author
Moorfield Storey
1845–1929
A Boston lawyer turned principled reformer, he became one of the earliest national leaders of the NAACP and spent decades arguing against racism, imperialism, and abuses of power. His life offers a window into the fierce political debates of post-Civil War America and the long fight for civil rights.
1 Audiobook
The conquest of the Philippines by the United States, 1898-1925
by Moorfield Storey, Marcial Primitivo Lichauco
About the author
Born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1845, Moorfield Storey was educated at Boston Latin School and Harvard, then trained as a lawyer. Early in his career he served as secretary to Senator Charles Sumner, the prominent abolitionist and advocate for equal rights, before building a law practice in Boston.
Storey is best remembered as the first president of the NAACP, serving from its founding era until his death in 1929. He was a strong supporter of racial equality and used his legal training and public voice to challenge segregation and discrimination at a time when such positions were far from widely accepted.
He was also known for his independence of mind. Beyond civil rights, he opposed American imperial expansion after the Spanish-American War and spoke out for civil liberties and limited government power. That combination of legal skill, moral conviction, and willingness to dissent made him an important public figure in early twentieth-century America.