The Liberator

Gr 7—10—This informative biography deftly describes the man and the times in which he lived. Born in Massachusetts in 1805, Garrison overcame childhood poverty to find work in the newspaper business as a writer and editor. A staunch Federalist, he used his newspaper to promote his political beliefs and, after hearing Benjamin Lundy speak in 1828, devoted his life to the abolition of slavery. Garrison disagreed with Lundy's view of gradual emancipation and colonization and established The Liberator in 1831 to publish his views. He angered many people and his life was often threatened, but he remained committed to the cause. Esty places Garrison in context of the Mexican War, the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Dred Scott decision, and the beginnings of the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation. The author notes that Garrison's grandson, Oswald Garrison Villard, became one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Illustrated with full-color photographs and reproductions, the book contains extensive documentation and back matter.—Patricia Ann Owens, Illinois Eastern Community Colleges