Skip to main content

The Liberator

"Our country is the world - our countrymen are mankind." -William L. Garrison

On December 10, 1805 in Newburyport, Massachusetts, William Lloyd Garrison took his first breath. William would not grow up like the rest of the children he knew, being able to attend a traditional school and being able to play with friends and return to a fortunate and loving home, he would spend his days scavenging and begging neighbors to provide food for himself and just a bit more for his family; William's goal was to survive.

At the age of three his father left the home, leaving his mother to provide for him and his siblings. When she could not provide the best for what potential she saw in him, eventually William would be given to the church, where he lived with a Baptist deacon who provided him with a stable education. At the age of 13, he was appointed a seven year internship as a writer and editor under the wing of Ephraim W. Allen, editor for the Newburyport Herald. 

Turning 20, and after Garrison finished his seven year internship, he had learned the necessary skills to be a successful editor and was gifted a sum of money which he would use to buy out a local paper called The Newburyport Essex Courant, which he would rename as the Newburyport Free Press. Garrison spoke about political topics, where he openly expressed his federalist views; in result of federalism being unpopular in his region, his unfortunate paper press submerged within six months.

After his failed endeavor he moved to Bosoton, where he joined the National Philanthropist as an editor and met Benjamin Lundy, an anti-slave editor who brought Garrison's attention towards the abolition movement.

In 1830, Garrison began his own press again under the name The Liberator, which would become his stand against slavery.

"I do not wish to think, or to speak, or write with moderation ... I am earnest - I will not equivocate - I will not excuse - I will not retreat a single inch - AND I WILL BE HEARD." These are the first words of his first issue of The Liberator; Garrison will grow to become considerably the most radical abolitionist. Garrison receives a huge support system of followers, as he influences upon the thousands - yet with his brave testaments and declarations towards slavery, he is a pacifist.

His pacifism led to a schism in his followers, and when the Civil War began in 1861, many split to form their own organizations to act against slavery. Garrison also viewed the Constitution as a pro-slavery document and adamantly spoke against it, yet even with his pacifism, he supported Lincoln's war policies.

One of his followers who broke off of his message was Fredrick Douglass, an African-American abolitionist to be who was well inspired by Garrison's work; Garrison and Douglass would eventually spur into a never ending debate when Garrison publicly writes upon his disapproval of Douglass' support of the Constitution.

Considerably one of the most radical abolitionists, he had his unique way of battling slavery. From his pacifism to his anti-Constitutional views, these did not prevent Garrison from reaching a plethora of people and bringing more to the abolition movement; he lived to see the end of the Civil War, and the declaration of the 13th Amendment, and he wrote his last issue of The Liberator in 1865, where in total he printed 1,820 issues over 35 years.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Muzzled Beliefs in a Muzzled Society

  B y David Kleinschuster Q News   2020. A year of chaos, conflict and controversy actively separates our nation, our communities and our families. Stares of death seep from wide pupils and furrowed brows towards once friends to now enemies in the streets and supermarket. What could cause such division and frustration in just under a year? Masks. There are several sides to take in your stance of the virus, but two major belief systems are fueling such controversy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pro-maskers versus anti-maskers. Though there is only a percentage of Americans who truly are anti-maskers – those who refuse to wear one at all times and all circumstances – majority of people who are deemed as ‘anti-maskers’ will wear a mask in stores or in areas which mandate it (else they receive an invitation for removal) and keep their faces free at all times where it is not mandated. On the other side of the spectrum, there are those who wear masks in every aspe...

The Deep State of Affairs

The deep state proves to be more than just a conspiracy - former CIA director John Brennan conducted a ploy to strike fear of Russian involvement in the presidential election of 2016 - there were operatives contacted by Brennan over 17 organizations to plant the farce of Russian coalition. Over the course of the 2016 election, Trump repeatedly praised WikiLeaks when the exposal of Clinton's corruption. Yet, now that Trump has been elected he claims that he "knows nothing about Wikileaks" (RonPaulInstitute) 1 Now, that does sound very contradictory towards his previous campaign statements, yet he does admit that this level of debate is not under his discretion and that Assange's judgement will be left to the attorney general (TheGuardian) 2 . With the current state of affairs with Julian Assange, he is being tried by the United States for the highest threat of national security while being held in London. There has been a hidden history between WikiLeaks and Do...