[2] He moved to Philadelphia in the early 1840s, and developed an interest in politics after becoming involved with the labor and land reform movements.

[9] In the postbellum period he worked for the New-York Tribune, wrote poetry and published books.

He kept the notion that the poet must write for and in the interests of the working class, his mission is clear in the poem, "The Song of Toil".

[13] In 1897, the Birmingham Labor Advocate published an edited version of his soulful poem, "Keep It Before the People.

"[14] The poem exalts the strength, freedom, and natural equality of all humankind, and concludes with the rallying cry: Keep it before the people:/ That the laborer claims his need:/ The right of soil,/ And the right of toil,/ From spur and bridle freed;/ The right to bear,/ And the right to share,/ With you and me, my brother!/ What is given,/ By God from heaven,/ To one as well as another!