In the very firstissue of his anti-slavery newspaper, the Liberator,William Lloyd Garrison stated, "I do not wish to think, or speak, orwrite, with moderation. . . . I am in earnest -- I will not equivocate -- Iwill not excuse -- I will not retreat a single inch -- AND I WILL BEHEARD." And Garrison was heard. For more than three decades, from thefirst issue of his weekly paper in 1831, until after the end of the Civil Warin 1865 when the last issue was published, Garrison spoke out eloquently andpassionately against slavery and for the rights of America's black inhabitants. The son of amerchant sailing master, William Lloyd Garrison was born in Newburyport,Massachusetts, in 1805. Due in large measure to the Embargo Act, which Congresshad passed in 1807, the Garrison family fell on hard times while William wasstill young. In 1808 William's father deserted the family, forcing them toscrounge for food from more prosperous families and forcing William to work,selling homemade molasses candy and delivering wood. In 1818, aftersuffering through various apprenticeships, Garrison began work for theNewburyport Herald as a writer and editor. This job and subsequent newspaperjobs would give the young Garrison the skills he would utilize so expertly whenhe later published his own paper. When he was 25,Garrison joined the Abolition movement. He became associated with the AmericanColonization Society, an organization that believed free blacks should emigrateto a territory on the west coast of Africa. At first glance the society seemed topromote the freedom and happiness of blacks. There certainly were members whoencouraged the manumission (granting of freedom) to slaves. However, it turnedout that the number of members advocating manumission constituted a minority.Most members had no wish to free slaves; their goal was only to reduce thenumbers of free blacks in the country and thus help preserve the institution ofslavery. By 1830 Garrison hadrejected the programs of the American Colonization Society. By this time he hadworked as co-editor of an antislavery paper started by Benjamin Lundy inMaryland, The Genius of Universal Emancipation.And on January 1, 1831, he published the first issue of his own anti-slaverynewspaper, the Liberator. In speakingengagements and through the Liberatorand other publications, Garrison advocated the immediate emancipation of allslaves. This was an unpopular view during the 1830s, even with northerners whowere against slavery. What would become of all the freed slaves? Certainly theycould not assimilate into American society, they thought. Garrison believedthat they could assimilate. He believed that, in time, all blacks would beequal in every way to the country's white citizens. They, too, were Americansand entitled to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Though circulationof the Liberator was relatively limited-- there were less than 400 subscriptions during the paper's second year --Garrison soon gained a reputation for being the most radical of abolitionists.Still, his approach to emancipation stressed nonviolence and passive restistance,and he did attract a following. In 1832 he helped organize the New EnglandAnti-Slavery Society, and, the following year, the American Anti-SlaverySociety. These were the first organizations dedicated to promoting immediateemancipation. Garrison wasunyeilding and steadfast in his beliefs. He believed that the the Anti-SlaverySociety should not align itself with any political party. He believed thatwomen should be allowed to participate in the Anti-Slavery Society. He believedthat the U.S. Constitution was a pro-slavery document. Many within the Societydiffered with these positions, however, and in 1840 there was a major rift inthe Society which resulted in the founding of two additional organizations: theLiberty Party, a political organization, and the American and ForeignAnti-Slavery Society, which did not admit women. Later, in 1851, the oncedevoted and admiring Frederick Douglass stated his belief that the Constitutioncould be used as a weapon against slavery. Garrison, feeling betrayed, attackedDouglass through his paper. Douglass responded, and the attacks intensified.Garrison and Douglass would never reconcile their differences. Although Lincoln'sEmancipation Proclamation was a government decree, Garrison supported itwholeheartedly. After the end of the Civil War in 1865, Garrison published hislast issue of the Liberator. Afterthirty five years and 1,820 issues, Garrison did not fail to publish a singleissue.
