Love, Alfred Henry

Love, Alfred Henry,

1830–1913, American pacifist, b. Philadelphia. Love, a Quaker, remained firm in his principles at the outbreak of the Civil War, refusing even to hire a substitute when he was drafted; he set forth his position in An Appeal in Vindication of Peace Principles (1862). With others he formed the Universal Peace Union and until his death remained the leader of this body and editor of its publications and periodical. He urged outlawing war, the negotiation of treaties of arbitration, the establishment of an international court, and arbitration in industrial disputes.

Love, Alfred Henry

(1830–1913) radical pacifist, merchant; born in Philadelphia, Pa. A pioneering pacifist of highest principles, he was a wool merchant who resisted the Civil War by refusing to sell his goods for army use; when drafted (1863), he refused to serve or procure a substitute. Founder of the Universal Peace Society (1866) (later the Universal Peace Union), he and its members worked for a reconciliation between North and South and other human rights issues. He pioneered the concept of arbitration and served as a strike mediator (1880s). An uncompromising opponent of militarism, he fought for an international court, but by the eve of the Spanish-American war was considered impractical by fellow pacifists and he was even burned in effigy.