Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
Encyclopedia
Richard Henry Dana Jr. (August 1, 1815 – January 6, 1882) was an American
lawyer
and politician
from Massachusetts, a descendant of an eminent colonial family who gained renown as the author of the American classic, the memoir
Two Years Before the Mast
. Both as a writer and as a lawyer, he was a champion of the downtrodden, from seamen to fugitive slaves.
, Massachusetts
on August 1, 1815 into a family that had settled in colonial America in 1640, counting Anne Bradstreet
among its ancestors. His father was the poet and critic Richard Henry Dana, Sr.
As a boy, Dana studied in Cambridgeport under a strict schoolmaster named Samuel Barrett, alongside fellow Cambridge native and future writer James Russell Lowell
. Barrett was infamous as a disciplinarian who punished his students for any infraction by flogging. He also often pulled students by their ears and, on one such occasion, nearly pulled Dana's ear off, causing the boy's father to protest enough that the practice was abolished.
In 1825, Dana enrolled in a private school overseen by Ralph Waldo Emerson
, whom Dana later mildly praised as "a very pleasant instructor", though he lacked a "system or discipline enough to insure regular and vigorous study." In July 1831, Dana enrolled at Harvard College
, where in his freshman year his support of a student protest cost him a six month suspension. In his junior year, he contracted measles
, which in his case led to ophthalmia
.
Fatefully, the worsening vision inspired him to take a sea voyage. But rather than going on a fashionable Grand Tour
of Europe, he decided to enlist as a merchant seaman, despite his high-class birth. On August 14, 1834 he departed Boston aboard the brig
Pilgrim
bound for Alta California
, at that time still a part of Mexico
. This voyage would bring Dana to a number of settlements in California (including Monterey
, San Pedro
, San Juan Capistrano, San Diego
, Santa Barbara
, Santa Clara
, and San Francisco
). After witnessing a flogging on board the ship, he vowed that he would try to help improve the lot of the common seaman. The Pilgrim collected hides for shipment to Boston, and Dana spent much of his time in California curing hides and loading them onto the ship. To return home sooner, he was reassigned by the ship's owners to a different ship, the Alert, and on September 22, 1836, Dana arrived back in Massachusetts.
He thereupon enrolled at Harvard Law School
. He graduated from there in 1837 and was admitted to the bar
in 1840. He went on to specialize in maritime law, writing The Seaman's Friend in 1841 — which became a standard reference on the legal rights and responsibilities of sailors — and defending many common seamen in court.
He had kept a diary
during his voyages, and in 1840 (coinciding with his admission to the bar) he published a memoir, Two Years Before the Mast
. The term, "before the mast" refers to sailors' quarters, which were located in the forecastle
(the ship's bow
), officers' quarters being near the stern. His writing evidences his later social feeling for the oppressed. With the California Gold Rush
later in the decade, Two Years Before the Mast would become highly sought after as one of the few sources of information on California.
He became a prominent abolitionist
, helping to found the anti-slavery
Free Soil Party in 1848 and representing the fugitive slave Anthony Burns
in Boston in 1854.
In 1853 he represented William T.G. Morton
in Morton's attempt to establish that he discovered the "Anaesthetic Properties of Ether".
In 1859, while the U.S. Senate was considering whether the United States should try to annex the Spanish possession of Cuba
, Dana traveled there and visited Havana
, a sugar plantation, a bullfight, and various churches, hospitals, schools, and prisons, a trip documented in his book To Cuba and Back.
During the American Civil War
, Dana served as a United States Attorney
, and successfully argued before the Supreme Court
that the United States Government could rightfully blockade Confederate
ports. During 1867–1868 Dana was a member of the Massachusetts legislature and also served as a U.S. counsel in the trial of Confederate President Jefferson Davis
.
In 1876, his nomination as ambassador to Great Britain
was defeated in the Senate by political enemies, partly because of a lawsuit for plagiarism brought against him for a legal textbook he had edited, Henry Wheaton's Elements of International Law
(8th ed., 1866). Immediately after the book's publication, Dana had been charged by the editor of two earlier editions, William Beach Lawrence, with infringing his copyright, and was involved in litigation which continued for thirteen years. In such minor matters as arrangement of notes and verification of citations the court found against Dana, but in the main Dana's notes were vastly different from Lawrence's.
Dana died of influenza
in Rome
and is buried in that city's Protestant Cemetery
.
His son, Richard Henry Dana III, married Edith Longfellow, daughter of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
from Massachusetts, a descendant of an eminent colonial family who gained renown as the author of the American classic, the memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
Two Years Before the Mast
Two Years Before the Mast
Two Years Before the Mast is a book by the American author Richard Henry Dana, Jr., published in 1840, having been written after a two-year sea voyage starting in 1834. A film adaptation under the same name was released in 1946.- Background :...
. Both as a writer and as a lawyer, he was a champion of the downtrodden, from seamen to fugitive slaves.
Biography
Dana was born in CambridgeCambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
on August 1, 1815 into a family that had settled in colonial America in 1640, counting Anne Bradstreet
Anne Bradstreet
Anne Dudley Bradstreet was New England's first published poet. Her work met with a positive reception in both the Old World and the New World.-Biography:...
among its ancestors. His father was the poet and critic Richard Henry Dana, Sr.
Richard Henry Dana, Sr.
Richard Henry Dana, Sr. was an American poet, critic and lawyer. His son, Richard Henry Dana, Jr., also became a lawyer and author.-Biography:...
As a boy, Dana studied in Cambridgeport under a strict schoolmaster named Samuel Barrett, alongside fellow Cambridge native and future writer James Russell Lowell
James Russell Lowell
James Russell Lowell was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the Fireside Poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets who rivaled the popularity of British poets...
. Barrett was infamous as a disciplinarian who punished his students for any infraction by flogging. He also often pulled students by their ears and, on one such occasion, nearly pulled Dana's ear off, causing the boy's father to protest enough that the practice was abolished.
In 1825, Dana enrolled in a private school overseen by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
, whom Dana later mildly praised as "a very pleasant instructor", though he lacked a "system or discipline enough to insure regular and vigorous study." In July 1831, Dana enrolled at Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, where in his freshman year his support of a student protest cost him a six month suspension. In his junior year, he contracted measles
Measles
Measles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
, which in his case led to ophthalmia
Ophthalmia
Ophthalmia is inflammation of the eye. It is a medical sign which may be indicative of various conditions, including sympathetic ophthalmia , gonococcal ophthalmia, trachoma or "Egyptian" ophthalmia, ophthalmia neonatorum ,...
.
Fatefully, the worsening vision inspired him to take a sea voyage. But rather than going on a fashionable Grand Tour
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage...
of Europe, he decided to enlist as a merchant seaman, despite his high-class birth. On August 14, 1834 he departed Boston aboard the brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
Pilgrim
Pilgrim (brig)
The Pilgrim was a sailing brig engaged in the California hide trade of the early 19th century. Although just one among many other ships engaged in the business, the Pilgrim was immortalized by one of her sailors, Richard Henry Dana, Jr., who wrote the classic account Two Years Before the Mast...
bound for Alta California
Alta California
Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
, at that time still a part of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. This voyage would bring Dana to a number of settlements in California (including Monterey
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
, San Pedro
San Pedro, Los Angeles, California
San Pedro is a port district of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was annexed in 1909 and is a major seaport of the area...
, San Juan Capistrano, San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, Santa Clara
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
, and San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
). After witnessing a flogging on board the ship, he vowed that he would try to help improve the lot of the common seaman. The Pilgrim collected hides for shipment to Boston, and Dana spent much of his time in California curing hides and loading them onto the ship. To return home sooner, he was reassigned by the ship's owners to a different ship, the Alert, and on September 22, 1836, Dana arrived back in Massachusetts.
He thereupon enrolled at Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
. He graduated from there in 1837 and was admitted to the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
in 1840. He went on to specialize in maritime law, writing The Seaman's Friend in 1841 — which became a standard reference on the legal rights and responsibilities of sailors — and defending many common seamen in court.
He had kept a diary
Diary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
during his voyages, and in 1840 (coinciding with his admission to the bar) he published a memoir, Two Years Before the Mast
Two Years Before the Mast
Two Years Before the Mast is a book by the American author Richard Henry Dana, Jr., published in 1840, having been written after a two-year sea voyage starting in 1834. A film adaptation under the same name was released in 1946.- Background :...
. The term, "before the mast" refers to sailors' quarters, which were located in the forecastle
Forecastle
Forecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters...
(the ship's bow
Bow (ship)
The bow is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is most forward when the vessel is underway. Both of the adjectives fore and forward mean towards the bow...
), officers' quarters being near the stern. His writing evidences his later social feeling for the oppressed. With the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
later in the decade, Two Years Before the Mast would become highly sought after as one of the few sources of information on California.
He became a prominent abolitionist
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
, helping to found the anti-slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
Free Soil Party in 1848 and representing the fugitive slave Anthony Burns
Anthony Burns
Anthony Burns was born a slave in Stafford County, Virginia. As a young man, he became a Baptist and a "slave preacher"...
in Boston in 1854.
In 1853 he represented William T.G. Morton
William T.G. Morton
William Thomas Green Morton was an American dentist who first publicly demonstrated the use of inhaled ether as a surgical anesthetic in 1846. The promotion of his questionable claim to have been the discoverer of anesthesia became an obsession for the rest of his life.- Life and work :Born in...
in Morton's attempt to establish that he discovered the "Anaesthetic Properties of Ether".
In 1859, while the U.S. Senate was considering whether the United States should try to annex the Spanish possession of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Dana traveled there and visited Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, a sugar plantation, a bullfight, and various churches, hospitals, schools, and prisons, a trip documented in his book To Cuba and Back.
During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Dana served as a United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
, and successfully argued before the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
that the United States Government could rightfully blockade Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
ports. During 1867–1868 Dana was a member of the Massachusetts legislature and also served as a U.S. counsel in the trial of Confederate President Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
.
In 1876, his nomination as ambassador to Great Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
was defeated in the Senate by political enemies, partly because of a lawsuit for plagiarism brought against him for a legal textbook he had edited, Henry Wheaton's Elements of International Law
Elements of International Law
Elements of International Law, first published in 1836, is a book on international law by Henry Wheaton which has long been influential.- Textual history :...
(8th ed., 1866). Immediately after the book's publication, Dana had been charged by the editor of two earlier editions, William Beach Lawrence, with infringing his copyright, and was involved in litigation which continued for thirteen years. In such minor matters as arrangement of notes and verification of citations the court found against Dana, but in the main Dana's notes were vastly different from Lawrence's.
Dana died of influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and is buried in that city's Protestant Cemetery
Protestant Cemetery, Rome
The Protestant Cemetery , now officially called the Cimitero acattolico and often referred to as the Cimitero degli Inglesi is a cemetery in Rome, located near Porta San Paolo alongside the Pyramid of Cestius, a small-scale Egyptian-style pyramid built in 30 BC as a tomb and later incorporated...
.
His son, Richard Henry Dana III, married Edith Longfellow, daughter of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
.
Namesakes
- The point and city of Dana PointDana Point, California-Climate:Dana Point enjoys a mild climate where temperatures tend to average around the 60's. The warmest month of the year is August with an average temperature of 79 degrees Fahrenheit. The coldest month is December with an average minimum temperature of 44 degrees Fahrenheit.-2010:The 2010...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, located on the Pacific coastPacific CoastA country's Pacific coast is the part of its coast bordering the Pacific Ocean.-The Americas:Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western border.* Geography of Canada* Geography of Chile* Geography of Colombia...
about halfway between Los AngelesLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and San DiegoSan Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, are named for him, and a reproduction of the brig "Pilgrim" was sailed around Cape Horn and permanently placed on display there for the Ocean InstituteOcean InstituteThe Ocean Institute is an ocean education organization located in Dana Point, California. Founded as the Marine Institute in 1977, it offers ocean science and maritime history programs for K-12 students and their teachers...
.
- Several schools are named in his honor:
- Richard Henry Dana Elementary School (Dana Point, California), in Dana Point, CA.
- Richard Henry Dana Middle School, in Arcadia, CA.
- Dana Middle SchoolDana Middle School (San Diego)Richard Henry Dana Middle School is a public middle school in San Diego, California, part of the San Diego Unified School District. It was originally built in 1949. It serves approximately 820 students in grades 5 and 6. It is located in the Loma Portal neighborhood of Point Loma...
in the Point LomaPoint Loma, San Diego, CaliforniaPoint Loma is a seaside community of San Diego, California. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, the east by the San Diego Bay and Old Town and the north by the San Diego River...
neighborhood of San Diego, CA. - Richard Henry Dana Middle School (Hawthorne, CA)
- Dana Middle School (San Pedro, CA)
Selected works by Richard Henry Dana
- Two Years Before the Mast, 1840; 1869 revision by Dana; 1911 revision by his son
- The Seaman's Friend: Containing a Treatise on Practical Seamanship, with Plates; A Dictionary of Sea Terms; Customs and Usages of the Merchant Service; Laws Relating to the Practical Duties of Master and Mariners. 1st edition, 1841; 6th edition, 1851
- Cruelty to seamen: being the case of Nichols & Couch [date unknown]
- An autobiographical sketch, 1815–1842
- To Cuba and back, 1859
- Journal of a Voyage Round the World, 1859–1860
- Twenty-Four Years After, 1869; now generally included in Two Years Before the Mast
- The journal, Robert F. Lucid, editor. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1968
External links
- WorldCat
- Works by Richard Henry Dana at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...