of that time with our own and there are many similarities (in some ways we haven’t grown much; in other ways, we have).
May 16, 2022
Was a great & informative true story that informs what life was like, especially on the slavery issue, in the years leading up to the Civil War. The book was equally about the freedom of the press as the issue evolved and about the intensity of the conflict in border states.
November 13, 2022
I think I must have picked this up because the subject of the book lived in Alton, IL and I liked the idea of a heroic past for my dad’s hometown. It seems that is not a good enough basis to choose a book. Very boring
April 6, 2023
Comparing the stories of Elijah P. Lovejoy and James G. Birney, one becoming a key abolitionist and the other a martyr for a free press. It is great to see the similarities that built up, but ended in drastically different ways. A great modern read on the story of Lovejoy.
September 24, 2021
This is a great book about the fight for the First Amendment as well as the abolition of slavery.
January 20, 2022
Good book because I learned so much about an historical event I’d heard about. I live approximately 70 miles from Alton, IL where Lovejoy lived, printed his newspaper, and died.
October 29, 2025
First to Fall tells the powerful and tragic story of Elijah Lovejoy, an abolitionist newspaper editor who became a martyr for advocating free speech and anti-slavery. Set in pre-Civil War America, the book follows Lovejoy’s efforts to publish the truth in the face of white supremacist hostility in both St. Louis, Missouri and Alton, Illinois.
Lovejoy uses journalism as his weapon against oppression. Despite facing repeated threats, destruction of his printing presses, and ultimately death at the hands of a violent mob, he refused to compromise on his beliefs. His unwavering defence of the freedom of the press helped ignite the sparks of what was to come.
While the subject matter is compelling, the book’s structure can be challenging to follow. The writing at times feels scattered, especially when other characters in similar situations to Lovejoy, but in different places, are introduced around the same time in the story. This may make it difficult for casual readers to keep track of the timeline or major events. Personally, I had to take notes to better understand the sequence of events.
That said, Ellingwood deserves credit for bringing attention to a largely overlooked historical figure. Few books explore Elijah Lovejoy’s life in such depth, making First to Fall a valuable contribution to historical and journalistic literature. It is best suited for dedicated readers interested in the history of journalism or civil rights.
Lovejoy uses journalism as his weapon against oppression. Despite facing repeated threats, destruction of his printing presses, and ultimately death at the hands of a violent mob, he refused to compromise on his beliefs. His unwavering defence of the freedom of the press helped ignite the sparks of what was to come.
While the subject matter is compelling, the book’s structure can be challenging to follow. The writing at times feels scattered, especially when other characters in similar situations to Lovejoy, but in different places, are introduced around the same time in the story. This may make it difficult for casual readers to keep track of the timeline or major events. Personally, I had to take notes to better understand the sequence of events.
That said, Ellingwood deserves credit for bringing attention to a largely overlooked historical figure. Few books explore Elijah Lovejoy’s life in such depth, making First to Fall a valuable contribution to historical and journalistic literature. It is best suited for dedicated readers interested in the history of journalism or civil rights.
September 30, 2025
Written in a structure similar to those of a novel, First to Fall is a biography of Elijah Lovejoy, a journalist. Living in borderland regions like Missouri and Illinois-two states, one that was considered a free state, and another, slave territory, Lovejoy wrote for the freedom of slavery which was not only controversial, but dangerous as well. There is a big tranformation in Lovejoy throughout the book: first, he started off with being uneasy with slavery but reluctant to be radical, to being someone who explicity called slavery a sin, and fought for the freedom of it through newspapers, now refusing to give up. Ellingwood (the author) does an amazing job telling the story in the context of the flow of history and geography: he uses these environments and timeline to set the mood of the dangers and reality of Lovejoy's story. Overall, great book!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews