Statue of William Lloyd Garrison (Boston)

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Statue of William Lloyd Garrison in Commonwealth Avenue, Boston

The Statue of William Lloyd Garrison is installed on Commonwealth Avenue, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States by Olin Levi Warner. It was designed in 1885 and installed on May 13, 1886. The bronze statue measures approximately 7 ft x 4 ft x 6 ft 4 in, and rests on a Quincy granite designed by John M. Wells that measures about 4 ft 9 in x 4 ft x 6 ft. 4 in.[1]

William Lloyd Garrison, (born December 10, 1805, Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA - died May 24, 1879, New York, New York), an American journalist who published the newspaper, The Liberator (1831–1865), and helped lead the abolitionist campaign that managed to fight slavery in the United States.[2]

The bronze memorial that straddles Commonwealth Avenue depicts William Lloyd Garrison in his leather desk chair, a set of crinkled papers in his right hand, and piles of quills, books, and ink stands stored beneath his seat. His memorial sculpture was initially proposed by prominent citizens such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, and was dedicated in 1886.[3]

Background

Garrison was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts on December 10, 1805.

In 1828, while working for National Philanthropist, Garrison had a meeting with Benjamin Lundy. Lundy offered Garrison an editor's position at Genius of Emancipation in Vermont, by brought the cause of abolition to Garrison's attention. Garrison has eagerly accepted the job and marked Garrison's initiation into the Abolitionist movement.

Garrison had joined the American Colonization Society when he was 25. Garrison originally believed that The Society's goal was to promote the freedom and well-being of black people. But Garrison became disillusioned when he soon realized that their real aim was to minimize the number of people being enslaved freely in the United States. It is clear to Garrison that this strategy only serves to further support the mechanism of slavery.

In 1830 Garrison broke away from the American Colonization Society and began his own abolitionist Newspaper, calling it The Liberator. Liberator is responsible for initially building Garrison's reputation as an abolitionist. In 1832 he helped form the New England Anti-Slavery Society. After a brief trip to England in 1833, Garrison founded the American Anti-Slavery Society, a national organization dedicated to achieving abolition.

When the Civil War ended in 1865, Garrison finally saw his dream come to fruition: With the 13th Amendment, slavery was outlawed throughout the United States - both in the North and the South.[4]

See also

William Lloyd Garrison

References

  1. Statue of William Lloyd Garrison Wikipedia. Retrieved January 21 2021.
  2. William Lloyd Garrison. Encyclopædia Britannica December 23 2020. Retrieved January 21 2021
  3. William Lloyd Garrison Sculpture. Boston Literary District. Retrieved January 21 2021.
  4. William Lloyd Garrison Biography (1805–1879). Biography November 21 2014 (Original), January 13 2021 (Updated). Retrieved January 21 2021.