Posted on Jan 1, 2019
William Lloyd Garrison and The Liberator [ushistory.org]
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On January 1, 1831, William Lloyd Garrison published the first issue of the abolitionist journal 'The Liberator'.
From the article:
"William Lloyd Garrison and The Liberator [ushistory.org]
28a. William Lloyd Garrison and The Liberator
Anti-Abolitionist Handbill
Library of Congress
Anti-abolitionist handbills sometimes led to violent clashes between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions.
Every movement needs a voice.
For the entire generation of people that grew up in the years that led to the Civil War, William Lloyd Garrison was the voice of Abolitionism. Originally a supporter of colonization, Garrison changed his position and became the leader of the emerging anti-slavery movement. His publication, The Liberator, reached thousands of individuals worldwide. His ceaseless, uncompromising position on the moral outrage that was slavery made him loved and hated by many Americans.
William Lloyd Garrison
Although The Liberator was Garrison's most prominent abolitionist activity, he had been involved in the fight to end slavery for years prior to its publication.
In 1831, Garrison published the first edition of The Liberator. His words, "I am in earnest — I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD," clarified the position of the new Abolitionists. Garrison was not interested in compromise. He founded the New England Anti-Slavery Society the following year. In 1833, he met with delegates from around the nation to form the American Anti-Slavery Society. Garrison saw his cause as worldwide. With the aid of his supporters, he traveled overseas to garner support from Europeans. He was, indeed, a global crusader. But Garrison needed a lot of help. The Liberator would not have been successful had it not been for the free blacks who subscribed. Approximately seventy-five percent of the readers were free African-Americans.
Abolitionist pamphlet
The Liberator wasn't the only abolitionist manifesto during the 1800s. Pamphlets like this one were disseminated widely throughout the North, although many were banned in the South.
Garrison saw moral persuasion as the only means to end slavery. To him the task was simple: show people how immoral slavery was and they would join in the campaign to end it. He disdained politics, for he saw the political world as an arena of compromise. A group split from Garrison in the 1840s to run candidates for president on the Liberty Party ticket. Garrison was not dismayed. Once in Boston, he was dragged through the streets and nearly killed. A bounty of $4000 was placed on his head. In 1854, he publicly burned a copy of the Constitution because it permitted slavery. He called for the north to secede from the Union to sever the ties with the slaveholding south.
William Lloyd Garrison lived long enough to see the Union come apart under the weight of slavery. He survived to see Abraham Lincoln issue the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War. Thirty-four years after first publishing The Liberator, Garrison saw the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution go into effect, banning slavery forever. It took a lifetime of work. But in the end, the morality of his position held sway."
From the article:
"William Lloyd Garrison and The Liberator [ushistory.org]
28a. William Lloyd Garrison and The Liberator
Anti-Abolitionist Handbill
Library of Congress
Anti-abolitionist handbills sometimes led to violent clashes between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions.
Every movement needs a voice.
For the entire generation of people that grew up in the years that led to the Civil War, William Lloyd Garrison was the voice of Abolitionism. Originally a supporter of colonization, Garrison changed his position and became the leader of the emerging anti-slavery movement. His publication, The Liberator, reached thousands of individuals worldwide. His ceaseless, uncompromising position on the moral outrage that was slavery made him loved and hated by many Americans.
William Lloyd Garrison
Although The Liberator was Garrison's most prominent abolitionist activity, he had been involved in the fight to end slavery for years prior to its publication.
In 1831, Garrison published the first edition of The Liberator. His words, "I am in earnest — I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD," clarified the position of the new Abolitionists. Garrison was not interested in compromise. He founded the New England Anti-Slavery Society the following year. In 1833, he met with delegates from around the nation to form the American Anti-Slavery Society. Garrison saw his cause as worldwide. With the aid of his supporters, he traveled overseas to garner support from Europeans. He was, indeed, a global crusader. But Garrison needed a lot of help. The Liberator would not have been successful had it not been for the free blacks who subscribed. Approximately seventy-five percent of the readers were free African-Americans.
Abolitionist pamphlet
The Liberator wasn't the only abolitionist manifesto during the 1800s. Pamphlets like this one were disseminated widely throughout the North, although many were banned in the South.
Garrison saw moral persuasion as the only means to end slavery. To him the task was simple: show people how immoral slavery was and they would join in the campaign to end it. He disdained politics, for he saw the political world as an arena of compromise. A group split from Garrison in the 1840s to run candidates for president on the Liberty Party ticket. Garrison was not dismayed. Once in Boston, he was dragged through the streets and nearly killed. A bounty of $4000 was placed on his head. In 1854, he publicly burned a copy of the Constitution because it permitted slavery. He called for the north to secede from the Union to sever the ties with the slaveholding south.
William Lloyd Garrison lived long enough to see the Union come apart under the weight of slavery. He survived to see Abraham Lincoln issue the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War. Thirty-four years after first publishing The Liberator, Garrison saw the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution go into effect, banning slavery forever. It took a lifetime of work. But in the end, the morality of his position held sway."
William Lloyd Garrison and The Liberator [ushistory.org]
Posted from ushistory.org
American History
Military History
Civil War
Slavery
Newspapers
Posted 6 y ago
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Jeff Hummell wrote a book entitled: Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Freemen. Hummell discusses Garrison in a couple places in the book and calls Garrison a radical abolitionist. Hummell said in class that William Lloyd Garrison and Martin van Buren were two of his favorite historical figures.
Individuals seeking a supplemental reading for Garrison are likely to find Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Freemen, helpful. Hummell wrote the book from a libertarian viewpoint and is sorely criticized by American Civil War scholars and others. Hummell's viewpoint is very unique, however. The book provides more of a discussion of the political economy of the era rather than a history of military battles, strategy and tactics. When read and understood from this perspective, Hummell provides keen insight into the lowest point in American history. Hummell's thesis is probably captured in the title of his book and explains that the American Civil War was fought to remove chattel slavery from the South and the continent and by default, led to a form of political slavery of sorts within the Union and the future American system of government.
Individuals seeking a supplemental reading for Garrison are likely to find Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Freemen, helpful. Hummell wrote the book from a libertarian viewpoint and is sorely criticized by American Civil War scholars and others. Hummell's viewpoint is very unique, however. The book provides more of a discussion of the political economy of the era rather than a history of military battles, strategy and tactics. When read and understood from this perspective, Hummell provides keen insight into the lowest point in American history. Hummell's thesis is probably captured in the title of his book and explains that the American Civil War was fought to remove chattel slavery from the South and the continent and by default, led to a form of political slavery of sorts within the Union and the future American system of government.
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