Richard Hildreth
Richard Hildreth (1807-1865) was an influential American writer, journalist, and historian born in Deerfield, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard in 1826 and initially pursued a career in law before shifting his focus to journalism. In 1832, he co-founded and edited the Boston Atlas, where he began to express his strong opposition to slavery, notably through his groundbreaking antislavery novel, *The Slave: Or, The Memoirs of Archy Moore*. Hildreth’s activism extended to political commentary, including a firm stance against the annexation of Texas.
Despite struggling with health issues, he engaged in political pursuits, narrowly losing a bid for the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1839. After a period of recuperation in British Guiana, he married portrait painter Caroline Gould Negus in 1844. Hildreth is perhaps best remembered for his six-volume *History of the United States of America*, published between 1856 and 1860, which reflects a commitment to an objective approach to historical writing. Although he sought a professorship at Harvard twice, he was denied, partly due to his critical views of prominent academic circles. Hildreth's life ended in Italy in 1865, marking the conclusion of a significant career dedicated to journalism, literature, and history.
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Richard Hildreth
Writer
- Born: June 28, 1807
- Birthplace: Deerfield, Massachusetts
- Died: July 11, 1865
- Place of death: Florence, Italy
Biography
Richard Hildreth was born on June 28, 1807, in Deerfield, Massachusetts. His father, Hosea Hildreth, was a teacher at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire. Richard attended this school until he left for college. Hildreth attended Harvard, graduating from there in 1826, and then studied law at Newburyport. He was admitted to the bar at Boston in 1830. By this point, he had already taken to journalism, and in 1832, he cofounded the daily newspaper the Boston Atlas, which he also edited.
In 1834, Hildreth suffered from many ailments, among which were tuberculosis and depression. These led him to sell the Atlas and look for a less stressful position. Hildreth took a trip to the South as a benefit to his health, and witnessed firsthand the evils of slavery. He thought slavery so awful that he wrote what many people consider to be the first antislavery novel, The Slave: Or, The Memoirs of Archy Moore. He followed this up with a series of articles published in the Atlas vigorously opposing the annexation of Texas.
In the late 1830’s, Hildreth wrote numerous papers and essays on politics and two books on banking. In 1839, he ran for the Massachusetts House of Representatives, losing by only eight votes. After his stint in politics, Hildreth, exhausted and ill, left for British Guiana. He spent the next three years recuperating and relaxing, editing newspapers and writing essays. In 1844, Hildreth married Caroline Gould Negus, a famous portrait painter from Boston.
Hildreth’s major work from his later years was the History of the United States of America, published in six volumes from 1856 to 1860. He is considered one of the first Americans to adopt the model of “scientific” history, trying to objectively look at things how they happened, and not just how the writer felt towards the events. While he was a prime candidate for professorship at Harvard, he applied twice, and was denied both times, mostly in part to his attacks on the “Cambridge Party.” In 1860, Hildreth became too ill to work. He and his wife took an extended vacation to Florence, Italy, where he died in 1865.