Giddings, Joshua Reed, 1795–1864, American abolitionist, b. Tioga Point (now Athens), Pa. A successful lawyer in Jefferson, Ohio, he represented the Western Reserve in Congress (1838–59). For his militant antislavery tactics he was censured (1842) by Congress. He resigned, but was promptly reelected despite the opposition of his party (Whig). He became a Free-Soiler in 1848 and a Republican in 1855. After 1861 he was consul general to Canada.
See biography by his son-in-law, George W. Julian (1892); J. B. Stewart, Joshua R. Giddings and the Tactics of Radical Politics (1970).
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