Today’s New York Herald publishes
an editorial from a pro-slavery advocate who does not mince words about the evils of abolitionism:
“For the first time in the history of the country, abolitionism pure and simple has found an honorable recognition at the hands of the administration. The abolitionists of the North – the enemies of the country and the advocates of disunion – have, for the first time, been elevated to places of honor and station … there are two or three of the ultra stripe whose services to the dominant party should not be forgotten. There is Garrison, who has cursed the Union a thousand and one times, at least, and who, moreover has furnished no small share of the ideas upon which the republican party was built up …”
Born into a poor, strict Baptist family in New England, William Lloyd Garrison, like Abraham Lincoln, was influenced by the anti-slavery views of his religious upbringing. He became a self-taught printer, editor and publisher. Establishing The Liberator newspaper in 1831, he was at the forefront of the abolitionist movement, his influence growing as the movement gained traction in the decades following.
Provoking anger both North and South, Garrison’s life has long been threatened by pro-slavery advocates. Now, on the eve of the Civil War, Garrison’s views are well-represented in the new Republican Party led by Abraham Lincoln.
Source: “Honor to Abolitionism Pure and Simple,” New York Herald, March 24, 1861, p. 4: 4. (link)
