Simone Lawson
On July 4, 1854, William Lloyd Garrison, a prominent abolitionist, burned a copy of the US Constitution in Massachusetts to protest slavery. Garrison, who had been fighting for the abolition of slavery for 25 years, believed that the Republic had been corrupted from the start and that the Constitution was a covenant with death and an agreement with Hell. This act of defiance, which took place at an Independence Day picnic organized by the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, was a dramatic way to express his disagreement with the nation's founding document and its protection of slavery.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | William Lloyd Garrison |
| Year | 1854 |
| Location | Massachusetts |
| Date | July 4 |
| Known for | Editor of The Liberator, an abolitionist newspaper |
| Beliefs | The Republic was corrupt and the Constitution was pro-slavery |
| Quote about the Constitution | "The Constitution of the United States of America is the source and parent of all the other atrocities: 'a covenant with death, and an agreement with Hell.'" |
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What You'll Learn
- William Lloyd Garrison burned the US Constitution in 1854
- Garrison branded the Constitution as a covenant with death
- The Constitution burnings were a protest against the Fugitive Slave Law
- Garrison's actions were inspired by Martin Luther's burnings of canon law
- The Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society sponsored the rally where Garrison burned the Constitution
William Lloyd Garrison burned the US Constitution in 1854
On July 4, 1854, William Lloyd Garrison burned a copy of the US Constitution to protest slavery. This took place in Massachusetts, at Harmony Grove, a picnicking area in Framingham, about sixteen miles outside of Boston. The event was a Fourth of July rally sponsored by the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society.
Garrison was an American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely read anti-slavery newspaper, The Liberator, which he founded in 1831 and published in Boston until slavery in the US was abolished by the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865. Garrison promoted "no-governmentism", also known as "anarchism", and rejected the inherent validity of the American government on the basis of its engagement in war, imperialism, and slavery, which he believed made it corrupt and tyrannical.
Garrison's act of burning the Constitution was a dramatic climax to the rally, and he cried out: "So perish all compromises with tyranny!" He held 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.
Before burning the Constitution, Garrison also burned copies of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law, as well as Judge Edward G. Loring's decision to send Anthony Burns back into slavery, comparing his actions to those of Martin Luther, who burned copies of canon law and the papal bull that had excommunicated him from the Catholic Church.
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Garrison branded the Constitution as a covenant with death
On July 4, 1854, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison burned a copy of the U.S. Constitution in Massachusetts. He branded the document as "the source and parent of all the other atrocities--'a covenant with death, and an agreement with hell.'" The dramatic act was the climax of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society's Independence Day picnic, held at Harmony Grove, just outside Boston.
Garrison's actions symbolised his belief 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 slavery in the South, which was expressly protected under the Constitution. He argued that the Republic had been corrupted from the start and that the legal protection of slavery in the Constitution made political activity futile.
Garrison's views on the Constitution were shaped by his understanding of the compromises made during the Constitutional Convention. One such compromise was to close the African slave trade in 1808, which resulted in an increase in the value of slaves in the domestic market. Additionally, the convention granted Congress the power to regulate international commerce, except for the African slave trade, which effectively protected the trade.
The abolitionist believed that the Founding Fathers had traded union and white liberty for black slavery. This belief was reinforced by the publication of James Madison's notes from the Constitutional Convention in the early 1840s, which revealed the true nature of the compromises made. Garrison's refusal to participate in American electoral politics stemmed from his desire to avoid the corruption associated with a government created by the pro-slavery Constitution.
Garrison's actions and words, including his famous "covenant with death" line, garnered a strong response. While most of the audience at Harmony Grove roared their approval, some hissed and groused. Many state newspapers later condemned his actions, and he received death threats and duel challenges. However, Charles Remond, an African American abolitionist from Salem, leapt to his defence.
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The Constitution burnings were a protest against the Fugitive Slave Law
On July 4, 1854, William Lloyd Garrison, a prominent abolitionist, burned a copy of the United States Constitution in Massachusetts. This act of defiance was a protest against slavery, specifically the Fugitive Slave Law, which permitted the capture and return of escaped slaves to their enslavers. Garrison believed that the Constitution was complicit in upholding slavery and, therefore, was "a covenant with death and an agreement with Hell."
Garrison's actions were symbolic and carried significant weight. By burning the nation's founding document, he was declaring that the Constitution, which he believed to be corrupted, was responsible for the atrocities of slavery. This sentiment was shared by other abolitionists, who recognized the contradiction between the ideals of liberty and the reality of slavery. The burning of the Constitution was a dramatic way to draw attention to the issue and spark discussion about the nation's founding principles.
The Fugitive Slave Law, enacted in 1850, was a highly controversial piece of legislation that further entrenched slavery and made it nearly impossible for enslaved people to escape. The law required all citizens to assist in the capture of escaped slaves and imposed harsh penalties for those who failed to comply. It also established the right of slaveowners to recapture their slaves in free states, effectively making the entire country unsafe for those seeking freedom. This law was a significant setback for the abolitionist movement and a source of great frustration.
Garrison's protest against the Fugitive Slave Law was part of a broader effort to abolish slavery and challenge the foundations that allowed it to persist. By burning the Constitution, he was not only protesting the law itself but also the underlying compromises that had been made during the country's founding. The Constitution's protection of slavery, through concessions to southern delegates, had created a moral dilemma that Garrison and other abolitionists sought to address.
The burning of the Constitution by Garrison was a powerful statement against slavery and a call for a radical re-examination of the country's values. It served as a catalyst for further discussion and action, demonstrating the passion and determination of those committed to abolishing slavery and creating a more just nation.
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Garrison's actions were inspired by Martin Luther's burnings of canon law
On July 4, 1854, William Lloyd Garrison, a prominent abolitionist, burned a copy of the United States Constitution in Massachusetts. This act of protest against slavery was accompanied by his words: "The Constitution of the United States of America is the source and parent of all the other atrocities: 'a covenant with death, and an agreement with Hell. So perish all compromises with tyranny!'.
Garrison's actions, including the burning of the constitution and other documents, were inspired by Martin Luther's burning of canon law and other documents. Luther, a German theologian and reformer, played a pivotal role in the Protestant Reformation. On December 10, 1520, Luther publicly burned a copy of the papal bull "Exsurge Domine," which had condemned his teachings and threatened him with excommunication. He also burned the corpus of medieval canon law, symbolically rejecting the authority of the Catholic Church and its laws.
Garrison's protest against slavery mirrored Luther's defiance of the Catholic Church. By burning the constitution, Garrison expressed his belief that the Republic had been corrupted from the start and that the nation's founding document sanctioned atrocities like slavery. He saw the constitution as a compromise with tyranny, much like how Luther viewed the canon law as a compromise with a corrupt church.
The influence of Luther's actions on Garrison is evident in the symbolic nature of their protests. Both men chose to publicly burn documents that represented the ideologies they opposed. Luther's burning of the canon law and the papal bull was a rejection of the Catholic Church's authority and a stand for his reformist beliefs. Similarly, Garrison's burning of the constitution was a powerful statement against slavery and a critique of the nation's foundational principles.
Additionally, both men faced backlash for their actions. Luther's actions resulted in his excommunication and condemnation as an outlaw, while Garrison's burning of the constitution was condemned by many state newspapers, highlighting the controversial nature of their actions and the strong emotions they evoked.
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The Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society sponsored the rally where Garrison burned the Constitution
On July 4, 1854, William Lloyd Garrison burned a copy of the US Constitution during a rally sponsored by the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. This act was a dramatic climax to the event, which was held to recognise the nation's greatest sin and mourn the death of freedom. The rally took place at Harmony Grove in Framingham, about sixteen miles outside of Boston.
Garrison, a noted abolitionist, believed that the Republic had been corrupted from the start and that the Constitution was the source of all atrocities. He described it as "a covenant with death, and an agreement with Hell", echoing the words of Martin Luther, who had burned copies of canon law. As the US Constitution burned, Garrison cried out: "So perish all compromises with tyranny!"
The rally was attended by hundreds of abolitionists, including Sojourner Truth and Henry David Thoreau, who also addressed the crowd. Thoreau expressed his disgust at those in Massachusetts who had aided slavery, stating that "the Law will never make men free; it is men who have got to make the law free".
The Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society had previously included copies of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence in their pamphlets, believing that the words of these documents, if read, would signal the end of slavery. However, by 1854, Garrison and his allies no longer saw the Constitution as inherently anti-slavery but rather as a wicked document that underpinned the institution of slavery.
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Frequently asked questions
William Lloyd Garrison burned a copy of the US Constitution to protest slavery.
On July 4, 1854, William Lloyd Garrison burned a copy of the US Constitution at an Independence Day picnic hosted by the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society.
William Lloyd Garrison believed that the Republic had been corrupted from the start and that the US Constitution was "a covenant with death and an agreement with Hell".
