William Lloyd Garrison was a well-known nineteenth-century American social reformer. He was recognized as the spokesman of the anti-slavery campaign in the North during his lifetime. He was the editor of the abolitionist newspaper ‘The Liberator,’ which he co-founded with Isaac Knapp. He was also a founding member of the American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS). Garrison proclaimed complete elimination of the practice and was willing to give his life in order to achieve his goal. His life was threatened numerous times, but he never wavered from his objective of “rapid and full emancipation of all slaves.” “Urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present,” he said in The Liberator’s Inaugural Editorial on January 1, 1831. I’m serious—I’m not going to equivocate—I’m not going to apologize—I’m not going to back down a single inch—AND I’M GOING TO BE HEARD.” He was also heard. He also championed women’s suffrage, and after slavery was abolished, he began advocating for black civil rights. Indeed, he lived a life dedicated to serving the greater benefit of his countrymen.
Childhood and Adolescence
William Lloyd Garrison was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, on December 12, 1805. Abijah Garrison, his father, was a merchant sailing master who moved to Massachusetts from New Brunswick (Canada). When the Embargo Act, approved by Congress in 1807, caused a drop in commercial shipping, he lost his employment. He went missing in 1808 because he couldn’t maintain his family.
Frances Maria Lloyd, William Garrison’s mother, raised him. She was a devout Christian with a commanding but endearing demeanor. After her husband abandoned her, she began to refer to her son as William Lloyd Garrison.
The family had to fight hard to stay afloat after the main breadwinner deserted. William was transferred to Baptist deacon school at some point, where he obtained a rudimentary education. In 1814, he returned home and began selling lemonade and candies produced by his mother. He also delivered wood, worked as an apprentice under a shoemaker, and worked as a cabinet builder to help support the family.
He was indentured to Ephraim W. Allen of the Newburyport Herald under a seven-year contract in 1818, when he was barely thirteen years old. He quickly rose to the position of professional compositor and began publishing essays under false names. He would eventually apply what he had learned here to run ‘The Liberator.’
Career of William Lloyd Garrison
When the contract expired in 1826, Garrison and another young printer named Isaac Knapp used borrowed funds to publish their first newspaper. ‘Newburyport Free Press’ was the name of the publication. Despite the fact that the endeavor was short-lived, it allowed him to meet renowned abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier and polish his writing skills.
In 1828, he became the editor of Boston’s ‘National Philanthropist.’ He met Benjamin Lundy, a prominent abolitionist, while working there and was instantly drawn to the anti-slavery fight. The Presbyterian Reverend John Rankin’s ‘Letters on Slavery’ impacted him greatly, and at the age of 25, he joined the campaign wholeheartedly.
For a time, Garrison was a member of the ‘American Colonization Society,’ which aimed to move free blacks to Africa’s west coast.
Its major goal, however, was to strengthen the slave system by removing free blacks from American soil. Garrison not only distanced himself from the movement, but publicly condemned it. In 1829, he joined Benjamin Lundy as coeditor of the Baltimore-based publication ‘Genius of Universal Emancipation.’ Garrison modified the paper’s format and included a column dubbed “The Black List.” It was dedicated to white masters’ misdeeds against the black population.
Garrison alleged in ‘The Black List’ that one Francis Todd was involved in the slave trade. The guy sued Garrison, who was found guilty by a pro-slavery Maryland court. Garrison was slapped with a $50 fine plus court costs, which he refused to pay. He was then sentenced to six months in prison by the court. Garrison, on the other hand, was released after seven weeks because another prominent abolitionist of the time, Arthur Tappan, paid for him. He and Lundy reconciled after he was released from prison.
In 1831, he and Isaac Knapp created the ‘The Liberator,’ a New England anti-slavery newspaper. It advocated for the immediate and total abolition of slavery. The paper elicited a mixed response from its audience. Many slaveowners began to regard him as a dangerous zealot, blaming him for Nat Turner’s uprising. He was also charged with distributing flammable materials by a grand jury in North Carolina. A $5,000 reward was also offered by the Georgia Legislature to anyone who could bring him to the state for prosecution.
Garrison’s popularity, on the other hand, began to rise in another part of society. By 1832, he had gathered enough support to form the ‘New England Anti-Slavery Society,’ which was later renamed the ‘Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society.’
In 1833, he expanded his cause by founding the ‘American Anti Slavery Society’ with Arthur Tappan and Frederick Douglass. Slavery was promoted as a horrific act that was anti-Christian. He continued to write editorials for ‘The Liberator’ side by side. ‘The Liberator’ had 2,000 subscribers by 1834, many of whom were white. It quickly gained popularity in the northern states. By 1861, it had spread to Canada and England. The periodical began to be accepted at many official institutions, including the White House and Congress, as well as state legislatures and governors’ mansions.
In the meantime, resistance to his anti-slavery stance grew. Garrison was hunted and kidnapped by a bloodthirsty crowd in Boston in 1835 while attending an anti-slavery gathering. They then pulled him along the street by a rope around his waist. Fortunately, he was rescued by the sheriff. Garrison was subsequently taken into protective care, saving his life.
Women had joined the anti-slavery campaign in substantial numbers by 1837. They authored letters and essays against slavery that were published in the newspaper ‘The Liberator.’ Garrison was urged not to encourage women to participate in public debates because they were not expected at the time. Despite these pleas, he proclaimed in the December 1837 issue of ‘The Liberator’ that he would promote women’s rights in all fields. As a result of his involvement in the anti-slavery struggle, he gradually evolved into a fighter for women’s rights.
Some notable abolitionists left the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1840 because of Garrison’s participation in the support of women’s rights. They founded the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, which was exclusively for men.
William Lloyd Garrison, undeterred, went through with his conviction. He even refused to sit as a delegate at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London since women were not permitted to attend, and instead sat in the audience alongside them.
Garrison always kept a safe distance from political activity, believing that such pursuits entailed compromise. However, some of the movement’s leaders wanted to handle the problem politically, so they split up in November 1839 to form the Liberty Party.
Despite this, Garrison and his newspaper, ‘The Liberator,’ remained the anti-slavery movement’s major spokesperson. He even went so far as to burn a copy of the US Constitution in 1854, accusing it of being pro-slavery.
The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, brought great joy to Garrison. It appeared that the cause for which he had battled was about to be realized. The American Civil War ended in 1865, and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution made slavery illegal. After completing his objective, he resigned from the American Anti Slavery Society, claiming that other groups would be better suited to tackle the concerns of liberated slaves.
He discontinued publishing ‘The Liberator’ at the end of the same year, believing that the paper had likewise accomplished its mission. He remained, however, a strong supporter of black civil rights, free trade, and women’s suffrage. He was a significant figure in the New England women’s suffrage campaign in the 1870s. He also served as President of the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association.
Major Projects of William Lloyd Garrison
The creation of ‘The Liberator,’ in 1831, was William Lloyd Garrison’s most important effort. He utilized this paper to raise awareness about slavery and, as a result, force it to be abolished.
Another significant achievement in Garrison’s life was the founding of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833. It aided in the unification of a lot of abolitionists.
Personal History and Legacy
On September 4, 1834, William Lloyd Garrison married Helen Eliza Benson. She was the daughter of an abolitionist who had retired. The couple had seven children, two of whom died when they were still young. Until his death, he remained close to his children. Helen, his wife, died of a stroke in 1863. Following his retirement in 1865, Garrison devoted most of his time to caring for her. Garrison was devastated when she died on January 25, 1876, and it took him a long time to recover from his grief.
In 1877, Garrison had renal illness. After that, he relocated to New York to be with his daughter’s family. As his illness worsened, he was accompanied by all of his children. He passed soon before midnight on May 24, 1879, after losing consciousness. In Boston’s Forest Hill Cemetery, William Lloyd Garrison was laid to rest. Flags were flown at half mast all over the city when he died, and the pall bearers were famous abolitionists of the day.
Following his death, a memorial to Garrison was built on the Commonwealth Avenue mall in Boston.
Estimated Net Worth
William is one of the wealthiest activists and one of the most well-known activists. According to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider, William Lloyd Garrison has a net worth of $1.5 million.