William Lloyd Garrison, the AbolitionistGrimké, Archibald Henry
History
William Lloyd Garrison, the Abolitionist
Grimké, Archibald Henry
Garrison, William Lloyd, 1805-1879
And as the tide
steadily rose it swallowed and drowned all the egoism of self and race
in the altruism of an all-embracing humanity. When an apprentice in the
office of the Newburyport _Herald_, and writing on the subject of South
American affairs he grew hot over the wrongs suffered by American
vessels at Valparaiso and Lima. He was for finishing "with cannon what
cannot be done in a conciliatory and equitable manner, where justice
demands such proceedings." This was at seventeen when he was a boy with
the thoughts of a boy. Six years later he is a man who has looked upon
the sorrows of men. His old boy-world is far behind him, and the
ever-present sufferings of his kind are in front of him. War now is no
longer glorious, for it adds immeasurably to the sum of human misery.
War ought to be abolished with intemperance and slavery. And this duty
he began to utter in the ears of his country. "The brightest traits in
the American character will derive their luster, not from the laurels
picked from the field of blood, not from the magnitude of our navy and
the success of our arms," he proclaimed, "but from our exertions to
banish war from the earth, to stay the ravages of intemperance among all
that is beautiful and fair, to unfetter those who have been enthralled
by chains, which we have forged, and to spread the light of knowledge
and religious liberty, wherever darkness and superstition reign.... The
struggle is full of sublimity, the conquest embraces the world." Lundy
himself did not fully appreciate the immense gain, which his cause had
made in the conversion of Garrison into an active friend of the slave.
Not at once certainly. Later he knew. The discovery of a kindred spirit
in Boston exerted probably no little influence in turning for the second
time his indefatigable feet toward that city. He made it a second visit
in July, 1828, where again he met Garrison. His experience with the
ministers did not deter him from repeating the horrible tale wherever he
could get together an audience. This time he secured his first public
hearing in Boston. It was in the Federal Street Baptist Church. He spoke
not only on the subject of slavery itself, the growth of anti-slavery
societies, but on a new phase of the general subject, viz., the futility
of the Colonization Society as an abolition instrument. Garrison was
present, and treasured up in his heart the words of his friend. He did
not forget how Lundy had pressed upon his hearers the importance of
petitioning Congress for the abolition of slavery in the District of
Columbia, as we shall see further on. But poor Lundy was unfortunate
with the ministers. He got this time not the cold shoulder alone but a
clerical slap in the face as well. He had just sat down when the pastor
of the church, Rev. Howard Malcolm, uprose in wrath and inveighed
against any intermeddling of the North with slavery, and brought the
meeting with a high hand to a close. This incident was the first
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account