White and Black Abolitionists Newspapers Compared: William Lloyd Garrison's "Liberator" & Frederick Douglass' "North Star"

Students at The George Washington University

The abolitionist movement reached its peak between 1830 and 1860. During this period, abolitionists, those who "insisted slavery undermined the freedom, righteousness, order, and prosperity of all society" (McInerney, 8) sought to identify, denounce and abolish this cruel institution using their rights of free speech and free press. With free press and free speech "abolitionists depicted slavery as raw, aggressive power carrying in it's wake the seeds of political, social, economic, and moral dislocation" (McInerney, 18). In other words, the evils of slavery were expressed by abolitionists in an attempt to convince American society that slavery was not only morally wrong, but it also went against the goal of the republic, which was liberty and equality for all. Two prominent abolitionists during this period who utilized the right of free press were William Lloyd Garrison with the Liberator and Frederick Douglass with the North Star. When examining Garrison and Douglass it is apparent that they had different approaches to writing against slavery because of their separate background. However, these differences can also be attributed to the fact that their writing audiences, inspirations and motivations for publishing their respective papers were distinct. Garrison and Douglass also had different but very influential effects on the Abolitionist Movement. These do not make Garrison and Douglass opponents; instead they demonstrate how white and black abolitionists had different approaches, methods, and styles of conveying their common message of abolishing slavery.

William Lloyd Garrison and the Liberator

"Punctually on Saturday, January 1, 1831, the first number of the weekly Liberator appeared, bearing on its front a plain black-letter heading, the names of William Lloyd Garrison and Isaac Knapp as publishers" (Garrison, 219). This was the beginning of the abolitionist newspaper the Liberator, which Garrison used as a forum for his opinions on slavery and abolition. This newspaper would become Garrison's most famous contribution to the abolitionist cause (Thomas, 130). Published out of a small office in Boston, the Liberator had very modest beginnings. Not only was Garrison the major writer and editor for the newspaper, but he and his partner began by doing all of the manual work of setting the type, making copies and mailing out the publication. Garrison received much of his financial support through donations from white abolitionist philanthropists and small contributions from communities of freed blacks in Philadelphia, New York, and Boston.

Garrison had a very clear motivation for writing the Liberator. He was a deeply religious man who felt that it was the duty of "reasoning Christians" to fight against major social evils such as slavery and war. He felt that it was his personal duty to be an example of a good Christian. While many slaveholders used religion to defend slavery, Garrison felt that his religious beliefs taught him that all people were created equal. Garrison interpreted the Bible as preaching equality, "his case for universal brotherhood rested on the belief in a single creation. God had created all men in the same moment, and they were all equally His children. From this faith in equality he never retreated, even when nineteenth-century science lent its support to the theory of the multiple creation of races" (Thomas, 88). Motivated by his deep religious beliefs, Garrison made his personal cause abolition. He tried to spread his message as he worked on the liberal newspaper, the Genius of Universal Emancipation, but was not satisfied. When he came to Boston in 1830, he was eager to establish an antislavery society and be able to express his views on slavery on his own terms.

Soon after the first publications, Garrison became known for his "strong" writing style and severe language. Garrison said that he believed that slavery was a "cause for severity". His unwillingness to back down from this type of language made his newspaper very controversial and lost him the support of some abolitionists. The Liberator quickly gained the reputation of being incendiary.

In the beginning, the editorial fraternity received the Liberator with praise. The white public read the paper with suspicion or apathy, and the colored population in the free states heard it as a "trumpet call" (Merril, 115). This was characteristic of Garrison's mixed audience; he was addressing freed blacks as well as prominent white abolitionist. Whites respected Garrison because he was a leader in the abolition movement but he was also disliked and distrusted for his controversial writing styles.

Garrison's relationship with his freed black audience was marked by a sense of estrangement. To this audience "he symbolized the humanitarianism of the white people, righteous, but cold and impersonal" (Thomas, 152). Garrison wanted to liberate the slaves and uplift the freed communities, but he did not make an effort to really understand their culture. Garrison felt that the situation of the blacks would be improved if they became more like the whites; "he was continually searching for the signs of gentility and refinement which would prove them the equal of the whites" (Thomas, 152). Garrison did not accept the blacks as they were but felt the need to "uplift" them. In general, "he admired but never really knew them or understood what it meant to be a Negro. They always seemed to him a social problem rather than simply people" (Thomas, 152). Garrison's main problem which kept him from getting close to the black race was his inability to see them as individual people. Though these qualities seem negative, Garrison saw the ability of blacks to become his equal, while most white abolitionists would not.

Garrison used the Liberator to voice his opinion on current events without fear of what others thought of him. In 1831, he condemned David Walker's Appeal (click here --> Editorial Regarding Walker's Appeal) and the rebellion led by Nat Turner. Garrison was a Quaker and was strongly against any form of violence. He wrote that he did not justify the slaves in their rebellion, but that he believed that "our slaves have the best reason to assert their rights by violent measures, inasmuch as they are more oppressed than others" (Thomas, 136). For this declaration, the Liberator was unwillingly lumped together with Walker's Appeal and credited for causing the rebellion led by Nat Turner. As a result, free blacks were prohibited from receiving the Liberator in 1831.

Serious efforts were also made by several Southern governors and senators to suppress the Liberator entirely. Garrison used this attempted suppression to form an argument for Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Speech. In doing this, the Liberator gained followers that were concerned with the rights of free speech, press and assembly. These were people "who were less concerned with slavery as a sin than with the loss of basic freedoms" (Thomas, 139). Some people began to see the battle between slavery and anti-slavery as synonymous with the clash between a free and a restricted society.

Garrison's work as an abolitionist did a lot to further the anti-slavery cause. Garrison helped form the New England Anti-Slavery Society on January 1, 1832. This society advocated such things as improved Negro schools and the repeal of Massachusetts's law preventing interracial marriage. The Liberator was the official "voice" of the society until it was later replaced by the Abolitionist.

Garrison worked diligently to change the focus of the anti-slavery movement. Garrison was against the American Colonization Society, which was based on the idea that blacks should be relocated to Africa. In fact, Garrison tried to end the colonization movement and convert its proponents to his side of the abolitionist cause. He wrote Thoughts on African Colonization in which he included damaging quotations against the principles of colonization and members of the society. Garrison also strongly opposed the Fugitive Slave Act. Garrison was an active supporter of the Boston based Vigilance Committee that vowed to protect fugitives and free blacks from people acting under the Fugitive Slave Act. Beyond doubt Garrison was an active supporter of black rights.

Frederick Douglass and the North Star

The amazing life of Frederick Douglass was filled with personal, national and international accomplishments. His autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, managed to capture these experiences while he was growing up in slavery. Douglass however, is more well known for his large scale accomplishments that were achieved after he gained his freedom. He attacked the entire slave system and managed to change not only people's views but the law as well. He accomplished this through his tireless touring and speaking, and through his self published abolitionist newspaper the North Star, later named the Frederick Douglass Paper.

After moving to Massachusetts, soon after his escape from the plantation, he came across an abolitionist newspaper called the Liberator. Douglass became intrigued by its content and its publisher, William Lloyd Garrison, became his hero. He joined the American Anti-Slavery Society of New Bedford where people discussed their views and strategies of ending slavery. However, like Garrison, most of the leaders in the society were white, and black members sometimes had a difficult time making their voices heard within the movement (S.Thomas, 2). Douglass "admitted later that he felt like theytreated him like a child" (Rogers, 112). Garrison and his followers believed in pacifism, and tried to educate slaveholders on why and how they were committing evil acts in an attempt to stop them. They also believed in the importance of political equality for women. Douglass would eventually take what he had learned here and form his own opinions and stances on these issues.

Douglass became the leading vocalist for the cause of abolition under the tutelage of Garrison, and even gained international success and prestige, especially in England. Yet he began to feel frustrated with Garrison's views on the means of abolishing slavery, and when he returned to the United States in 1847, he was ready to head the abolitionist charge. "Douglass strongly believed that if blacks did not lead in the antislavery movement they would certainly be allowed no say in the new society to be formed after the abolition of slavery" (Rogers, 112).

Douglass later moved to Rochester, New York, a port city infested by activists for the Underground Railroad and the women's rights movement. It was there he started his first weekly abolitionist newspaper called the North Star. His stated goals for the paper were to, "abolish slavery in all its forms and aspects, advocate universal emancipation, exalt the standard of public morality, and promote the moral and intellectual improvement of the colored people, and hasten the day of freedom to the three millions of our enslaved fellow countrymen"(Online, African-American Mosaic Exhibition).

The North Star gained recognition nationwide, and soon became the voice of the black man in America. Writers spoke out on all the issues in an attempt to influence the thoughts of every day citizens and policy makers. As opposed to Garrison's anti-violent, anti-political stance, Douglass saw opportunity through these means. From his knowledge of the South, Douglass was convinced slavery could not be overthrown without some form of violence. However, under the current conditions he knew blacks were not in the position to take that stance. Political action was legitimate and necessary to attack the system of slavery. Although the Constitution had indirectly recognized slavery, Douglass believed it could be chipped at to eventually meet its downfall.

Besides publishing and writing for the newspaper, which in 1951 had its name changed to Frederick Douglass Paper, Douglass continued to tour and make speeches in the name of abolition and that of the women's movement. President Lincoln was known to ask Douglass for advice on national issues of importance. His impact on American history is tremendous. His unique background of slavery allowed him insight that other leaders could not match, and his wisdom and desire for justice went unmatched.

Unquestionably Garrison and Douglass were two powerful and influential abolitionists. Both men expressed their anti-slavery beliefs without any concern about the repercussions of such publications. Motivated with the determination that slavery needed to be abolished immediately, Garrison and Douglass both built their paper from scratch and worked endless hours preparing their papers for publications. In fact, Garrison's Liberator, influenced and even helped Douglass establish himself as an abolitionist. Garrison and Douglass later separated, and Douglass began to distinguish himself from white abolitionists.

When contrasting Garrison and Douglass, their difference in writing content and style becomes apparent. Obviously, Douglass, unlike Garrison, is able to use his experience as a slave, to recall and convey graphic details about the cruelty and injustice of slavery using vivid imagery. Garrison can only convey (not recall) the immoral and inhumane treatment that slavery causes. This difference causes Garrison and Douglass to have different writing styles and content. Another noticeable difference is that Garrison throughout his editions of the Liberator was adamant about ending slavery non-violently. An excerpt from his January 1, 1831 edition reads:

While therefore, my hope of the peaceful and voluntary overthrow of slavery in the southern states of this nation is very feeble, my faith in the promises of God, that he will maintain the cause of the afflicted and the right of the poor, and that he will deliver the oppressed out of the hand of the spoiler is unfaltering invincible (Rogers, 54).

Unlike Frederick Douglass, Garrison did not devote a great deal of his time or energy to analyzing why something was wrong and what should be done to remedy the problem. Instead, when he felt a thing was wrong, he spoke out against it and demanded change. The details of changes required did not interest him -- it was enough that one tried to live by the Word of God (Rogers, 80).

It is important to note that these differences do not make Garrison and Douglass enemies instead these differences demonstrate how two people with a common goal of abolishing slavery have different reasons, methods and styles for accomplishing their goal.

Garrison, Wendell Phillips and Francis Jackson Garrison. "William Lloyd Garrison: The Story of His

Life Told by His Children". Boston: Houhton, Mifflin and Company, 1885.

McInerney, Daniel J. "The Fortunate Heirs of Freedom: Abolition & Republic Thought". Lincoln: University of

Nebraska Press, 1994.

Merill, Walter, ed. "The Letters of William Lloyd Garrison" Volume 1. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard

University Press, 1971.

Rogers, William B. " 'We Are all Together Now': Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, & the Prophetic

Tradition." New York: Garland Publishing Inc., 1995.

Thomas, John L. "The Liberator: William Lloyd Garrison." Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1963.

Thomas, Sandra. "From Slave to Abolitionist". Online. Netscape. 18 Nov. 1998.

"The Influence of Prominent Abolitionist". Online. Netscape. 02 Nov. 1998.

Links

Information on Frederick Douglass and The North Star:

American Visionaries: Frederick Douglass

The Underground Railroad

Influence of Prominent Abolitionists