Adin Ballou facts for kids
Adin Ballou (1803–1890) was an American leader who believed in peace and fairness. He was a strong supporter of Christian nonresistance, which means solving problems without violence. He also believed in Christian anarchism and Christian socialism, ideas about living together peacefully and sharing resources. Ballou was a key figure in the movement to end slavery, known as abolitionism. He also started a special community called the Hopedale Community.
As a minister for the Universalist and Unitarian churches, Ballou worked hard to end slavery right away. He wrote many books and articles about using peaceful methods, called moral suasion, to make changes. His ideas were admired by famous thinkers like Leo Tolstoy. Tolstoy often said Ballou greatly influenced his own beliefs. Tolstoy even helped translate some of Ballou's books into Russian.
Ballou's ideas about peace and non-violence also reached Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi learned about these ideas from Tolstoy. Ballou's teachings helped shape Gandhi's early thoughts on peaceful resistance. They also influenced the creation of Gandhi's first community, the Tolstoy Farm. More recently, philosopher Crispin Sartwell noted that Ballou's work directly influenced Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr..
Contents
Adin Ballou's Beliefs
Adin Ballou became a lifelong supporter of Christian pacifism by 1838. This means he believed in peace and was against all war and violence.
The Standard of Practical Christianity
In 1839, Ballou and some friends wrote a document called Standard of Practical Christianity. In this paper, they announced they would not support "the governments of the world." They felt that governments using force to keep order was wrong. They promised not to take part in such governments.
Even though they did not accept earthly rulers, they also did not rebel. They would not use physical force against any laws. They declared, "We cannot use weapons or any physical violence at all. Not even to save our lives. We cannot return evil for evil... we must 'love our enemies.'"
Leading the Non-Resistance Society
In 1843, Ballou became the president of the New England Non-Resistance Society. This group worked to promote peaceful ways of solving problems.
Local History Work
Ballou was also an important local historian for Milford. In 1882, he wrote one of the first complete histories of the town. It was titled "History of the town of Milford, Worcester county, Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 1881."
See also
- Peace churches
