Talk:William Lloyd Garrison
From Academic Kids
Jerry Pournelle's site recently contained this: "...do as William Lloyd Garrison did and fire all workers when they reach age 50, turn them out into the streets without pensions because they are no longer as productive...". Can anyone comment on the accuracy of this, and see how to bring this aspect out in the article? It certainly highlights one of the standard counter-arguments to the abolitionists, about what free work offered as an alternative. PML.
Garrison on race: more than abolition
Among Americans who caused the end of slavery, Garrison must be counted among the most influential. But his importance goes far beyond that. To the best of my knowledge, Garrison was the first white American to say that blacks should have full social and political equality with whites, and to say it loudly enough that other whites heard it. That is, Garrison's critique of racism went far beyond abolition of slavery, and he was uniquely influential in this regard.
In 1961, intercity buses in the South still practiced racial segregation. The Freedom Rides were a successful protest against this practice; the riders practiced nonviolence despite brutal beatings, but eventually made their point. The Freedom Rides are mentioned in many historical works. But they were preceded by similar action in 1830's New England. The early railroads in New England practiced racial segregation. Garrison and his friends used the same tactics as the 1961 Freedom Riders; they were beaten at first, like the Freedom Riders; but they made their point and the trains were desegregated. This fact is very little known.
The above information is based on the biography All on Fire: William Lloyd Garrison and the Abolition of Slavery, by Henry Mayer, ISBN 0312253672.
CNA 09:35 (UTC), 26 Feb, 2005
