Spofford was born in Gilmanton , New Hampshire . Ill health prevented him from attending Amherst College . He instead , at age 19 , moved to Cincinnati , Ohio , where he became a bookseller , publisher , and newspaper man . In 1849 Spofford founded the Literary Club of Cincinnati , which still exists . 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 . " Readers included Ralph Waldo Emerson , who shared Spofford 's antislavery principles . In 1859 Spofford became associate editor of the '' Cincinnati Commercial '' . He was also active in Republican party politics and was a delegate to the 1856 Republican National Convention , at which John C. Frémont was nominated
1856 Republican National Convention
1856 Republican National Convention
Ainsworth Rand Spofford