William Lloyd Garrison
Born in Newburyport, Massachusetts in 1805, Garrison became a committed abolitionist who, in 1831, founded his own hard hitting newspaper, the Liberator. Over the period of 35 years, he published 1,820 issues.   Garrison argued for the immediate emancipation of all slaves and believed that when slavery ended, freed Blacks could successfully assimilate into society.  His ideas were considered so controversial that he got physically attacked in Boston.  He helped found the New England Anti-Slavery Society and the American Anti-Slavery Society, and served the latter as its president from 1843 to 1865.   Garrison believed that the US Constitution was tainted by its endorsement of slavery and on July 4, 1854 burnt a copy of it at an anti-slavery meeting.   He and Fredrick Douglass had a falling out over this issue, with Douglass maintaining that the Constitution could be reformed and used to promote racial equality. Garrison also supported women in their struggle for the vote.
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