Jonah Patel
The Garrisonians, followers of abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, believed that the US Constitution was a pro-slavery document and that abolitionists should not participate in politics and government. Garrison himself thought that the nation was founded on an unsustainable contradiction: the natural law of human liberty as laid out in the Declaration of Independence, and the peculiar institution of the South, an evil expressly protected under the Constitution. He refused to participate in American electoral politics because doing so would mean supporting the pro-slavery, war-sanctioning Constitution of the United States. Instead, the Garrisonians repeatedly argued for a dissolution of the Union under the slogan No Union with Slaveholders.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Position on the U.S. Constitution | The U.S. Constitution was a terrible bargain between freedom and slavery, a "covenant with death" and an "agreement with Hell". |
| Position on the Union | Garrisonians called for the dissolution of the Union and the secession of the North from the slaveholding South. |
| Position on politics and government | Refusal to participate in American electoral politics because it meant supporting the pro-slavery Constitution. |
| Position on the Declaration of Independence | Garrison insisted that liberty is the inalienable birthright of every human being and that freedom and slavery cannot co-exist. |
| Position on religion and the Constitution | Opposed a proposed amendment affirming the divinity of Jesus Christ on the basis of religious freedom. |
| Position on women's rights | Supported women's rights, including their participation in the abolitionist movement. |
| Position on slavery | Saw slavery as an "evil" expressly protected by the Constitution and called for its immediate and absolute abolition. |
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What You'll Learn
- Garrisonians believed the US Constitution was a pro-slavery document
- They refused to participate in American electoral politics
- Garrisonians supported the dissolution of the Union
- They believed the Constitution was heavily influenced by slaveowners
- Garrisonians opposed the corruption that came from a government created by the pro-slavery Constitution
Garrisonians believed the US Constitution was a pro-slavery document
The abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison believed that the US Constitution was a "covenant with death" and "an agreement with Hell", a compromise between freedom and slavery. He refused to participate in American electoral politics because doing so would mean supporting "the pro-slavery, war-sanctioning Constitution of the United States". Instead, he repeatedly argued for a dissolution of the Union under the slogan "No Union with Slaveholders".
Garrison's opposition to the Union stemmed from a desire to avoid the corruption that came from participating in a government created by the pro-slavery Constitution. The Garrisonians were convinced that the legal protection of slavery in the Constitution made political activity futile, while support for the Constitution merely strengthened slavery's hold on America. Garrisonians understood that the Constitution was heavily influenced by slaveowners, and that the nation was founded on an unsustainable contradiction: the natural law of human liberty, as laid out in the Declaration of Independence, and the "peculiar institution" of the South, an evil expressly protected under the Constitution.
Garrison's views were not without criticism, even from within the abolitionist movement. In 1855, his eight-year alliance with Frederick Douglass ended when Douglass converted to the view that the Constitution could be interpreted as being anti-slavery. Other abolitionists, such as Henry Stanton, Gerrit Smith, Charles Turner Torrey, and Amos A. Phelps, wanted to form an anti-slavery political party and disagreed with Garrison's insistence that abolitionists should not participate in politics and government.
Garrison's opposition to the Constitution led him to publicly burn a copy of it at an abolitionist rally in Framingham, Massachusetts, in 1854. He also held an abortive secessionist convention in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1857. Despite his radicalism, Garrison ultimately supported Abraham Lincoln and welcomed the Emancipation Proclamation as the fulfillment of his hopes.
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They refused to participate in American electoral politics
The abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison believed that the U.S. Constitution was a "covenant with death" and "an agreement with Hell", resulting from a terrible bargain between freedom and slavery. He refused to participate in American electoral politics because doing so would mean supporting the pro-slavery Constitution. Instead, he and his followers, the Garrisonians, argued for a dissolution of the Union under the slogan "No Union with Slaveholders".
Garrison's opposition to the Union stemmed from a desire to avoid the corruption that came from participating in a government created by the proslavery Constitution. The Garrisonians were convinced that the legal protection of slavery in the Constitution made political activity futile, and that supporting the Constitution only strengthened slavery's hold on America. They understood that the Constitution was heavily influenced by slaveowners, and that the nation was founded on an unsustainable contradiction: the natural law of human liberty as laid out in the Declaration of Independence, and the "'peculiar institution' of the South, an evil expressly protected under the Constitution".
Garrison's views on the Constitution put him at odds with other abolitionists, including Frederick Douglass, who wanted to work within the political system to abolish slavery. In 1840, a group of politically-minded abolitionists withdrew from Garrison's American Anti-Slavery Society and formed the Liberty Party, seeking a political solution to slavery. Garrison, on the other hand, embraced doctrines of Christian "perfectionism", which combined abolition, women's rights, and nonresistance, calling on people to “come out” from a corrupt society by refusing to obey its laws and support its institutions.
Garrison's radicalism increased in the two decades before the Civil War, during which he denounced the Compromise of 1850, condemned the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and hailed John Brown's Harpers Ferry Raid. In 1854, he publicly burned a copy of the Constitution at an abolitionist rally in Framingham, Massachusetts. Despite his pacifism, he ultimately supported Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War, placing freedom for enslaved people above his pacifist beliefs.
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Garrisonians supported the dissolution of the Union
The abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison believed that the US Constitution was a "covenant with death" and a pro-slavery, war-sanctioning agreement between freedom and slavery. He refused to participate in American electoral politics because doing so would mean supporting this Constitution. Instead, he and his followers, the Garrisonians, argued for a dissolution of the Union under the slogan "No Union with Slaveholders".
Garrison's opposition to the Union was driven by a desire to avoid the corruption that came from participating in a government created by the pro-slavery Constitution. He believed that the nation was founded on an unsustainable contradiction: the natural law of human liberty, as laid out in the Declaration of Independence, and the "peculiar institution" of the South, which was protected by the Constitution. Garrison argued that the practice of the government was unjust and tyrannical, pandering to the interests of slaveholders rather than upholding universal freedom.
The Garrisonians understood that the Constitution was heavily influenced by slaveowners, a consequence of political give-and-take at the Convention of 1787. They believed that the legal protection of slavery in the Constitution made political activity futile, and that supporting the Constitution only strengthened slavery's hold on America. Garrison's position was also influenced by his Christian "perfectionism", which combined abolition, women's rights, and nonresistance, calling on people to “come out” from a corrupt society by refusing to obey its laws and support its institutions.
Garrison's views on the Constitution and the Union were not without criticism, even from within abolitionist circles. In 1855, his alliance with Frederick Douglass ended when Douglass adopted the view that the Constitution could be interpreted as being anti-slavery. Other abolitionists, such as Henry Stanton, disagreed with Garrison's insistence that abolitionists should not participate in politics and government due to the pro-slavery nature of the Constitution. They wanted to form an anti-slavery political party and seek a political solution to slavery, leading to the formation of the Liberty Party in 1840.
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They believed the Constitution was heavily influenced by slaveowners
The Garrisonians, followers of the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, believed that the US Constitution was heavily influenced by slaveowners. Garrison himself thought that the Constitution was the result of a "terrible bargain between freedom and slavery", calling it a "covenant with death" and "an agreement with Hell". He refused to participate in American electoral politics because doing so would mean supporting the "pro-slavery, war-sanctioning Constitution of the United States".
Garrison's views on the Constitution were shaped by his anti-slavery activism. At the age of 25, he joined the anti-slavery movement, later associating with the American Colonization Society, an organisation that promoted the "resettlement" of free blacks to Africa. However, he soon rejected colonisation, publicly apologised for his error, and censured those who remained committed to it.
Garrison's opposition to the Union stemmed from a desire to avoid the corruption that came from participating in a government created by the pro-slavery Constitution. The Garrisonians were convinced that the legal protection of slavery in the Constitution made political activity futile, while support for the Constitution strengthened slavery's hold on America. They understood that the Constitution was not the result of a deliberate conspiracy, but rather the consequence of political give-and-take at the Convention of 1787.
Wendell Phillips, in his analysis "The Constitution A Pro-Slavery Compact", examined the compromise made between slavery and freedom in 1787, where slaveholders were granted distinct privileges and protection for their slave property in return for certain commercial concessions. Phillips argued that the nation was fully aware of this bargain and entered into it willingly.
The Garrisonians repeatedly argued for a dissolution of the Union under the slogan "No Union with Slaveholders". Their position was not without criticism, however. Frederick Douglass, for example, criticised Garrison's lack of pragmatism, viewing his secession strategy as an abandonment of the slaves. Douglass believed that the struggle for freedom required more than just loud proclamations of righteousness, but also political and voter engagement, as well as a revised understanding of the US Constitution.
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Garrisonians opposed the corruption that came from a government created by the pro-slavery Constitution
The abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison believed that the U.S. Constitution was a "covenant with death" and "an agreement with Hell", the result of a terrible bargain between freedom and slavery. He refused to participate in American electoral politics because doing so would mean supporting the pro-slavery Constitution. Instead, the Garrisonians, under the slogan "No Union with Slaveholders", repeatedly argued for a dissolution of the Union.
> It matters not what is the theory of the government if the practice of the government be unjust and tyrannical.
Garrison's opposition to the Union stemmed from a desire to avoid the corruption that came from participating in a government created by the pro-slavery Constitution. He believed that the nation was founded on an unsustainable contradiction: on one hand, the natural law of human liberty, as laid out in the Declaration of Independence; and on the other, the “peculiar institution” of the South, an evil expressly protected under the Constitution.
Garrisonians did not see the Constitution as the result of a deliberate conspiracy of evil men, but rather as the consequence of political give-and-take at the Convention of 1787. They acknowledged that the nation at large was fully aware of this bargain and entered into it willingly. However, Garrisonians also believed that support for the Constitution merely strengthened the stranglehold slavery had on America.
Garrison's outspoken anti-slavery views repeatedly put him in danger. He was imprisoned in Baltimore and had a price placed on his head by the state of Georgia. He also received frequent death threats. Despite this, he remained steadfast in his opposition to slavery and the corruption that came from a government created by the pro-slavery Constitution.
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Frequently asked questions
The abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison believed the US Constitution was a "covenant with death" and "an agreement with Hell", resulting from a terrible bargain between freedom and slavery.
Garrisonians believed in the natural law of human liberty, as laid out in the Declaration of Independence. Garrison himself said, "I will not be a liar, a poltroon, or a hypocrite, to accommodate any party, to gratify any sect, to escape any odium or peril, to save any interest, to preserve any institution, or to promote any object."
Garrisonians took the position of "No Union With Slaveholders", formulated in 1844 as a demand for peaceful Northern secession from a slaveholding South.
Garrisonians refused to participate in American electoral politics because doing so meant supporting "the pro-slavery, war-sanctioning Constitution of the United States".
Garrisonians opposed a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States affirming the divinity of Jesus Christ on the basis of religious freedom.
