On This Date in History: Henry Ward Beecher was the 19th
Century’s version of some of today’s best known televangelists.
He was the most famous and most highly paid preacher in America.
Beecher was held up across America as a symbol of virtue and
morality. In 1874, he was the pastor of the Plymouth Church in
Brooklyn when he was charged in civil court with seducing the
wife of one of his best friends. Apologists for Beecher thought
the charge was nothing more than trumped up slander. All of this
went back to the beginning when Beecher rose to the forefront
through his crusade for abolition of slavery. He enlisted the
aid of two men who were experts in public relations. One was
publisher Henry Bowen and the other was an editor named Theodore
Tilton. They turned Beecher into more than just a cottage
industry but instead a business tycoon. Much like today’s
personal seat licenses at sporting venues, the collected pew
rentals as well as the customary contributions to the tune of
$100,000 per year. His lecture fee