Garrison was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts on December 10, 1805 to a merchant sailing master. He was the fourth child of Abijah and Frances Maria Garrison. His father deserted the family when they fell on hard times, and Garrison had to sell homemade molasses candy and deliver wood to support the family. In 1818 he became an apprentice to Ephraim W. Allen, editor of the Newburyport Herald, where he gained skills he would later use while publishing his own newspaper.
Garrison joined the abolition movement …show more content…
On December 4, 1833, Garrison met with more than fifty other delegates from ten states in Philadelphia to form the American Anti-Slavery Society. Its declaration of principles was largely written by Garrison. His influence can be seen in its pacifist leanings. He later served as the organization's foreign secretary. Both organizations were two of the first to promote immediate emancipation of slaves.
One interesting piece of history is that in 1835, a mob was looking to tar and feather George Thompson, another well-known abolitionist. They seized Garrison when they were unable to find Thompson, dragging him through the streets with a rope around his neck. Mayor Theodore Lyman intervened, and Garrison spent the night in jail and left in the morning.
Garrison believed that the U.S. Constitution was a pro-slavery document. In 1851, Frederick Douglass expressed that the Constitution could be used as a weapon against slavery Garrison proceeded to attack Douglass in his paper, and the two had a falling