On January 1st, 1831, Garrison published his first issue of the Liberator. This was an anti-slavery newspaper that would be issued weekly and this was founded along with Garrison's best friend, Isaac Knapp. On this first issue, there was a line, "I am in earnest — I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD." This built his reputation as an abolitionist.
An Abolitionist Newspaper
In the beginning, this newspaper did not circulate much. In 1834, there were only 2,000 subscribers and among these, about three fourths of them were black. There were also people that paid the Liberator to have it given to statesmen and also important officials. In the paper itself, there were anti-slavery essays as well as poems. Garrison had a key theme of believing that the Constitution is flawed. He saw that the blacks were not being protect nor did it allow them to be United State citizens. He felt that the Constitution was sinful. There were also opinions on slavery related events that were written in the paper such as the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Dred Scott decision.
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Additionally, this paper made Garrison seem like a violent radical to his critics. Garrison was a man that advocated a peaceful reformation and abolition of slavery, but his opposition would think otherwise. There was once where Garrison was indicted. He was believed to be providing Nat Turner's rebellion with incendiary weapons with his distribution of the Liberator.
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Overtime, the Liberator expanded and it reached out to more states. Northern states would have many subscribers because of the abolitionist nature of the people there. It also reached out of the country like Canada and also people that were in Congress.
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On December 29, 1865, his 1,820th issue was published and so was his last. This newspaper allowed Garrison to be influential and it built a huge reputation for him. This was the main reason why other major abolitionist would work with Garrison to found organizations.