




The Abolitionist Movement was a movement within the United States whose goal was to end slavery in the country that valued freedom and self-worth. Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison were two of the most famous abolitionist. Douglass escaped from a slave plantation in Maryland and went on to become a strong advocate for the abolishment of slavery. Both Douglass and Garrison were devout Christians and many of their ethics and beliefs stemmed from their Christian values. In Frederick Douglass’s speech from 1852, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July,” Douglass ends his speech with a quote from fellow abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. This shows how Garrison’s background influenced Douglass, because Douglass’ speech uses similar techniques that Garrison was famously known for.

My research was about the background of William Lloyd Garrison, as well as the interactions between Garrison and Frederick Douglass. William Lloyd Garrison was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He was a devout Christian and devoted himself to social reform movements. From the influence of a Quaker named Benjamin Lundy, he became interested in the cause of abolition (Osborn 67). Garrison called for the emancipation and education of black people, in order to elevate them to rank with the whites as intellectual and peaceable citizens (Osborn 69). In Garrison’s first few speeches, he criticized famous historical documents, like the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Also, in the 1850’s the abolitionist movement was growing tremendously. Specifically, William Lloyd Garrison’s popularity was thriving due to the paper that he edited in Boston called The Liberator. Frederick Douglass was one of the people subscribed to The Liberator. In 1845, Garrison published Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass in The Liberator. This article showed people the unique talent Douglass had as a writer and an orator. Also, both Douglass and Garrison had some similar ideas. Both men believed that everyone who lived in America should fight for the abolishment of slavery. Garrison took it one step further and believed it was the duty of every American citizen to watch over the whole country. In his speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July,” Douglass blamed the North for “allowing themselves to be so ruinously imposed upon” (Douglass 273). 

At the end of Fredrick Douglass’s speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July,” Douglass quotes fellow abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison’s poem “The Triumph of Freedom,” which was published in 1845 by Garrison’s paper The Liberator. In this poem the narrator looks forward to the day when there truly is freedom, when there will be no more bloodshed, and when the rule of tyrants is over. This poem contains some of the main points in which abolitionist fight for such as, equal rights, freedom for everyone, and equal rule. To conclude with this poem is to wrap up main ideas within his speech. This being the closing line of his powerful speech represents how important Garrison was to Douglass and to other abolitionists. 

One of Garrison’s famous tactics was to undermine the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.  He believed the Constitution was a compromise that betrayed the republican and revolutionary spirit of 1776. Garrison claimed that it was “unjust” and demanded that the slavery provisions be taken out. In 1833, he even went as far to claim it was a “compact… dripping with blood” (Osborn 66). In Douglass’ speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July,” Douglass denounces the Constitution because it still contains the right to hold and hunt slaves. He claims that the Constitution is the “antagonistic force in your government… it fetters your progress; it is the enemy of improvement” (Douglass 272). This tactic is similar to Garrison’s condemning of the Constitution. By denouncing the document in which the country’s main ideas and beliefs were founded on, it shocks and baffles audiences. This tactic was used to make sure his point got across, which was that the slavery provisions in the Constitution needs to be secluded. Unlike Garrison’s aggressive condemning, Douglass stresses that the Constitution holds the United States back from improvement. Garrison also interpreted that the Declaration of Independence as a document that pointed toward the need for a second revolution, a nonviolent revolution that would spread equality to all people, regardless of their color (Osborn 70). Douglass in his speech calls the Declaration of Independence the “great controversy of 1776” (Douglass 257).  He questions if the freedom and justice claimed in the Declaration of Independence are given to African Americans. Both Garrison and Douglass believe the Declaration is a good document, but because the principles and rights are not given to African Americans, they see it as a document that needs change. Garrison believes that the Declaration of Independence points toward a revolution where slavery should be abolished; while Douglass believes those rights within the Declaration of Independence need to be given to African Americans. Since Garrison and Douglass’ technique of undermining the Constitution and Declaration of Independence are similar, it is clear that Douglass was influenced by Garrison’s tactic. 

Abolitionist were known to be Christians, and many of them referenced Biblical figures and the Christian religion within their speeches. Garrison was known for attacking both the church and the state. In his attacks, he based his arguments on how they betrayed the founding ideals and concepts of Christian morality (Osborn 70). In one of William Lloyd Garrison’s letters he says “Slaveholding in all cases is a sin against God, and war upon mankind” (Osborn 72). Garrison uses this statement to try and make all the citizens who are Christians feel guilty for supporting slavery. Also within Douglass’ speech is the constant references of Christianity and Biblical figures. He references God, Jesus Christ, Abraham, Jacob, and Isiah. Douglass claims that slavery makes Christianity “a lie.” This is important because Christianity is the religion in which many United States citizens base their ethics and principles on. Douglass states that slavery invalidates the Christianity belief, in order to make citizens question if slavery does abide by their own ethics and beliefs. Both Garrison and Douglass reference Christianity because they grew up being devout Christians. Garrison became an advocate of religious social reform movements, because of his Christian values (Osborn 67). Garrison and Douglass both mention Biblical figures and Christianity to target their audiences Christian views. By claiming that slavery violated Christian morality, it encouraged people who were Christians join in on the fight against slavery. 

Another reason why Douglass was influenced by Garrison was because he was subscribed to a paper that Garrison edited in Massachusetts called The Liberator. When Douglass first gained his freedom, he became a subscriber to The Liberator, and said Garrison’s words “took a place in my heart second only to the Bible. His words were full of holy fire, and straight to the point” (Tillery 138). Douglass spread the Garrisonian principles and philosophy he learned after meeting Garrison in 1839 (Tillery 138). Garrison and Douglass accompanied each other at anti-slavery meetings across Massachusetts. This is important because Douglass is influenced by other experiences. This is shown when he took a visit to Ireland. He was shocked and felt that there was a “spirit of freedom” everywhere. This influenced his way of thinking, not just on American slavery but on other subject as well (Tillery 141). By spending so much time with Garrison and other abolitionist, it is clear that Douglass would have been influenced by them, whether it be techniques or just a way of thinking. Also in 1845, Garrison published a story in The Liberator called Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. The narrative was about the life of Frederick Douglass, starting from his escape to slavery and his transition to an abolitionist. The story was important because it showed other abolitionists and people the unique talent Douglass had as a writer. Quickly, Douglass’ popularity grew and he became respected as both a writer and an orator. Since Garrison and Douglass traveled together, as well as published pieces together, it is clear that there was some kind of friendly relationship between the two famous abolitionists. The high praise Douglass had on Garrison’s paper The Liberator also indicates that Garrison had some sort of impact on Douglass. 

From the research, we can conclude that Frederick Douglass was influenced by William Lloyd Garrison. Even though Douglass was an escaped slave and Garrison was a white male from Massachusetts the two had some similar background. Both men are proud Christians and based their ethics and beliefs from the Bible. Both men also believed that the Constitution was malevolent because of the provisions that allowed slavery. Both men believed in equality for all people, regardless of skin color. Later these two men would meet each other and travel together to anti-slavery conventions. Douglass would also become a subscriber and praise Garrisons popular paper The Liberator. From this we can conclude that the two men had a friendly relationship. Since Douglass quoted Garrison at the end of his speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July,” we can conclude that Garrison did in fact have an impact on Douglass. From my research I noticed that Douglass also used similar techniques and tactics that Garrison would use. For example, the referencing of significant Biblical figures and Christianity, as well as the tactic undermining historical documents like the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. This is very unique, and is not stated in many historical documents.




