GARRISON, WILLIAM LLOYD
William Lloyd Garrison, publisher of the antislavery
newspaper The Liberator and founder of
the American Anti-Slavery Society, was one of
the most fiery and outspoken abolitionists of the
Civil War period.
Garrison was born in Newburyport,Massachusetts,
on December 10, 1805. In 1808, Garrison’s
father abandoned his family leaving them
close to destitute. At age 13, after working at
a number of jobs, Garrison became an apprentice
to Ephraim Allen, editor of the Newburyport
Herald.
Garrison later moved to Boston where he
became editor of the National Philanthropist in
1828. At that time, Garrison became acquainted
with the prominent Quaker Benjamin Lundy,
editor of the Baltimore-based antislavery newspaper,
the Genius of Universal Emancipation. In
1829, Garrison became co-editor of Lundy’s
publication and began his vigorous advocacy for
abolishing SLAVERY. Shortly thereafter, Garrison
was sued by a merchant engaged in the slave
trade.He was convicted of LIBEL and spent seven
weeks in prison, an experience that strengthened
his conviction that all slaves should be set free.
After his release from jail in 1830, Garrison
returned to Boston where he joined the American
Colonization Society, an organization that
promoted the idea that free blacks should emigrate
to Africa. When it became clear that most
members of the group did not support freeing
slaves, but just wanted to reduce the number of
free blacks in the United States, Garrison withdrew
from membership.
In January 1831, Garrison founded The Liberator,
which he published for 35 years and
which became the most famous antislavery
newspaper of its era. Although he was a pacifist,
Garrison struck a formidable stance in the very
first issue in which he proclaimed, “I do not
wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation
. . . I will not retreat a single inch—AND
I WILL BE HEARD.” The Liberator, which never
had a paid circulation greater than three thousand
became one of the most widely disseminated,
consistent, and dominating voices of the
ABOLITION movement.
Antislavery advocates of the day, or abolitionists,
were widely divergent in their views of how and when slavery should be ended and
what should happen to freed slaves after emancipation.
Garrison was part of a group which
believed that abolition of slavery must happen
as quickly as possible. Those who sought
“immediatism,” however were divided on how
to achieve this goal. Garrison, though searing in
his language and unyielding in his beliefs,
believed only in civil disobedience, and opposed
any method of active resistance.
In 1832, Garrison founded the country’s first
immediatist organization, the New England
Anti-Slavery Society. The following year, in
1833, he helped organize the American Anti-
Slavery Society. He wrote the society’s constitution
and became its first corresponding
secretary. He befriended fellow abolitionist and
writer FREDERICK DOUGLASS, and made him an
agent of the Anti-Slavery Society. Over the next
several years Garrison came to reject the teachings
of established churches and the government
of the United States, which he viewed as supporting
slavery. Increasingly hewing to a philosophy
of moral absolutism, Garrison embraced
not only the cause of nonviolent resistance, but
temperance, WOMEN’S RIGHTS, and Christian
perfectionism.
In 1840, Garrison’s views precipitated a split
in the Anti-Slavery Society between the minority
who supported his radical beliefs and the
majority who disapproved of his views regarding
religion, government, and the participation
of women in the struggle for emancipation.
When Garrison’s supporters voted to admit
women, a group seceded from the society and
formed the rival American and Foreign Anti-
Slavery Society. Another group, interested in
continuing to seek reform through political
activity, later left to start the Liberty party.
Over the next two decades, Garrison’s influence
declined as his radicalism became more
pronounced. In the 1850s, The Liberator hailed
John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry while
denouncing the COMPROMISE OF 1850, the
KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT, and the U.S. Supreme
Court’s decision in DRED SCOTT V. SANDFORD.
He continued to support secession of the antislavery
states and publicly burned a copy of the
U.S. Constitution at an abolitionist rally in 1854.
After the Civil War began, Garrison put
aside his PACIFISM to support President ABRAHAM
LINCOLN and the Union Army. He welcomed
the EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION and
the passing of the THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT,
which outlawed slavery. In 1865, Garrison published
the last issue of The Liberator, although he
continued to advocate for women’s rights, temperance,
and pacifism. Garrison died on May 24,
1879, in New York City.
FURTHER READINGS
Cain, William E., ed. 1995. William Lloyd Garrison and the
Fight Against Slavery: Selections from the Liberator.
Boston: Bedford Books.
Mayer, Henry. 1998. All on Fire: William Lloyd Garrison and
the Abolition of Slavery. New York: St.Martin’s Press.
CROSS-REFERENCES
Brown, John; Temperance Movement.
