by Pieter J. Friedrich
02/07/06
William Lloyd Garrison, an influential abolitionist and founder of the American Anti-Slavery Society, published his essay, "To The Public," on the 1st of January, 1831. He penned the essay as an editorial welcome to readers of the inaugural issue of his newspaper, The Liberator. The essay was also intended to distinguish The Liberator from other abolitionist newspapers, primarily through Garrison's shocking announcement that he advocated immediate abolition.
Believing the "self-evident truth" of the Declaration of Independence, Garrison wrote:
"I shall strenuously contend for the immediate enfranchisement of our slave population. In Park-street Church, on the Fourth of July, 1829, in an address on slavery, I unreflectingly assented to the popluar but pernicious doctrine of gradual abolition. I seize this opportunity to make a full and unequivocal recantation, and thus publicly to ask pardon of my God, of my country, and of my brethren the poor slaves, for having uttered a sentiment so full of timidity, injustice and absurdity."
Garrison's intended audience was, quite simply, "the public." More specifically, though, while his words were to some extent directed at the voters and politicians who might be able to influence the system of slavery, his actual audience consisted mostly of disenfranchised blacks. Wikipedia notes, "[The Liberator's] paid circulation was only about 3,000, three-quarters of whom were African Americans." Thus, while Garrison's paper and the essay in question would later gain "nationwide notoriety," at first Garrison's writings had little opportunity to reach those with any influence over the issue of slavery.
This notoriety would arise due to Garrison's strident prose and his unique view in favor of immediate emancipation. In 1831, Garrison was very much alone in his reasoning that slavery was an emergency the nation must deal with directly. He argued:
"On this subject, I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. No! no! Tell a man whose house is on fire, to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hand of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; -- but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present. I am in earnest -- I will not equivocate -- I will not excuse -- I will not retreat a single inch -- AND I WILL BE HEARD."
Garrison's evidence in favor of his argument for immediate abolition is scant, consisting merely of a brief reference to the Declaration of Independence's proposition that "all men are created equal." This evidence would bear more weight except for the fact that the Declaration, not actually being part of the U.S. Constitution, does not bear the same authority as "supreme Law of the Land." The principles behind the founding of the U.S. (ie, universal equality) lend Garrison's argument credence, but the founding laws of the nation do not.
One could argue Garrison's position is supported simply by the fact of black oppression. If blacks were chained unjustly, would not justice demand swift action? As the quote goes, "justice delayed is justice denied." Yet while justice demanded satisfaction, the very success of black Americans depended on gradual abolition. Historian Otto Scott believes Garrison was negligent in refusing to account for the economic ruin immediate abolition would bring upon the South. He writes: "It could not be said that his positions were rational, for they left no room for other men to think. He was determined that everyone become perfect, instantly - even if everyone had to die to attain such a goal." While echoing Scott, I'd go a step further and say Garrison was negligent in refusing to account for the effects of immediate abolition upon the black population. Where would four million blacks, suddenly free, live and work?
The consequences of Garrison's seditious words were disastrous. Scott writes: "A slave named Nat Turner led a revolt in which blacks butchered entire white families, and burned plantations. For eight weeks of rage, fright, and excitement, fifty-five whites and approximately one hundred blacks were killed. Finally captured, Turner was hanged with twenty of his followers. Many throughout the South credited The Liberator with having inspired the uprising."
The inflammatory rhetoric of Garrison's essay is very persuasive, but only to those who overlook the value of gradual emancipation. Garrison's irresponsible refusal to consider the actual consequences of his ideas or the insurrection they inspired outweigh any worth the essay might otherwise possess.
