Lysander Spooner, born on January 19, 1808 in Massachusetts, was a life-long activist for social reform. He openly defied state law by opening up a law practice after only 3 years of training, and fought the U.S. Post Office by founding his own mail company, American Letter Mail Company, which had offices in several eastern cities. His mail company was successful but eventually went out of business due to continued legal battles with the government.
Lysander Spooner was an active abolitionist whose writings were read across the country. He argued that the United States Constitution did not support slavery. Before the Civil War, Spooner became an abolitionist critic of the Republican Party, believing that Southern states had a right to secede from the Union. Spooner continued to criticize the North for fighting to protect the Union rather than fighting to end slavery. Lysander Spooner was a controversial reformer and writer until his death on May 14, 1887.