Who was William Lloyd Garrison?

William Lloyd Garrison was one of the most famous abolitionists
in the history of the United States. His efforts helped to bring the issue of abolishing slavery
into the public consciousness and are said to have helped cause the Civil War to
happen.

Garrison is best known for being the publisher of the
abolitionist newspaper The Liberator. Garrison founded the paper in the
early 1830s as a way of getting his message out. Before the founding of the paper, the main
anti-slavery organization in the US was the American Colonization Society. This society proposed
sending freed slaves back to Africa.

Garrison felt that this was a
racist ambition. He wanted the immediate abolition of slavery and allowing the freed slaves to
stay in the US. He continued to work towards this goal through such groups as the American
Anti-Slavery Society. His efforts made people much more aware of the issue of abolition and
helped to push the North and South farther apart.