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William Lloyd Garrison’s The Liberator | Primary Source Essentials

Grade
8–12
Duration
3 min
Topics
Slavery
Published
Mar 11, 2025
Image of the front page of "The Liberator," featuring text and a speech bubble labeled "Primary Source Essentials."

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About this video

What were William Lloyd Garrison’s views on abolition and the Founding documents? In this episode of BRI’s Primary Source Essentials, dive into the bold abolitionism of William Lloyd Garrison. Discover how he evolved from supporting gradual emancipation to demanding the immediate end of slavery, invoking the Declaration of Independence’s natural rights principles. Learn about his fiery rhetoric in The Liberator, his refusal to compromise, and his controversial stance on the Constitution. Explore how Garrison’s relentless pursuit of justice helped shape the abolitionist movement and challenged America to live up to its founding ideals.

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