Ainsworth Rand Spofford

A Book for All Readers (Esprios Classics) Ainsworth Rand Spofford

Ainsworth Rand Spofford (September 12, 1825 - August 11, 1908) was an American journalist and the sixth Librarian of Congress. In 1849 Spofford founded the Literary Club of Cincinnati with John Celivergos Zachos, Stanley Matthews (judge) and 9 others founded. One year later Rutherford B. Hayes became a member. Other prominent members included William Howard Taft and notable club guests Ralph Waldo Emerson, Booker T. Washington, Mark Twain, and Robert Frost. In 1850 prominent abolitionist and woman's rights activist John Celivergos Zachos named his son Ainsworth to honor Spofford. In 1851, in response to the Fugitive Slave Law, he published the pamphlet The Higher Law, Tried by Reason and Authority, which argued that "Injustice is the only treason; no law can legalize it, no constitution can sanction it."