Wm. Lloyd Garrison
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William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was an American abolitionist, journalist, and
social reformer Reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary movements which reject t ...
. He is best known for his widely read anti-slavery newspaper '' The Liberator'', which Garrison founded in 1831 and published in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
until
slavery in the United States The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of List of ethnic groups of Africa, Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its founding in 1776 until 1865 ...
was abolished by the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865. He supported the rights of women and in the 1870s, Garrison became a prominent voice for the
women's suffrage movement Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
. Garrison promoted " no-governmentism", also known as "anarchism", and rejected the inherent validity of the American government on the basis that its engagement in war,
imperialism Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of Power (international relations), power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultura ...
, and slavery made it corrupt and tyrannical. His belief in
individual sovereignty Self-ownership, also known as sovereignty of the individual or individual sovereignty, is the concept of property in one's own person, expressed as the moral or natural right of a person to have bodily integrity and be the exclusive controller ...
, and critique of coercive authority have been recognized as a precursor to certain strands of modern libertarian thought. He initially opposed violence as a principle and advocated for
Christian pacifism Christian pacifism is the Christian theology, theological and Christian ethics, ethical position according to which pacifism and non-violence have both a scriptural and rational basis for Christians, and affirms that any form of violence is inco ...
against evil; however, at the outbreak of the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, he recognized the necessity of armed struggle as a means to achieve the abolition of slavery and supported the
Lincoln administration Abraham Lincoln's tenure as the 16th president of the United States began on March 4, 1861, and ended upon his death on April 15, 1865, days into his second term. Lincoln, the first Republican president, successfully presided over the Union ...
's efforts to end the institution. He was one of the founders of the
American Anti-Slavery Society The American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS) was an Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist society in the United States. AASS formed in 1833 in response to the nullification crisis and the failures of existing anti-slavery organizations, ...
and promoted immediate and uncompensated, as opposed to gradual and compensated, emancipation of slaves in the United States. Garrison was a
typesetter Typesetting is the composition of Written language, text for publication, display, or distribution by means of arranging metal type, physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or ''glyphs'' in digital systems representing ''char ...
, which aided him in running ''The Liberator''. When working on his own editorials for the paper, Garrison would compose them while setting the type for the publication, without first writing them out on paper.


Early life

Garrison was born on December 10, 1805, in
Newburyport, Massachusetts Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes p ...
, the youngest son of immigrants from the British colony of
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, in present-day Canada. Under
An Act for the relief of sick and disabled seamen An Act for the relief of sick and disabled seamen was passed by the 5th United States Congress. It was signed by President John Adams on July 16, 1798. The Act authorized the deduction of twenty cents per month from the wages of seamen for th ...
, his father Abijah Garrison, a merchant-sailing pilot and master, had obtained American papers and moved his family to Newburyport in 1806. The U.S.
Embargo Act of 1807 The Embargo Act of 1807 was a general trade embargo on all foreign nations that was enacted by the United States Congress. Much broader than the ineffectual 1806 Non-importation Act, it represented an escalation of attempts to persuade Br ...
, intended to injure Great Britain, caused a decline in American commercial shipping. His father soon became unemployed and deserted the family in 1808. Garrison's mother was Frances Maria Lloyd, reported to have been tall, charming, and of a strong religious character. She started referring to their son William as Lloyd, his middle name, to preserve her family name; he later printed his name as "Wm. Lloyd". She died in 1823, in the city of
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. Garrison sold homemade lemonade and candy as a youth, and also delivered wood to help support the family. In 1818, at 13, Garrison began working as an apprentice compositor in a 7 year-long arrangement for the ''
Newburyport Herald The ''Newburyport Herald'' (1797–1915) was a newspaper published in Newburyport, Massachusetts in the 19th century. It began in 1797 with the merger of two previous newspapers, William Barrett's ''Political Gazette'' and Angier March's ''I ...
.'' He soon began writing articles, often under the pseudonym ''
Aristides Aristides ( ; , ; 530–468 BC) was an ancient Athenian statesman. Nicknamed "the Just" (δίκαιος, ''díkaios''), he flourished at the beginning of Athens' Classical period and is remembered for his generalship in the Persian War. ...
.'' (Aristides was an Athenian statesman and general, nicknamed "the Just".) He could write as he typeset his writing, without the need for paper. His most significant contribution to the paper, during the final year of his apprenticeship in 1826 when he was 20 years old, was a severe repudiation of ''
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'' by
John Neal John Neal (August 25, 1793 – June 20, 1876) was an American writer, critic, editor, lecturer, and activist. Considered both eccentric and influential, he delivered speeches and published essays, novels, poems, and short stories between the 1 ...
. This started a years-long feud. After his apprenticeship ended, Garrison became the sole owner, editor, and printer of the ''Newburyport Free Press,'' acquiring the rights from his friend Isaac Knapp, who had also apprenticed at the ''Herald''. One of their regular contributors was poet and abolitionist
John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...
. In this early work as a small-town newspaper writer, Garrison acquired skills he would later use as a nationally known writer, speaker, and newspaper publisher. In 1828, he was appointed editor of the '' National Philanthropist'' in
Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, the first American journal to promote legally-mandated temperance. He became involved in the anti-slavery movement in the 1820s and over time, he rejected both the
American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the repatriation of freeborn peop ...
and the gradualist views of most others involved in the movement. Garrison co-founded ''The Liberator'' to espouse his abolitionist views. Out of its those reading the publication, in 1832 he organized the
New-England Anti-Slavery Society The New England Anti-Slavery Society (1831–1837) was formed by William Lloyd Garrison, editor of '' The Liberator,'' in 1831. ''The Liberator'' was its official publication. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, members of the New England Anti-slave ...
. This society expanded into the
American Anti-Slavery Society The American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS) was an Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist society in the United States. AASS formed in 1833 in response to the nullification crisis and the failures of existing anti-slavery organizations, ...
, which espoused the position that slavery should be abolished immediately, rather than gradually.


Marriage

On September 4, 1834, Garrison married Helen Eliza Benson (1811–1876). She was the daughter of a retired abolitionist merchant. Their relationship was very close as they both worked professionally toward the same objectives. When his wife died, Garrison mourned for a long time and even attempted to find a means for them to continue to communicate through spirtitualism. They are buried together in Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston. The couple had two daughters and five sons. Two of their children, a daughter and a son, died as children.


Career


Reformer

At the age of 25, Garrison joined the anti-slavery movement, later crediting the 1826 book of
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
Reverend John Rankin, ''Letters on Slavery'', for attracting him to the cause. For a brief time, he became associated with the
American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the repatriation of freeborn peop ...
, an organization that promoted the "resettlement" of free blacks to a territory (now known as
Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...
) on the west coast of Africa. Although some members of the society encouraged granting freedom to enslaved people, others considered relocation a means to reduce the number of already free blacks in the United States. Southern members thought reducing the threat of free blacks in society would help preserve the institution of slavery. By late 1829–1830, "Garrison rejected colonization, publicly apologized for his error, and then, as was typical of him, he censured all who were committed to it." He stated that anti-colonialism activist and fellow abolitionist William J. Watkins had influenced his view.


''Genius of Universal Emancipation''

In 1829, Garrison began writing for and became co-editor with
Benjamin Lundy Benjamin Lundy (January 4, 1789August 22, 1839) was an American Quaker abolitionist from New Jersey of the United States who established several anti-slavery newspapers and traveled widely. He lectured and published seeking to limit slavery's expa ...
of the
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
newspaper ''
Genius of Universal Emancipation The ''Genius of Universal Emancipation'' was an abolitionist newspaper founded by Benjamin Lundy in 1821, in Mount Pleasant, Ohio. History The newspaper was originally Elihu Embree's '' The Emancipator'' in 1820, before Lundy purchased it th ...
'', published at that time in
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. With his experience as a printer and newspaper editor, Garrison changed the layout of the paper and handled other production issues. Lundy was freed to spend more time touring as an anti-slavery speaker. Garrison initially shared Lundy's gradualist views, but while working for the ''Genius'', he became convinced of the need to demand immediate and complete emancipation. Lundy and Garrison continued to work together on the paper despite their differing views. Each signed his editorials. Garrison introduced "The Black List", a column devoted to printing short reports of "the barbarities of slaverykidnappings, whippings, murders". For instance, Garrison reported that Francis Todd, a shipper from Garrison's hometown of
Newburyport, Massachusetts Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes p ...
, was involved in the domestic
slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...
, and that he had recently had slaves shipped from Baltimore to
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
in the coastwise trade on his ship the ''Francis''. (This was completely legal. An expanded domestic trade, "breeding" slaves in
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
and
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
for shipment south, replaced the importation of African slaves, prohibited in 1808; see Slavery in the United States#Slave trade.) Todd filed a suit for libel in Maryland against both Garrison and Lundy; he thought to gain support from pro-slavery courts. The state of Maryland also brought against Garrison, quickly finding him guilty and ordering him to pay a fine of $50 and court costs. (Charges against Lundy were dropped because he had been traveling when the story was printed.) Garrison refused to pay the fine and was sentenced to a jail term of six months. He was released after seven weeks when the anti-slavery philanthropist
Arthur Tappan Arthur Tappan (May 22, 1786 – July 23, 1865) was an American businessman, philanthropist and abolitionist. He was the brother of Ohio Senator Benjamin Tappan and abolitionist Lewis Tappan, and nephew of Harvard Divinity School theologian ...
paid his fine. Garrison decided to leave Maryland, and he and Lundy amicably parted ways.


''The Liberator''

In 1831, Garrison, fully aware of the press as a means to bring about political change, returned to New England, where he co-founded a weekly anti-slavery newspaper, '' The Liberator'', with his friend Isaac Knapp. In the first issue, Garrison stated: Paid subscriptions to ''The Liberator'' were always fewer than its circulation. In 1834 it had two thousand subscribers, three-fourths of whom were black people. Benefactors paid to have the newspaper distributed free of charge to state legislators, governor's mansions, Congress, and the White House. Although Garrison rejected violence as a means for ending slavery, his critics saw him as a dangerous fanatic because he demanded immediate and total emancipation, without compensation to the slave owners.
Nat Turner Nat Turner (October 2, 1800 – November 11, 1831) was an enslaved Black carpenter and preacher who led a four-day rebellion of both enslaved and free Black people in Southampton County, Virginia in August 1831. Nat Turner's Rebellion res ...
's slave rebellion in Virginia just seven months after ''The Liberator'' started publication fueled the outcry against Garrison in the South. A North Carolina grand jury indicted him for distributing incendiary material, and the Georgia Legislature offered a $5,000 reward () for his capture and conveyance to the state for trial. Knapp parted from ''The Liberator'' in 1840. Later in 1845, when Garrison published a eulogy for his former partner and friend, he revealed that Knapp "was led by adversity and business mismanagement, to put the cup of intoxication to his lips", forcing the co-authors to part. Among the anti-slavery essays and poems that Garrison published in ''The Liberator'' was an article in 1856 by a 14-year-old
Anna Elizabeth Dickinson Anna Elizabeth Dickinson (October 28, 1842 – October 22, 1932) was an American orator and lecturer. An advocate for the abolition of Slavery in the United States, slavery and for women's rights, Dickinson was the first woman to give a political ...
. ''The Liberator'' gradually gained a large following in the Northern states. It printed or reprinted many reports, letters, and news stories, serving as a type of
community bulletin board A community bulletin board (CBB) is a digital signage system via cable television for public, educational, and government access to keep communities up to date of events listings, weather and other news. The electronic bulletin board concept is ...
for the abolition movement. By 1861 it had subscribers across the North, as well as in England, Scotland, and Canada. After the end of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery by the Thirteenth Amendment, Garrison published the last issue (number 1,820) on December 29, 1865, writing a "Valedictory" column. After reviewing his long career in journalism and the cause of abolitionism, he wrote:


Garrison and Knapp, printers and publishers


Organization and reaction

In addition to publishing ''The Liberator'', Garrison spearheaded the organization of a new movement to demand the total abolition of slavery in the United States. By January 1832, he had attracted enough followers to organize the
New-England Anti-Slavery Society The New England Anti-Slavery Society (1831–1837) was formed by William Lloyd Garrison, editor of '' The Liberator,'' in 1831. ''The Liberator'' was its official publication. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, members of the New England Anti-slave ...
which, by the following summer, had dozens of affiliates and several thousand members. In December 1833, abolitionists from ten states founded the
American Anti-Slavery Society The American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS) was an Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist society in the United States. AASS formed in 1833 in response to the nullification crisis and the failures of existing anti-slavery organizations, ...
(AASS). Although the New England society reorganized in 1835 as the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, enabling state societies to form in the other New England states, it remained the hub of anti-slavery agitation throughout the antebellum period. Many affiliates were organized by women who responded to Garrison's appeals for women to take an active part in the abolition movement. The largest of these was the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society, which raised funds to support ''The Liberator'', publish anti-slavery pamphlets, and conduct anti-slavery petition drives. The purpose of the American Anti-Slavery Society was the conversion of all Americans to the philosophy that "Slaveholding is a heinous crime in the sight of God" and that "duty, safety, and best interests of all concerned, require its ''immediate abandonment'' without expatriation". The threat posed by anti-slavery organizations and their activity drew violent reactions from slave interests in both the Southern and Northern states, with mobs breaking up anti-slavery meetings, assaulting lecturers, ransacking anti-slavery offices, burning postal sacks of anti-slavery pamphlets, and destroying anti-slavery presses. Healthy bounties were offered in Southern states for the capture of Garrison, "dead or alive". On October 21, 1835, "an assemblage of fifteen hundred or two thousand highly respectable gentlemen", as they were described in the ''
Boston Commercial Gazette Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...
'', surrounded the building housing Boston's anti-slavery offices, where Garrison had agreed to address a meeting of the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society after the fiery British abolitionist George Thompson was unable to keep his engagement with them. Mayor
Theodore Lyman Theodore Lyman may refer to: * Theodore B. Lyman (1815–1893), American bishop * Theodore Lyman II (1792–1849), American philanthropist, politician, and author * Theodore Lyman III (1833–1897), American natural scientist, military staff off ...
persuaded the women to leave the building, but when the mob learned that Thompson was not within, they began yelling for Garrison. Lyman was a staunch anti-abolitionist but wanted to avoid bloodshed and suggested Garrison escape by a back window while Lyman told the crowd Garrison was gone. The mob spotted and apprehended Garrison, tied a rope around his waist, and pulled him through the streets toward
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, calling for tar and feathers. The mayor intervened and Garrison was taken to the
Leverett Street Jail The Leverett Street Jail (1822–1851) in Boston, Massachusetts served as the city and county prison for some three decades in the mid-19th century. Inmates included John White Webster. Notorious for its overcrowding, the facility closed in 1851, ...
for protection. Gallows were erected in front of his house, and he was burned in effigy.


The woman question and division

Garrison's appeal for women's mass petitioning against slavery sparked controversy over women's right to a political voice. In 1837, women abolitionists from seven states convened in New York to expand their petitioning efforts and repudiate the social mores that proscribed their participation in public affairs. That summer, sisters
Angelina Grimké Angelina Emily Grimké Weld (February 20, 1805 – October 26, 1879) was an American abolitionist, political activist, women's rights advocate, and supporter of the women's suffrage movement. At one point she was the best known, or "most ...
and
Sarah Grimké Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch, prophet, and major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious woma ...
responded to the controversy aroused by their public speaking with treatises on woman's rightsAngelina's "Letters to Catherine E. Beecher" and Sarah's "Letters on the Equality of the Sexes and Condition of Woman"and Garrison published them first in ''The Liberator'' and then in book form. Instead of surrendering to appeals for him to retreat on the "woman question", Garrison announced in December 1837 that ''The Liberator'' would support "the rights of woman to their utmost extent". The Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society appointed women to leadership positions and hired Abby Kelley as the first of several female field agents. In 1840, Garrison's promotion of woman's rights within the anti-slavery movement was one of the issues that caused some abolitionists, including New York brothers
Arthur Tappan Arthur Tappan (May 22, 1786 – July 23, 1865) was an American businessman, philanthropist and abolitionist. He was the brother of Ohio Senator Benjamin Tappan and abolitionist Lewis Tappan, and nephew of Harvard Divinity School theologian ...
and
Lewis Tappan Lewis Tappan (May 23, 1788 – June 21, 1873) was an American abolitionist who in 1841 helped to secure freedom for the enslaved Africans aboard the '' Amistad''. He was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, into a Calvinist household. Tappan w ...
, to leave the American Anti-Slavery Society and form the
American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society The American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society split off from the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1840. The key issue was whether women could participate in abolitionist organizations; this Society was opposed. The origin of the split, according t ...
, which did not admit women. In June of that same year, when the
World Anti-Slavery Convention The World Anti-Slavery Convention met for the first time at Exeter Hall in London, on 12–23 June 1840. It was organised by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, largely on the initiative of the English Quaker Joseph Sturge. The excl ...
meeting in London refused to seat America's women delegates, Garrison,
Charles Lenox Remond Charles Lenox Remond (February 1, 1810 – December 22, 1873) was an American orator, activist and abolitionist based in Massachusetts. He lectured against slavery across the Northeast, and in 1840 traveled to the British Isles on a tour with Wi ...
,
Nathaniel P. Rogers Nathaniel Peabody Rogers (June 3, 1794 – October 16, 1846) was an American attorney turned Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist writer, who served, from June 1838 until June 1846, as editor of the New England anti-slavery newspaper ' ...
, and William Adams refused to take their seats as delegates as well and joined the women in the spectators' gallery. The controversy introduced the woman's rights question not only to England but also to future woman's rights leader
Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elizabeth Cady Stanton ( Cady; November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 ...
, who attended the convention as a spectator, accompanying her delegate-husband, Henry B. Stanton. Although Henry Stanton had cooperated in the Tappans' failed attempt to wrest leadership of the AASS from Garrison, he was part of another group of abolitionists unhappy with Garrison's influencethose who disagreed with Garrison's insistence that because the U.S. Constitution was a pro-slavery document, abolitionists should not participate in politics and government. A growing number of abolitionists, including Stanton,
Gerrit Smith Gerrit Smith (March 6, 1797 – December 28, 1874), also spelled Gerritt Smith, was an American social reformer, abolitionist, businessman, public intellectual, and philanthropist. Married to Ann Carroll Fitzhugh, Smith was a candidate for P ...
,
Charles Turner Torrey Charles Turner Torrey (November 21, 1813 – May 9, 1846) was a leading American Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. Although largely lost to historians until recently, Torrey pushed the abolitionist movement to more political and ...
, and Amos A. Phelps, wanted to form an anti-slavery political party and seek a political solution to slavery. They withdrew from the AASS in 1840, formed the Liberty Party, and nominated James G. Birney for president. By the end of 1840, Garrison announced the formation of a third new organization, the Friends of Universal Reform, with sponsors and founding members including prominent reformers Maria Chapman,
Abby Kelley Foster Abby Kelley Foster (January 15, 1811 – January 14, 1887) was an American abolitionist and radical social reformer active from the 1830s to 1870s. She became a fundraiser, lecturer and committee organizer for the influential American Anti-Sl ...
, Oliver Johnson, and
Amos Bronson Alcott Amos Bronson Alcott (; November 29, 1799 – March 4, 1888) was an American teacher, writer, philosopher, and reformer. As an educator, Alcott pioneered new ways of interacting with young students, focusing on a conversational style, and av ...
(father of
Louisa May Alcott Louisa May Alcott (; November 29, 1832March 6, 1888) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known for writing the novel ''Little Women'' (1868) and its sequels ''Good Wives'' (1869), ''Little Men'' (1871), and ''Jo's Boys'' ...
). Although some members of the Liberty Party supported women's rights, including
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
, Garrison's ''Liberator'' continued to be the leading advocate of woman's rights throughout the 1840s, publishing editorials, speeches, legislative reports, and other developments concerning the subject. In February 1849, Garrison's name headed the women's suffrage petition sent to the Massachusetts legislature, the first such petition sent to any American legislature, and he supported the subsequent annual suffrage petition campaigns organized by Lucy Stone and Wendell Phillips. Garrison took a leading role in the May 30, 1850, meeting that called the first National Woman's Rights Convention, saying in his address to that meeting that the new movement should make securing the ballot to women its primary goal. At the national convention held in Worcester the following October, Garrison was appointed to the National Woman's Rights Central Committee, which served as the movement's executive committee, charged with carrying out programs adopted by the conventions, raising funds, printing proceedings and tracts, and organizing annual conventions.


Controversy

In 1849, Garrison became involved in one of Boston's most notable trials of the time. Washington Goode, a black seaman, had been sentenced to death for the murder of a fellow black mariner, Thomas Harding. In ''The Liberator'' Garrison argued that the verdict relied on "circumstantial evidence of the most flimsy character ..." and feared that the determination of the government to uphold its decision to execute Goode was based on race. As all other death sentences since 1836 in Boston had been commuted, Garrison concluded that Goode would be the last person executed in Boston for a capital offense writing, "Let it not be said that the last man Massachusetts bore to hang was a colored man!" Despite the efforts of Garrison and many other prominent figures of the time, Goode was hanged on May 25, 1849. Garrison became famous as one of the most articulate, as well as most radical, opponents of slavery. His approach to emancipation stressed "
moral suasion Moral suasion is an appeal to morality, in order to influence or change behavior. A famous example is the attempt by William Lloyd Garrison and his American Anti-Slavery Society to end slavery in the United States by arguing that the practice w ...
", non-violence, and passive resistance. While some other abolitionists of the time favored gradual emancipation, Garrison argued for the "immediate and complete emancipation of all slaves". On July 4, 1854, he publicly burned a copy of the Constitution, condemning it as "a Covenant with Death, an Agreement with Hell", referring to the
three-fifths compromise The Three-fifths Compromise, also known as the Constitutional Compromise of 1787, was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention over the inclusion of slaves in counting a state's total population. This count ...
that had written slavery into the Constitution. In 1855, his eight-year alliance with
Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...
disintegrated when Douglass converted to classical liberal legal theorist and abolitionist Lysander Spooner's view (dominant among political abolitionists) that the Constitution could be interpreted as being anti-slavery. The events in
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was an effort by abolitionist John Brown, from October 16th to 18th, 1859, to initiate a slave revolt in Southern states by taking over the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (since 1863, We ...
, followed by Brown's trial and execution, were closely followed in ''The Liberator''. Garrison had Brown's last speech, in court, printed as a broadside, available in the ''Liberator'' office. Garrison's outspoken anti-slavery views repeatedly put him in danger. Besides his imprisonment in Baltimore and the price placed on his head by the state of
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, he was the object of vituperation and frequent death threats. On the eve of the Civil War, a sermon preached in a Universalist chapel in
Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, denounced "the bloodthirsty sentiments of Garrison and his school; and did not wonder that the feeling of the South was exasperated, taking as they did, the insane and bloody ravings of the Garrisonian traitors for the fairly expressed opinions of the North."


After abolition

After the United States abolished slavery, Garrison announced in May 1865 that he would resign the presidency of the
American Anti-Slavery Society The American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS) was an Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist society in the United States. AASS formed in 1833 in response to the nullification crisis and the failures of existing anti-slavery organizations, ...
(AASS) and offered a resolution declaring victory in the struggle against slavery and dissolving the society. The resolution prompted a sharp debate, however, led by his long-time friend
Wendell Phillips Wendell Phillips (November 29, 1811 – February 2, 1884) was an American abolitionist, labor reformer, temperance activist, advocate for Native Americans, orator, and attorney. According to George Lewis Ruffin, a black attorney, Phillip ...
, who argued that the mission of the AASS was not fully completed until black Southerners gained full political and civil equality. Garrison maintained that while complete civil equality was vitally important, the special task of the AASS was at an end, and that the new task would best be handled by new organizations and new leadership. With his long-time allies deeply divided, however, he was unable to muster the support he needed to carry the resolution, and it was defeated 118–48. Declaring that his "vocation as an Abolitionist, thank God, has ended", Garrison resigned the presidency and declined an appeal to continue. Returning home to
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, he withdrew completely from the AASS and ended publication of ''The Liberator'' at the end of 1865. With Wendell Phillips at its head, the AASS continued to operate for five more years, until the ratification of the
Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Fifteenth Amendment (Amendment XV) to the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government and each state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." It wa ...
granted voting rights to black men. (According to Henry Mayer, Garrison was hurt by the rejection and remained peeved for years; "as the cycle came around, always managed to tell someone that he was ''not'' going to the next set of
ASS Ass most commonly refers to: * Buttocks (in informal American English) * Donkey or ass, ''Equus africanus asinus'' **any other member of the subgenus ''Asinus'' Ass or ASS may also refer to: Art and entertainment * Ass (album), ''Ass'' (albu ...
meetings" 94) After his withdrawal from AASS and ending ''The Liberator'', Garrison continued to participate in public reform movements. He supported the causes of
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
for
blacks Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical ch ...
and woman's rights, particularly the campaign for suffrage. He contributed columns on
Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...
and civil rights for ''The Independent'' and ''
The Boston Journal ''The Boston Journal'' was a daily newspaper published in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1833 until October 1917 when it was merged with the ''Boston Herald''. The paper was originally an evening paper called the ''Evening Mercantile Journal''. Wh ...
''. In 1870, he became an associate editor of the women's suffrage newspaper, the ''Woman's Journal'', along with
Mary Livermore Mary Ashton Livermore ( Rice; December 19, 1820May 23, 1905) was an American journalist, abolitionist, and advocate of women's rights. Her printed volumes included: ''Thirty Years Too Late,'' first published in 1847 as a prize temperance tale, ...
,
Thomas Wentworth Higginson Thomas Wentworth Higginson (December 22, 1823May 9, 1911), who went by the name Wentworth, was an American Unitarianism, Unitarian minister, author, Abolitionism, abolitionist, politician, and soldier. He was active in abolitionism in the United ...
,
Lucy Stone Lucy Stone (August 13, 1818 – October 18, 1893) was an American orator, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist and Suffrage, suffragist who was a vocal advocate for and organizer of promoting Women's rights, rights for women. In 1847, ...
, and Henry B. Blackwell. He served as president of both the
American Woman Suffrage Association The American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) was a single-issue national organization formed in 1869 to work for women's suffrage in the United States. The AWSA lobbied state governments to enact laws granting or expanding women's right to vot ...
(AWSA) and the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association. He was a major figure in New England's woman suffrage campaigns during the 1870s. In 1873, he healed his long estrangements from
Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...
and
Wendell Phillips Wendell Phillips (November 29, 1811 – February 2, 1884) was an American abolitionist, labor reformer, temperance activist, advocate for Native Americans, orator, and attorney. According to George Lewis Ruffin, a black attorney, Phillip ...
, affectionately reuniting with them on the platform at an AWSA rally organized by Abby Kelly Foster and Lucy Stone on the one-hundredth anniversary of the
Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party was a seminal American protest, political and Mercantilism, mercantile protest on December 16, 1773, during the American Revolution. Initiated by Sons of Liberty activists in Boston in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colo ...
. When
Charles Sumner Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1851 until his death in 1874. Before and during the American Civil War, he was a leading American ...
died in 1874, some Republicans suggested Garrison as a possible successor to his Senate seat; Garrison declined on grounds of his moral opposition to taking office.


Antisemitism

Garrison called the
ancient Jews Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient hi ...
an exclusivist people "whose feet ran to evil" and suggested that the
Jewish diaspora The Jewish diaspora ( ), alternatively the dispersion ( ) or the exile ( ; ), consists of Jews who reside outside of the Land of Israel. Historically, it refers to the expansive scattering of the Israelites out of their homeland in the Southe ...
was the result of their own "egotism and self-complacency". When the Jewish-American sheriff and writer
Mordecai Manuel Noah Mordecai Manuel Noah (July 14, 1785, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – May 22, 1851, New York City, New York, New York State, New York) was an American sheriff, playwright, diplomat, journalist, and utopian. He was born in a family of mixed Ashkena ...
defended slavery, Garrison attacked Noah as "the miscreant Jew" and "the enemy of Christ and liberty". On other occasions, Garrison described Noah as a "Shylock" and as "the lineal descendant of the monsters who nailed Jesus to the cross". However, Garrison acknowledged prejudice against Jews in Europe, which he compared to prejudice against African Americans, and opposed a proposed amendment to the
Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...
affirming the divinity of Jesus Christ on the basis of religious freedom, writing that "no one can fail to see that the Jew, Unitarian, or Deist could not worship in his own way, as an American citizen, precisely because the Constitution, under which his citizenship exists, would make faith in the New Testament and the divinity of Jesus Christ a national creed".


Later life and death

Garrison spent more time at home with his family. He wrote weekly letters to his children and cared for his increasingly ill wife, Helen. She had suffered a small stroke on December 30, 1863, and was increasingly confined to the house. Helen died on January 25, 1876, after a severe cold worsened into
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
. A quiet funeral was held in the Garrison home. Garrison, overcome with grief and confined to his bedroom with a fever and severe
bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...
, was unable to join the service.
Wendell Phillips Wendell Phillips (November 29, 1811 – February 2, 1884) was an American abolitionist, labor reformer, temperance activist, advocate for Native Americans, orator, and attorney. According to George Lewis Ruffin, a black attorney, Phillip ...
gave a eulogy and many of Garrison's old abolitionist friends joined him upstairs to offer their private condolences. Garrison recovered slowly from the loss of his wife and began to attend
Spiritualist Spiritualism may refer to: * Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community * Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at least ...
circles in the hope of communicating with Helen. Garrison last visited England in 1877, where he met with George Thompson and other longtime friends from the British abolitionist movement. Suffering from
kidney disease Kidney disease, or renal disease, technically referred to as nephropathy, is damage to or disease of a kidney. Nephritis is an Inflammation, inflammatory kidney disease and has several types according to the location of the inflammation. Infla ...
, Garrison continued to weaken during April 1879. He moved to New York to live with his daughter Fanny's family. In late May, his condition worsened, and his five surviving children rushed to join him. Fanny asked if he would enjoy singing some hymns. Although he was unable to sing, his children sang favorite hymns while he beat time with his hands and feet. On May 24, 1879, Garrison lost consciousness and died just before midnight. Garrison was buried alongside his wife in the
Forest Hills Cemetery Forest Hills Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery, greenspace, arboretum, and sculpture garden in the Forest Hills section of Jamaica Plain, a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The cemetery was established in 1848 as a pu ...
in Boston's
Jamaica Plain Jamaica Plain is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of Roxbury, Massachusetts, Roxbury. The community seceded from Roxbur ...
neighborhood on May 28, 1879. At the public memorial service, eulogies were given by
Theodore Dwight Weld Theodore Dwight Weld (November 23, 1803 – February 3, 1895) was one of the architects of the American abolitionist movement during its formative years from 1830 to 1844, playing a role as writer, editor, speaker, and organizer. He is best kno ...
and
Wendell Phillips Wendell Phillips (November 29, 1811 – February 2, 1884) was an American abolitionist, labor reformer, temperance activist, advocate for Native Americans, orator, and attorney. According to George Lewis Ruffin, a black attorney, Phillip ...
. Eight abolitionist friends, both white and black, served as his pallbearers. Flags were flown at half-staff all across
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
.
Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...
, then employed as a
United States Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...
, spoke in memory of Garrison at a memorial service in a church in Washington, D.C., saying, "It was the glory of this man that he could stand alone with the truth, and calmly await the result." Garrison's namesake son, William Lloyd Garrison Jr. (1838–1909), was a prominent advocate of the
single tax A single tax is a system of taxation based mainly or exclusively on one tax, typically chosen for its special properties, often being a tax on land value. Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert and Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban were ear ...
, free trade, women's suffrage, and of the repeal of the
Chinese Exclusion Act The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was a United States Code, United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law made exceptions for travelers an ...
. His third son,
Wendell Phillips Garrison Wendell Phillips Garrison (June 4, 1840 – February 27, 1907) was an American editor and author. Early life Garrison was born on June 4, 1840, at Cambridgeport, Massachusetts. He was the third son of the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison ...
(1840–1907), was literary editor of ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...
'' from 1865 to 1906. Two other sons (George Thompson Garrison and Francis Jackson Garrison, his biographer and named after abolitionist Francis Jackson) and a daughter, Helen Frances Garrison (who married
Henry Villard Henry Villard (April 10, 1835 – November 12, 1900) was a German-American journalist and financier who was an influential leader and the sixth president of the Northern Pacific Railway (1881–1884) which completed its trans-continental route d ...
), survived him. Fanny's son
Oswald Garrison Villard Oswald Garrison Villard (March 13, 1872 – October 1, 1949) was an American journalist and editor of the ''New York Evening Post.'' He was a civil rights activist, and along with his mother, Fanny Villard, a founding member of the NAACP. In ...
became a prominent journalist, a founding member of the
NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
, and wrote an important biography of the abolitionist
John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...
.


Legacy

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...
was greatly influenced by the works of Garrison and his contemporary
Adin Ballou Adin Ballou (April 23, 1803 – August 5, 1890) was an American proponent of Christian nonresistance, Christian anarchism, and Christian socialism. He was also an abolitionist and the founder of the Hopedale Community. Through his long career ...
, as their writings on Christian anarchism aligned with Tolstoy's burgeoning theo-political ideology. Along with Tolstoy publishing a short biography of Garrison in 1904, he frequently cited Garrison and his works in his non-fiction texts like ''
The Kingdom of God Is Within You ''The Kingdom of God Is Within You'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform ) is a non-fiction book written by Leo Tolstoy. A Christian anarchist philosophical treatise, the book was first published in Germany in 1894 after being banned in his home ...
''. In a 2018 publication, American philosopher and anarchist
Crispin Sartwell Crispin Gallagher Sartwell (born June 20, 1958) is an American academic, philosopher, and journalist who was a faculty member of the philosophy department at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania until he retired in 2023. He has taught phil ...
wrote that the works by Garrison and his other Christian anarchist contemporaries like Ballou directly influenced
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...
and
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
as well.


Memorials

* Boston installed a memorial to Garrison on the mall of Commonwealth Avenue. * In 2005 Garrison was inducted into the
National Abolition Hall of Fame The National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located in Peterboro, New York, that honors Abolitionism in the United States, American abolitionists by showcasing their work to end slavery, and the legacy of their struggle: the drive ...
, in
Peterboro, New York Peterboro, located approximately southeast of Syracuse, New York, is a historic Hamlet (New York), hamlet and currently the administrative center for the Smithfield, New York, Town of Smithfield, Madison County, New York, Madison County, New Y ...
. * In December 2005, to honor Garrison's 200th birthday, his descendants gathered in Boston for the first family reunion in about a century. They discussed the legacy and influence of their most notable family member. * A shared-use path along the John Greenleaf Whittier Bridge and
Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
between
Newburyport Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The m ...
and
Amesbury, Massachusetts Amesbury is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the left bank of the Merrimack River near its mouth, upstream from Salisbury and across the river from Newburyport and West Newbury. The population was 17,366 at the ...
, was named in honor of Garrison. The 2-mile trail opened in 2018 after the new bridge was completed.


Works


Books

* * *


Pamphlets

* * * * * *


Broadside

* *


Newspapers


Address at Park Street Church, Boston, July 4, 1829
(Garrison's first major public statement; an extensive statement of egalitarian principle). *
"Address to the Colonization Society"
(a slightly abridged version of the address July 4, 1829).
The Liberator, January 1, 1831 – December 29, 1865
. *

(Garrison's introductory column for ''The Liberator'', – January 1, 1831). *
Truisms
(''The Liberator'', January 8, 1831). *
The Insurrection
(Garrison's reaction to news of
Nat Turner Nat Turner (October 2, 1800 – November 11, 1831) was an enslaved Black carpenter and preacher who led a four-day rebellion of both enslaved and free Black people in Southampton County, Virginia in August 1831. Nat Turner's Rebellion res ...
's rebellion, – ''The Liberator'', September 3, 1831). *
On the Constitution and the Union
(''The Liberator'', December 29, 1832). ***
Declaration of Sentiments of the Nationale Anti-Slavery Convention
(''The Liberator'', December 14, 1833) ***
Declaration of Sentiments of The New England Non-Resistance Society*
(''The Liberator'', September 28, 1838). *
Abolition at the Ballot Box
(''The Liberator'', June 28, 1839). *
The American Union
(''The Liberator'', January 10, 1845). ** (September 24, 1855). *
The Tragedy at Harper's Ferry
, (''The Liberator'', October 28, 1859). *
John Brown and the Principle of Nonresistance
(Speech in the
Tremont Temple The Tremont Temple on 88 Tremont Street is a Baptist church in Boston, Massachusetts, affiliated with the American Baptist Churches, USA. The existing multi-storey, Renaissance Revival structure was designed by Boston architect Clarence Blackall ...
, Boston, December 2, 1859, – the day Brown was hanged – ''The Liberator'', December 16, 1859). *
The War – Its Cause and Cure
(''The Liberator'', May 3, 1861). *
Valedictory: The Final Number of ''The Liberator''
(''The Liberator'', December 29, 1865).
The Liberator Files
(Horace Seldon's summary of research of Garrison's ''The Liberator'')
William Lloyd Garrison works
(Cornell University Library Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection)
William Lloyd Garrison works
(Cornell University Digital Library Collections).
William Lloyd Garrison on non-resistance : together with a personal sketch by his daughter Fanny Garrison Villard and a tribute by Leo Tolstoy

Reading Garrison's Letters
(Horace Seldon's insight into the thought, work and life of Garrison, – based on "Letters of William Lloyd Garrison", Belknap Press of Harvard University, W. M. Merrill and L. Ruchames Editors). *


See also

* Garrison Literary and Benevolent Association *
List of civil rights leaders Civil rights leaders are influential figures in the promotion and implementation of political freedom and the expansion of personal civil liberties and civil rights, rights. They work to protect individuals and groups from po ...
*
List of women's rights activists Notable women's rights activists are as follows, arranged alphabetically by modern country names and by the names of the persons listed: Afghanistan * Amina Azimi – disabled women's rights advocate * Hasina Jalal – women's empowerment activis ...
* Boston Vigilance Committee


References


Bibliography

* Abzug, Robert H. ''Cosmos Crumbling: American Reform and the Religious Imagination''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. . * Dal Lago, Enrico. ''William Lloyd Garrison and Giuseppe Mazzini: Abolition, Democracy, and Radical Reform.'' Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press, 2013. * * Hagedorn, Ann. ''Beyond The River: The Untold Story of the Heroes of the Underground Railroad''. Simon & Schuster, 2002. . * * Laurie, Bruce. ''Beyond Garrison: Antislavery and Social Reform''. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. . * * McDaniel, W. Caleb. ''The Problem of Democracy in the Age of Slavery: Garrisonian Abolitionists and Transatlantic Reform.'' Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press, 2013. * Rodriguez, Junius P., ed. ''Encyclopedia of Emancipation and Abolition in the Transatlantic World''. (Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2007) * * Thomas, John L. ''The Liberator: William Lloyd Garrison, A Biography.'' Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1963. .


External links

* * *
William Lloyd Garrison profile
on Spartacus Educational
''The Liberator Files'' online

Report of the Brown University Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice
*
William Lloyd Garrison
and
Who is William Lloyd Garrison?
American Experience ''American Experience'' is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American his ...
,
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
*
William Lloyd Garrison: Words of Thunder
" WGBH Forum
PBS Teachers Resources: William Lloyd Garrison 1805–1879
* The story of his life is retold in the 1950 radio drama
The Liberators (Part I)
, a presentation from ''
Destination Freedom ''Destination Freedom'' was a series of weekly radio programs that was produced by WMAQ in Chicago. The first set ran from 1948 to 1950 and it presented the biographical histories of prominent African Americans such as George Washington Carver ...
'', written by
Richard Durham Richard Isadore Durham (September 6, 1917 – April 27, 1984) was an African-American writer and radio producer.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garrison, William Lloyd 1805 births 1879 deaths 19th-century American journalists 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) 19th century in Boston 19th-century Unitarians Abolitionists from Boston American libertarians American male journalists American newspaper editors American newspaper founders American people of Canadian descent American social reformers American tax resisters American Unitarians American women's rights activists Deaths from kidney disease Individualist feminists People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War Writers from Newburyport, Massachusetts American printers American book publishers (people) American Anti-Slavery Society Underground Railroad in New York (state) * Garrison family American founders