author
David Low Dodge
1774–1852
A merchant-turned-reformer, he became one of the earliest American voices to argue that Christian faith and war could not be reconciled. His writing and organizing helped shape early peace activism in the United States.
1 Audiobook
War Inconsistent with the Religion of Jesus Christ
by David Low Dodge
About the author
Born in Connecticut in 1774, David Low Dodge worked first as a teacher and later as a merchant before becoming known for his religious and reform writing. He spent much of his adult life in New York City and combined evangelical conviction with a strong interest in public moral causes.
Dodge is best remembered as an early American peace advocate. He helped establish the New York Peace Society and was also involved in founding the New York Bible Society and the New York Tract Society. Historians have described his work as some of the earliest effective antiwar writing produced in the United States.
He died in 1852, but his legacy stands out for how clearly and how early he argued against war on moral and Christian grounds. For listeners interested in the roots of American reform movements, his life offers a revealing glimpse of the religious energy behind early nineteenth-century activism.