alten was a pro slavery community in a free state. its character was much deserve than the yankees owen lovejoy had grown up with and his brother had grown up with in maine. lovejoy soon came to recognize, however, that there was real danger and he was courting very real problems for himself, even in alten. he had written a letter to his mother saying it is harder to fight for the truth when i risk not only my own comfort, ease and reputation and even life but that of a beloved one, as well. i have a family that is dependent upon me and this is the bitter ingredient to the cup of sorrow i am called to drink. lovejoy's abolitionist stance had so outraged the majority of citizens that mobs had on three previous occasions stormed his newspaper office and destroyed his presses. on this moon lit night, however, lovejoy and his friends including his brother, owen, were determined not to let that happen again. when the mob made the first attack on the building that night gun fire was exchanged and one man in the crowd was shot to death. the