Over two hundred years ago, while America was at war with England and James Madison was president, a child was born in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. This child born of means would one day turn his back on his elite status to defend the defenseless. This child grew up to be Henry Bergh, the creator of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, an organization that still exists today more than 150 years after its inception. I am honored to be here with Henry Bergh to ask him some questions about his life. “Mr. Bergh, thank you for taking time to speak with me today, please tell me where you were born and about your early childhood.” “I was born August 29, 1813; I was the youngest child of Elizabeth and Christian Bergh.
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We were a family of great financial means, in that social circle you also marry into the same elite group, living our lives as wealthy socialites and rubbing elbows with other elites. My wife, Catharine Matilda Taylor and I, sailed to Europe in 1847. This was about 8 years after our wedding. During this year long adventure we attended several bullfights where 8 bulls were killed and 20 horses were gored to death. What really horrified me, were the roars of approval from the audience, including women. My wife and I experienced a level of disgust that had never been matched before in our lives and I had to wonder how these people could call themselves civilized or even Christian”( Lane and Zawistowski 19-20). “Consequently, you got involved in the protection of animals?” “Not right away, I tried my hand as a playwright and a poet, and let me state that my reviews were less than favorable so I decided to get involved in foreign affairs. Being affluent afforded me greater opportunities and after falling love with Russia during my travels I was appointed secretary of the American Legation in St. Petersburg in 1863. I lasted a little over a year. The time was short due to witnessing a carriage driver beating his injured horse in the street when it would not perform. It was truly awful, here I was on my way to a social …show more content…
Animal cruelty wasn’t important, most people did not believe that animals had the capacity to feel pain, they were just beasts of burden” (Lane and Zawistowski 27-29). “My idea to start the organization was mocked, I was quite discouraged” (McCrea
We were a family of great financial means, in that social circle you also marry into the same elite group, living our lives as wealthy socialites and rubbing elbows with other elites. My wife, Catharine Matilda Taylor and I, sailed to Europe in 1847. This was about 8 years after our wedding. During this year long adventure we attended several bullfights where 8 bulls were killed and 20 horses were gored to death. What really horrified me, were the roars of approval from the audience, including women. My wife and I experienced a level of disgust that had never been matched before in our lives and I had to wonder how these people could call themselves civilized or even Christian”( Lane and Zawistowski 19-20). “Consequently, you got involved in the protection of animals?” “Not right away, I tried my hand as a playwright and a poet, and let me state that my reviews were less than favorable so I decided to get involved in foreign affairs. Being affluent afforded me greater opportunities and after falling love with Russia during my travels I was appointed secretary of the American Legation in St. Petersburg in 1863. I lasted a little over a year. The time was short due to witnessing a carriage driver beating his injured horse in the street when it would not perform. It was truly awful, here I was on my way to a social …show more content…
Animal cruelty wasn’t important, most people did not believe that animals had the capacity to feel pain, they were just beasts of burden” (Lane and Zawistowski 27-29). “My idea to start the organization was mocked, I was quite discouraged” (McCrea