Abstract

Most previous biographies of Henry Bergh, founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Western hemisphere's first animal protection organization, give little attention to the very mixed reaction his efforts received from the media, legislators, fellow social reformers, the general public, and the large number of enterprises that benefitted from the exploitation and even abuse of animals during America's Gilded Age. A Traitor to His Species provides a detailed analysis of Bergh's life and times and explores both the victories and defeats he had while devoting most of his adult life to what he considered to be a moral crusade, building a foundation of a movement that has expanded beyond his expectations.