William Lloyd Garrison

William Lloyd Garrison

Objective / Rejected gradualism; demanded immediate unconditional and universal abolition of slavery. Accuse the Constitution and government for not abolishing slavery.
Background / Born in 1805 in Massachusetts. In 1818, he had an apprenticeship for the Newburyport Herald for 7 years under Ephraim W. Allen where he found his true calling. Also began working in 1828 at the National Philanthropist, a newspaper dedicated to the temperance movement. His upbringing in Newbury Mass. fostered his liberal, EXTREME abolitionist ideals.
Involvement / While working under Benjamin Lundy at the Genius of Universal Emancipation, he revered Lundy’s abhorrence of slavery but disliked his moderate tone as well as his mild proposals of reform. This led William Lloyd Garrison to move back to Boston and create the Liberator Newspaper.
Importance / His Liberator newspaper influenced the public opinion, which led to his large groups of followers. In 1832, William Lloyd Garrison founded the New England Antislavery Society. In 1833, after a convention in Philadelphia, the group became the American Antislavery Society. This led to greater sentiment of antislavery, seen through his exponentially growing groups of followers.