William Lloyd Garrison (1805 1879)

Paul Namkoong

A pioneer for all abolitionists of slavery in the Civil War era, William Lloyd Garrison
passionately led the anti-slavery movement through his numerous newspapers and
magazines.
William Garrison was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts on December 10, 1805, to
a merchant sailor, Abijah, as his father, and a devout Baptist, Frances Maria, as his mother.
Although his father had abandoned William when he was three, his mother still managed to
get past the large adversity and debt that had been left behind.
At just 9 years old, Garrison started an apprenticeship as a shoemaker, but quickly
found out that physical work caused far too much exertion on him to make him a capable
laborer.
After cycling through more failed apprenticeships, William started to work for the
Newburyport Herald, a local newspaper, in 1818, as an apprentice compositor. He would then
earn and hone many of the skills he would need later on to become a writer, newspaper
publisher, and public speaker known all over the nation, as stated by PBS.
In the coming years, Garrison joined numerous movements and societies regarding
the abolition of slaves. His main inspiration, he stated later on, was a book written by
Reverend John Rankin, Letters on Slavery.
According to Brown Universitys Report, Slavery and Justice, he joined the American
Colonization Society, in support of the freedom free blacks would gain when they emigrated
to their own part of Africa, which was the alleged goal of the society. However, the partys
ulterior motive was to preserve slavery in America by reducing the population of free blacks
in the country. Later, Garrison would denounce and reject this movement, apologizing for his
error.
In 1831, William published his first issue of his pro-abolitionist newspaper, the
Liberator. He had created a political paper, whose sole purpose was to spread the word about
the fight against slavery, an extremely unpopular view in the 1830s, even in northern states.
Politicians would cast off and reject Garrison for his political stance, misunderstanding him
as wanting the immediate freeing and abolition of every slave. Courts would issue warrants
for his arrest, fining him to deter him from publishing the newspaper. of his small
subscription base were blacks, a sign of how much he was hated among the white
community.
Even though he received massive amounts of public animosity and criticism, Garrison
continued to publish his newspaper, as indicated by Brown University. He wrote, "I do not
wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. . . . I am in earnest -- I will not equivocate
-- I will not excuse -- I will not retreat a single inch -- AND I WILL BE HEARD."
But, as the general mood and view of slavery started to shift towards the abolitionists,
Williams paper started to grow again, states Spartacus Educational. Garrison would inspire
many to become famous abolitionists, such as Frederick Douglass, creating many
organizations against slavery in the process. The American Anti-Slave Society was formed as
a result of a stronger push for the freeing of slaves, remaining as the hub for anti-slavery
discussion until the Emancipation Proclamation.
And for years, William Lloyd Garrison would keep pushing for the end of slavery.
For years, he would continue to publish his newspaper, providing undivided attention to
every argument provided in his articles about abolitionism. As the Civil War came to a close,
Garrison would finally see his dream come to fruition; when Abraham Lincoln uttered the
last words of the hallowed Emancipation Proclamation, he had published 1,820 issues of the
Liberator. He had finally been heard.