Benjamin Underwood

From Philosopedia

Underwood, Benjamin Franklin (6 July 1839 – 1914)

Underwood was born in New York City, the second of seven children. Largely self-educated, he served in the Civil War and was imprisoned at Richmond after being wounded in the right leg. After being released through a prisoner exchange program, Underwood reinlisted and served through the war, receiving a commendation for bravery in action. After working as a reporter, lecturer and author, Underwood became a noted promoter of Darwin and evolution.

Underwood wrote, lectured and debated as a major 19th century advocate for the freethought movement. His books include The Influence of Christianity on Civilization (1871) and The Crimes and Cruelties of Christianity (1877). Underwood chaired the "Congress of Evolution" at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893. He was a supporter of feminism. His wife, Sara Underwood, wrote Heroines of Freethought (1876). D. 1914.

At the 1876 Centennial Congress of Liberals, Underwood said,

• There is no argument worthy of the name that will justify the union of the Christian religion with the State. Every consideration of justice and equality forbids it. Every argument in favor of free Republican institutions is equally an argument in favor of a complete divorce of the State from the Church. History in warning tones tells us there can be no liberty without it. Justice demands it. Public safety requires it. He who opposes it is, whether he realizes it or not, an enemy of freedom.

A materialist and freethinker, Underwood likened his atheism to that of Charles Bradlaugh. In 1887, he served for a short time as editor and manager of Open Court, a freethought journal in Chicago. Open Court has continued as a publisher ever since.

In 1888 he edited the Illustrated Graphic News. A debater who drew on Thomas Henry Huxley’s writings, Underwood once took on Asa Gray, a protégé of Darwin who professed theism and adherence to the Nicene Creed.

With F. E. Abbot, he edited Index, a freethought publication from Toledo, Ohio, and Bolston, Massachusetts, that was published from 1870 to 1886.

Infidels, he wrote, “have been among the most indefatigable workers in every reform.”

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