SpiritualismLink
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.

Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt

Go down

Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt Empty Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt

Post by Admin Tue Apr 28, 2009 4:37 am

Interesting book review of this biography, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aiQs1Hd3d30I&refer=home

A towering figure who's involvment with Spiritualism came through Victoria Woodhull and her sister Tennessee (or, "Tennie C.") Claflin. The Commodore became infatuated by Tenny C after receiving healing from her. He proceeded to bankroll the endeavours of the sisters and finance their newspaper Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly. Woodhull was a champion of Free Love, Feminism and perchance a Spiritualist (well maybe). I will write a seperate article about this which I am researching. Suffice to say that she became President of the American Association of Spiritualists (AAS). As events transpired her platform including those two elements and communism split the Association. She also lost the patronage of the Commodore by translating and printing Marx's Communist Manifesto equally the Free Love platform saw Horace Greeley withdraw his support of Spiritulaism (remarkably he had employed Marx and Engels as Foreign Correspondent at his paper the New York Tribune) of course Woodhull also stood against him in the Presidential race of 1874 which they bothe lost.

There is an argument that it was Woodhulls behaviour which inspired the US obscenity laws as she was the bete noir of their architect Anthony Comstock. Oh well all in good time its a boisterous story which delayed the effective formation of a coherent National Spiritualists body in the USA by another 20 years
Admin
Admin
Admin


Back to top Go down

Back to top


 
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum