The Abolitionist Movement: Frederick Douglass And William Lloyd Garrison

The mid-19th century was a turbulent time in American history. The United States dealt with an issue that’s wake is still noticeable today. The issue of slavery was so controversial at the time that it made people question the documents that defined our country. On one side, the South believed that slavery was a necessary institution, and the North opposed this, believing the institution of slavery was inhumane and pushed for abolishment. Abraham Lincoln, William Lloyd Garrison, and Fredrick Douglas offered three distinct views on the side of ending slavery. While all three were in opposition of slavery, each held different motives and reasoning behind their view.

Of the three views, Garrison held the most radical stance on the issue of slavery.

Douglass, who was born a slave, became a well-known figure in America during the abolitionist movement. After escaping from slavery in 1838, Douglass was one of the most famous orators and black men in America just a decade later. In the early stages of the abolitionist movement, Douglass identified closely with fellow abolitionist William Lloyd-Garrison. Both held that the Constitution was a pro-slavery document due to the compromises that allowed for the continuation of slavery and not blocking its spread. Douglass and Garrison produced around 40 anti-Union speeches in 1847. In 1853, in honor of the Fourth of July, a group, consisting of mostly white members, chose Douglass to present a speech. Douglass seized the opportunity to project his stance on the issue of slavery. In his speech, Douglass uses powerful rhetoric to describe injustices a black man or slave endures. He expounds upon how American ideals such as freedom and liberty are an offense to African Americans due to their lack of freedom and liberty. Douglass essentially exposed the hypocritical celebration of these freedoms by Americans, considering a large portion of the population were in bondage. This type of bitterness toward slavery is something both Douglass and Garrison possessed. However, Douglass eventually swayed his view from Garrison regarding the Constitution. With

Unfortunately, the conflict resulted in the bloodiest war in American history. It is difficult to know for certain if another approach could have generated the same result without violence. For example, if emancipation of slaves somehow occurred before the South’s succession, the South would have revolted in some way. However, one could speculate on alternative philosophies. The main separation between Lincoln and abolitionists like Douglass and Garrison, is that abolitionists knew they wanted slaves emancipated and instituted as equal citizens right away, while Lincoln was not positive that was the direction he wanted to go. There was still immense friction between African-Americans and whites who opposed slavery. It is unclear whether the same support would have accumulated if a more radical view of abolition took lead. One could offer that the North should have followed an idea like Garrison by allowing the South to succeed, expecting them to become vulnerable due to dependency on one major source of economic income, and then taking over the weakened Confederacy ultimately freeing the enslaved. The issues with this view are the time and social repercussions. It could have taken years for this to take place, and in essentially strangling the South’s economy, the quality of life for the slaves and southerners would have decreased mightily.