William Lloyd Garrison

William Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer.

An abolitionist is someone who works to end the system of slavery. Garrison is best known for founding and publishing the weekly newspaper, *The Liberator*. This publication became a powerful tool for the anti-slavery movement in the United States. Through his writing, he demanded that slavery be ended immediately. His work helped fuel the era of abolitionism during the 19th century. He also became a strong supporter of women's suffrage, which is the right for women to vote.

Garrison’s career was built on his technical skills as a printer and typesetter. A typesetter is a person who arranges individual letters to print text. During his apprenticeship at the *Newburyport Herald*, he developed a unique talent. He could compose his editorials while simultaneously setting the metal type. This meant he did not need to write his ideas on paper first. These early years in small-town journalism provided the foundation for his later success. He eventually became the owner and editor of the *Newburyport Free Press*. These skills allowed him to manage the complex production of his own newspapers later in life.

His journey into the anti-slavery movement involved several distinct stages of thought. In the 1820s, Garrison was initially associated with the American Colonization Society. This group proposed resettling free Black people in territories like Liberia in Africa. Garrison eventually rejected this idea and publicly apologized for his support of it. He realized that colonization did not address the core injustice of slavery. He also moved away from "gradualism," which was the idea that slavery should end slowly. Instead, he began to advocate for immediate and uncompensated emancipation. This shift in his beliefs made him a much more radical leader in the movement.

In 1829, Garrison worked as a co-editor for the *Genius of Universal Emancipation*.

During this time, he introduced a column called "The Black List." This section printed reports regarding the specific barbarities of slavery, such as kidnappings and murders. One report named a shipper named Francis Todd, who was involved in the domestic slave trade. This report led to a libel lawsuit against Garrison in a Maryland court. Garrison was found guilty and sentenced to six months in jail. However, a philanthropist named Arthur Tappan paid his fine, and he was released after seven weeks.

In 1831, Garrison co-founded *The Liberator* with Isaac Knapp in Boston.

He used the paper to express his uncompromising views on justice. In his first issue, he famously stated that he would not use moderation on such a serious cause. The newspaper became a vital community bulletin board for the abolitionist movement. By 1834, the paper had 2,000 subscribers, and three-fourths of them were Black people. While the paper was popular in the North, it faced intense opposition in the South. The Georgia Legislature even offered a $5,000 reward for his capture.

Garrison’s political views were also quite unique and went beyond abolition. He promoted "no-governmentism," which is also known as anarchism. He believed the American government was corrupt because of its involvement in war, imperialism, and slavery. He argued that the government lacked inherent validity due to these actions. His focus on individual sovereignty and his critique of coercive authority are seen as precursors to modern libertarian thought. Although he initially practiced Christian pacifism and opposed violence, his views shifted during the American Civil War. He eventually supported President Abraham Lincoln’s efforts to end slavery through armed struggle.

After the Civil War ended, Garrison saw his primary goal achieved. The Thirteenth Amendment was passed in 1865, which officially abolished slavery in the United States.

Garrison published the final issue of *The Liberator* on December 29, 1865. He noted that the struggle to exterminate chattel slavery had been "gloriously consummated." He spent his remaining years as a voice for the women's suffrage movement. Garrison died on May 24, 1879. He is buried with his wife, Helen Eliza Benson, in Forest Hills Cemetery.