Brief Overview
William Lloyd Garrison was quite the influential figure within the world of journalism. He was a prominent American Christian, abolitionist, suffragist, social reformer, and last but not least a journalist. Garrison is most notably known for founding the "The Liberator" back in 1831, which became the most radical Anti-Slavery journal of them all at that point and time. Garrison was born December 10, 1805, in Newburyport, Massachusetts, to Frances Maria Lloyd and Abijah Garrison. His mother was a devoted Baptist that had to single-handedly raise Garrison and his siblings in poverty due to their father, a merchant sailor, abandoning them when Garrison was 3 years old. Garrison actually lived with a Baptists deacon for a short amount of time in which he was educated. At the age of 9, Garrison moved back in with his mother and worked as a shoemaker which turned out to be extremely straining for him physically. The area that surrounded him at a young age was centered around Christianity along with the abolitionist movement which Garrison himself joined at the age of 25.
Career in Journalism
In 1828, Garrison's career officially began as he was an editor for not only the National Philanthropist Newspaper in Boston but also the Journal of the times in Bennington, Vermont. These papers were also both interestingly enough based on moral reform. Not long after that, he began to edit the Genius of Universal Emancipation with Benjamin Lundy in 1829. In 1831, Garrison founded "The Liberator" which he is most famous for. It focused on being targeted towards African Americans as he was an abolitionist which helped it become the most radical Anti-Slavery journal at that very time. Garrison was actually accused in 1831 by Southern newspapers of being involved with Nat Turner's rebellion, which he simply had nothing to do with. This goes to show how one's support for others can negatively impact them and their career, and a grand jury in North Carolina issued a warrant for Garrison's arrest. In 1835 Garrison continued to spark controversy due to his works and writings being so provocative which made him a target and not exactly safe in either the North or the South.
Interestingly enough, Garrison had some conflicts with Frederick Douglass due to their opposing views/positions. Douglass paid his former enslaver for his freedom so that he could avoid the possibility of being arrested and brought back to Maryland as a slave. Garrison felt that buying your freedom was wrong, and Douglass did not like that due to him feeling that Garrison has no idea what his experience was like in bondage.
Throughout the 1850s, Garrison continued to speak out against enslavement which some other people felt as if he only did so for politics just as others had. He still felt the same about one buying their own freedom, and he continued to go against the federal government for then accepting enslavement to be legal. When the Civil War began, Garrison was on the side of the Union and by the end, once the 13th Amendment was legally established to tend slavery, Garrison decided to stop the publication of "The Liberator" as he felt that it was all over. Garrison retired in 1866, but he still pressed on for women's suffrage, free trade, and African Americans.
Radical Works
In 1837, almost 4 years after "The Liberators" creation, he renounced church and state and embraced the doctrines of Christian perfectionism through his writing. this combined abolition, and women’s rights. Between 1840 and the American Civil War his strides against slavery increased and his influence in society decreased but this only made his radicalism increase. Because of "The Liberator", he was able to denounce the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas Nebraska Act, and the Dred Scott decision. He supported Abraham Lincoln and welcomed the emancipation proclamation.
Death & Legacy
William Lloyd Garrison died May 24, 1879, due to complications regarding kidney disease. Throughout his life, he was seen sometimes as a radical and controversial figure, but he still managed to inspire others and pave the way for many upcoming journalists. Russian author Leo Tolstoy was inspired by Garrison’s writing along with that of Adin Ballou due to their focus on Christianity which aligned with Tolstoy’s ideology. Tolstoy actually went on to publish a short biography of Garrison back in 1904 and often referred to Garrison within his own work. In Boston, there is an honorary memorial statue of Garrison. Back in December of 2005, Garrison’s descendants gathered in Boston to honor his 200th birthday.
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