Garrison publishes Angelina Grimké's anti-slavery letter in The Liberator

Background. The Liberator was a weekly abolitionist newspaper published in Boston by William Lloyd Garrison from 1831 to 1865. It served as a community bulletin board for the abolitionist movement, frequently printing letters and reports. Garrison founded the paper in 1831, and it gained nationwide notoriety for its uncompromising advocacy of immediate emancipation, with a circulation of about 3,000 in 1834.

Publication. Angelina Grimké sent a letter to Garrison recalling her experiences as a member of an upper-class, white, slaveholding family. The Liberator inspired her to publicly join the abolitionist movement. Garrison published this letter in September 1835, marking the beginning of her greatest fame. The publication occurred in Boston, where Garrison printed and published the newspaper.

Context. The publication occurred during a period of intense abolitionist activity in Boston. In 1835, violence erupted when George Thompson spoke in public, and a mob formed in resistance to his planned speech at the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society. The Liberator also promoted women's rights, an issue that split the American abolitionist movement.