38+ William Lloyd Garrison Quotes On Slavery, Abolitionist And Activist

William Lloyd Garrison was an American journalist, abolitionist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely-read anti-slavery newspaper The Liberator, which he founded in 1831. Garrison was a major figure in the American abolitionist movement and was one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Following is our collection on famous quotes by William Lloyd Garrison on slavery, abolitionist, activist.

Top 10 William Lloyd Garrison Quotes

1. There must be no compromise with slavery - none whatever. Nothing is gained, everything is lost, by subordinating principle to expedience.
2. I will be as harsh as truth, and uncompromising as justice... I am in earnest, I will not equivocate, I will not excuse, I will not retreat a single inch, and I will be heard.
3. With reasonable men, I will reason; with humane men I will plead; but to tyrants I will give no quarter, nor waste arguments where they will certainly be lost.
4. I have a need to be all on fire, for I have mountains of ice about me to melt.
5. You can not possibly have a broader basis for government than that which includes all the people, with all their rights in their hands, and with an equal power to maintain their rights.
6. Are right and wrong convertible terms, dependant upon popular opinion?
7. The success of any great moral enterprise does not depend upon numbers.
8. I will be as harsh as truth and as uncompromising as justice.
9. In firing his gun, John Brown has merely told what time of day it is. It is high noon.
10. Since the creation of the world there has been no tyrant like Intemperance, and no slaves so cruelly treated as his.

William Lloyd Garrison Short Quotes

• In proportion as we perceive and embrace the truth do we become just, heroic, magnanimous, divine.
• I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity?
• We may be personally defeated, but our principles never.
• Everyone should be treated fairly no matter what they look like.
• No man shall rule over me with my consent. I will rule over no man.
• We may be personally defeated, but our principles never!
• My country is the world; my countrymen are mankind.
• That which is not just is not law.
• Liberty for each, for all, and forever!
• Gradualism in theory is perpetuity in practice.

William Lloyd Garrison Quotes About Slavery

My crime is that I will not go with the multitude to do evil. My singularity is that when I say that freedom is of God and slavery is of the devil, I mean just what I say. My fanaticism is that I insist on the American people abolishing slavery, or ceasing to prate on the rights of man. — William Lloyd Garrison

Be faithful, be vigilant, be untiring in your efforts to break every yoke, and let the oppressed go free. Come what may - cost what it may - inscribe on the banner which you unfurl to the breeze, as your religious and political motto - "NO COMPROMISE WITH SLAVERY! NO UNION WITH SLAVEHOLDERS — William Lloyd Garrison

It [slavery] has exercised absolute mastery over the American Church. . . . With the Bible in their hands, her priesthood have attempted to prove that slavery came down from God out of heaven. They have become slaveholders and dealers in human flesh. — William Lloyd Garrison

Slavery will not be overthrown without excitement, a most tremendous excitement. — William Lloyd Garrison

William Lloyd Garrison Famous Quotes And Sayings

Our country is the world, our countrymen are all mankind. We love the land of our nativity, only as we love all other lands. The interests, rights, and liberties of American citizens are no more dear to us than are those of the whole human race. Hence we can allow no appeal to patriotism, to revenge any national insult or injury. — William Lloyd Garrison

Little boldness is needed to assail the opinions and practices of notoriously wicked men; but to rebuke great and good men for their conduct, and to impeach their discernment, is the highest effort of moral courage. — William Lloyd Garrison

To say that everything in the bible is to be believed , simply because it is found in that volume, is equally absurd and pernicious... To discard a portion of scripture is not necessarily to reject the truth, but may be the highest evidence that one can give of his love of truth. — William Lloyd Garrison

Let Southern oppressors tremble-let their secret abettors tremble-let their Northern apologists tremble-let all the enemies of the persecuted blacks tremble. — William Lloyd Garrison

A man's country is the world. — William Lloyd Garrison

And now let me give the sentiment which has been, and ever will be, the governing passion of my soul: 'Liberty for each, for all, and forever!' — William Lloyd Garrison

There is no safety where there is no strength; no strength without Union; no Union without justice; no justice where faith and truth are wanting. The right to be free is a truth planted in the hearts of men. — William Lloyd Garrison

Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; but urge me not to use moderation in a case like the present. — William Lloyd Garrison

The standard of matrimony is erected by affection and purity, and does not depend upon the height, or bulk, or color, or wealth, or poverty of individuals. Water will seek its level; nature will have free course; and heart will answer to heart. — William Lloyd Garrison

I am in earnest -- I will not equivocate -- I will not excuse --I will not retreat a single inch --and I will be heard! — William Lloyd Garrison

It is for us to discharge the high duties that devolve on us, and carry our race onward. To be no better, no wiser, no greater than the past is to be little and foolish and bad; it is to misapply noble means, to sacrifice glorious opportunities for the performance of sublime deeds, to become cumberers of the ground. — William Lloyd Garrison

The Sabbath, as now recognized and enforced, is one of the main pillars of Priestcraft and Superstition, and the stronghold of a merely ceremonial Religion. — William Lloyd Garrison

Has not the experience of two centuries shown that gradualism in theory is perpetuity in practice? Is there an instance, in the history of the world, where slaves have been educated for freedom by their task-masters? — William Lloyd Garrison

I am in earnest - I will not equivocate - I will not excuse - I will not retreat a single inch - and I will be heard! — William Lloyd Garrison

Life Lessons by William Lloyd Garrison

1. William Lloyd Garrison was an American journalist and abolitionist who demonstrated the power of peaceful protest in the fight for justice. He taught us that determination and perseverance can lead to positive change, no matter how difficult the task.
2. He also showed us the importance of standing up for what is right and speaking out against injustice, even in the face of opposition and criticism.
3. Finally, Garrison's example of courage and moral conviction can inspire us to take action to make the world a better place.