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 Born in 1805, in Newburyport, Massachusetts,
Garrison, from a white family of moderate means, became an apprentice to
the editor of a newspaper when he was only thirteen. Soon after his
apprenticeship ended, he and a young printer named Isaac Knapp bought
their own newspaper, the Free Press. One of their regular
contributors was John Greenleaf Whittier, later to become known as the
poet laureate of abolition. Garrison's dedication to the abolition of
slavery was already apparent; on the fiftieth anniversary of the country,
Garrison said, "There is one theme which should be dwelt upon, till
our whole country is free from the curse--SLAVERY." The paper lasted
only six months; when it folded, Garrison went to Boston, where he worked
as a printer and editor until he was offered a position in Baltimore, as
co-editor with Benjamin Lundy of the Genius of Universal
Emancipation.
While in Baltimore, he was sued for libel by the owner of a ship that
transported slaves. Garrison had called him a highway robber and a
murderer. He was convicted and sentenced to six months in jail; he served
only seven weeks, when money was donated to pay his fine.
On January 1, 1831, Garrison, back in Boston, published the first issue of The Liberator,
the conclusion of his editorial left no doubt as to his intentions:
I am aware that many object to the severity of my language, but is
there not cause for severity? I will be harsh as truth, and as
uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not with to think, or
speak, or write, with moderation. No! No! Tell a man whose house is on
fire to sound a moderate alarm...but urge me not to use moderation in a
cause like the present...
I am in earnest--I will not equivocate--I will not excuse--I will not
retreat a single inch--AND I WILL BE HEARD.
Garrison's outspoken stand in favor of immediate freedom for slaves
made him and his newspaper unpopular with pro-slavery forces both North
and South. In Columbia, South Carolina, the Vigilance Committee offered a
$1500 reward for the arrest of anyone distributing The Liberator,
and the Georgia House of Representatives offered $5000 for Garrison's
capture and trial. In Boston, however, in July of 1831, Boston black
leaders honored Garrison at the The African Meeting House.
Garrison's activities did not end with the newspaper; late in 1831, he
became the central figure in the organization of an anti-slavery
association. In December, a committee of five men was appointed to draft a
constitution for such an organization--Garrison, David Lee Child (husband
of Lydia Maria Child), Samuel E. Sewall, Ellis Gray Loring, and Oliver
Johnson. On January 1, 1832, the constitution was approved, but its
preamble was to be revised and reported on at the next Meeting. On January
6, joined by others, they met again, at the African Meeting House.
The text of the preamble called for immediate emancipation, which
created some disagreement in the group. Child, Sewall, and Loring did not
sign, but twelve others did, including Garrison and Johnson, and the New
England Anti-Slavery Society came into existence, the first organization
in the country based on the principle of immediate abolition. Child,
Sewall, and Loring later reconsidered, and joined the Society. Oliver
Johnson, writing in 1879, described that meeting:
Of that...meeting my recollections are very vivid. A fierce
north-east storm, combining snow, rain and hail in about equal
proportions, was raging, and the streets were full of slush...They were
very dark too...It almost seemed as if nature were frowning upon the new
effort to abolish slavery...On that dismal night, and in the face of a
public opinion fiercer far than the tempest of wind and hail that beat
upon the windows of that ...[school-house], were laid the foundations of
an organized movement against American slavery that at last became too
mighty to be resisted...
As they left the meeting, Garrison remarked, "We have met to-night
in this obscure school-house; our numbers are few and our influence
limited; but, mark my prediction, Faneuil Hall shall ere long echo with
the principles we have set forth. We shall shake the nation by their
mighty power." Writing in 1910, local historian Mary Caroline
Crawford described the meeting as "a landmark in American
history" and went on to comment, "Great is the pity that no
Rembrandt has arisen among Americans to send down through the ages the
shadowy interior of that 'obscure school-house' in which, while storm and
sleet were raging outside, the bravest of all American ventures was
launched by a little handful of devoted Boston citizens."
In 1833, Garrison, with Samuel May and John Greenleaf Whittier, were
the principle Massachusetts delegates to the convention that formed the
American Anti-Slavery Society. In that same year he helped Prudence
Crandall in her struggle to open a school for black girls. For his
efforts, the pro-slavery forces in the community threatened to arrest him
and turn him over to the state of Georgia for the $5000 reward. On his way
to the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London, Garrison was able to avoid
the sheriff and board the ship for England.
He was no more popular when he returned. On October 21, 1835, Garrison
was dragged through the streets of Boston with a rope around his neck. He
was rescued and turned over to the mayor, Theodore Lyman. Lyman, claiming
it was the only way to assure his safety, charged him with disturbing the
peace and ordered him jailed. The mob, however, attached the carriage
transporting him and almost captured him again. On the wall of his jail
cell, Garrison wrote:
Wm. Lloyd Garrison was put into this cell Wednesday afternoon,
October 21, 1835, to save him from the violence of a 'respectable and
influential' mob, who sought to destroy him for preaching the abominable
and dangerous doctrine that "all men are created equal..."
In 1840, the American Anti-Slavery Society was split, largely because
of disagreements about supporting the newly formed Liberty Party and its
Presidential Candidate, James G. Birney. A new society, the American and
Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, was formed, leaving Garrison with a weakened
organization. There were more problems that year at the world convention
in London, over the refusal of the convention to seat women delegates. By
the end of the year, Garrison announced the formation of a new
organization, the Friends of Universal Reform, sponsored by Maria
Chapman, Abby Kelley Foster, Oliver
Johnson, and Bronson Alcott (father of Louisa May Alcott).
Why did Garrison always seem to be a source of controversy? It is
obvious why the pro-slavery forces hated him, but why were there so many
differences with other abolitionists? Garrison had strong opinions about
the methods that should be used to bring about emancipation. He did not
believe that it could be done through the political process, and would not
support any kind of political action. He attached organized religion and
its leaders for not doing enough to fight slavery; in addition, he opposed
any attempt at active resistance, believing only in nonviolent
disobedience. He also did not limit himself to the issue of slavery; his
opinions were just as strong, and as outspoken, on the subject of women's
rights. Moreover, he could not remain broke with many of his former
associates and supporters. He used The Liberator to attack, along
with slavery and discrimination against women, smoking, drinking, the
military, the clergy, the government, and cruelty to animals.
Although for a time it seemed as though he would end up with no
supporters at all, his popularity seemed to grow in later years. In 1854,
one month after the Anthony
Burns incident, Garrison, speaking at a rally in Framingham on the
4th of July, burned a copy of the Constitution while 3000 people cheered.
Much later, in 1865, Garrison spoke at a celebration honoring the
passage of the 13th Amendment. When he stood, the ovation was so great
that he could not speak for several minutes. When he did, he said, "I
am unspeakably happy to believe that the great mass of my countrymen are
now heartily disposed to admit that I have not acted the part of a madman,
fanatic, incediary or traitor." Later that year Garrison published
the last issue of The Liberator. From then until his death in 1879,
he concerned himself with other reform movements, especially temperance
and women's suffrage. Archibald Grimke said of him, "Garrison, more
than any other man, embodied the moral forces of the conflict, the story
of his life being essentially the history of the moral uprising against
Slavery."
Taken from: The African Meeting House in Boston: A
Sourcebook, by William S. Parsons & Margaret A. Drew
©The
Museum of Afro American History. |
