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Selections from the Writings and Speeches of William Lloyd Garrison

William Lloyd Garrison · 1852

An 1852 anthology of Garrison's own editorials and speeches, compiled and chosen by Garrison himself.

Garrison personally selected these writings and speeches, shaping how his own legacy would be read.

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Title page of a book reading 'Selections from the Writings and Speeches of William Lloyd Garrison, with an appendix.' Handwritten signature at top. Epigraph quote below title. Imprint: Boston, R. F. Wallcut, 21 Cornhill, 1852.
William Lloyd Garrison, Selections from the Writings and Speeches of William Lloyd Garrison, 1852. Boston: R. F. Wallcut.

About this source

What it is

This 1852 book collects writings and speeches by William Lloyd Garrison, selected with an appendix. Copies are held by the Library of Congress and the Internet Archive.

Why it matters

Because Garrison himself chose what to include, the book shows how he wanted to be remembered: as a lifelong opponent of slavery, of forced resistance methods he rejected, and as a supporter of women's rights. It offers a window into his own self-presentation at mid-career, years before the Civil War.

Look closer

  • Why might someone collect and publish their own writings during their lifetime?
  • What does the opening passage, where Garrison describes being persecuted and doubted, tell you about the risks of his activism?
  • What topics besides slavery does the collection suggest mattered to him?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of William Lloyd Garrison on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Frederick Douglass · 1845

Title page of 'Thoughts on African Colonization' (Boston, 1832). Large heading reads 'Thoughts on African Colonization: or an impartial exhibition of the doctrines, principles and purposes of the American Colonization Society', with text 'together with the resolutions, addresses and remonstrances of the free people of color'. Epigraphs from the Bible appear below, followed by 'By Wm. Lloyd Garrison'. Imprint: 'Boston: Printed and published by Garrison and Knapp, No. 11, Merchants' Hall, 1832'.Book

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William Lloyd Garrison · 1832

Oil portrait of a balding older man with wire-rimmed spectacles, wearing a black coat, white shirt, and black neckcloth, against a dark brown background. He faces forward with a neutral expression.Painting

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Nathaniel Jocelyn · 1833

Masthead of The Liberator newspaper, an engraved illustration with the title THE LIBERATOR in large letters across the bottom. Scenes include an auction of enslaved people with a sign reading slaves, horses, sheep, and other goods, a central robed figure with arms raised breaking chains, enslaved people working in fields, and a gate at right. Below the title is the motto Our Country is the World, our Countrymen are all Mankind.Newspaper article

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The Liberator, 15 December 1854

Hammatt Billings · 15 December 1854

Front page of The Liberator, Boston, Friday, January 3, 1862, Vol. XXXII, No. 1, Whole No. 1619. A woodcut vignette of figures, including a standing woman, sits above the masthead. Dense columns of small printed text fill the page.Newspaper article

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William Lloyd Garrison · 1831-1865

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