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Primary sourceBook1860

The New Reign of Terror in the Slaveholding States

William Lloyd Garrison · 1860

Garrison's 1860 compilation documenting violence against abolitionists in the South.

Garrison compiled and wrote this pamphlet documenting violence against abolitionists in the South.

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The New Reign of Terror in the Slaveholding StatesPDF · 33 pages
William Lloyd Garrison, The New "Reign of Terror" in the Slaveholding States, for 1859-60. American Anti-Slavery Society, 1860.

About this source

What it is

This is a pamphlet written by William Lloyd Garrison in 1860, published by the American Anti-Slavery Society, gathering reports of violence against Northerners and abolitionists in Southern states around the time of John Brown's raid.

Why it matters

The pamphlet shows how dangerous anti-slavery activity had become in the South by 1859-60, and how Garrison used documented reports to make his case against slaveholding society. It reflects the escalating tension in the years just before the Civil War.

Look closer

  • Why might Garrison compile these reports rather than simply describe events in his own words?
  • What does the title 'Reign of Terror' suggest about his point of view?
  • How might a Southern reader at the time have responded to this pamphlet?

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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