William Lloyd Garrison: Right

“Is Error, though unwittingly supported by a host of good men, stronger than Truth? Are Right and Wrong convertible terms, dependant upon popular opinion?”

William Lloyd Garrison

Introductory Remarks
Thoughts on African Colonization (1832)
Context: Is Error, though unwittingly supported by a host of good men, stronger than Truth? Are Right and Wrong convertible terms, dependant upon popular opinion? Oh no! Then I will go forward in the strength of the Lord of Hosts — in the name of Truth — and under the banner of Right. As it is not by might nor by power, but by the Spirit of God, that great moral changes are effected, I am encouraged to fight valiantly in this good cause, believing that I shall "come off conqueror, and more than conqueror" — yet not I, but Truth and Justice. It is in such a contest that one shall chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight.

Men , Truth , Error , Support

“We have a natural right, therefore, to seek the abolition of slavery throughout the globe.”

William Lloyd Garrison

John Brown and the Principle of Nonresistance http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=569 (16 December 1859)
Context: We have a natural right, therefore, to seek the abolition of slavery throughout the globe. It is our special duty to make Massachusetts free soil, so that the moment the fugitive slave stands upon it, he shall take his place in the ranks of the free. God commands us to "hide the outcast, and bewray not him that wandereth." I say, LET THE WILL OF GOD BE DONE! That is "the head and front" of my "fanaticism"! That is the extent of my "infidelity"! That comprehends all of my "treason"! THE WILL OF GOD BE DONE!

Nature

“Wherever there is a human being, I see God-given rights inherent in that being, whatever may be the sex or complexion.”

William Lloyd Garrison

Vol. III, p. 390
William Lloyd Garrison 1805-1879 (1885)

God , Sex

“For, by the logic of Concord, Lexington, and Bunker Hill, and by the principles enforced by this nation in its boasted Declaration of Independence, Capt. Brown was a hero, struggling against fearful odds, not for his own advantage, but to redeem others from a horrible bondage, to be justified in all that he aimed to achieve, however lacking in sound discretion. And by the same logic and the same principles, every slave-holder has forfeited his right to live, if his destruction be necessary to enable his victims to break the yoke of bondage; and they, and all who are disposed to aid them by force and arms, are fully warranted in carrying rebellion to any extent, and securing freedom at whatever cost.”

William Lloyd Garrison

No. 170 (28 October 1859)
The Liberator (1831 - 1866)

Fear , Freedom

“Better to be always in a minority of one with God — branded as madman, incendiary, fanatic, heretic, infidel — frowned upon by "the powers that be," and mobbed by the populace — or consigned ignominiously to the gallows, like him whose "soul is marching on," though his "body lies mouldering in the grave," or burnt to ashes at the stake like Wickliffe, or nailed to the cross like him who "gave himself for the world," — in defence of the RIGHT, than like Herod, having the shouts of a multitude crying, "It is the voice of a god, and not of a man!"”

William Lloyd Garrison

"Valedictory" (29 December 1865) http://fair-use.org/the-liberator/1865/12/29/valedictory in the last issue of The Liberator (1 January 1866)
The Liberator (1831 - 1866)

God , World , Soul , Cry

“You cannot possibly have a broader basis for any government than that which includes all the people, with all their rights in their hands, and with an equal power to maintain their rights.”

William Lloyd Garrison

Vol. IV, p. 224
William Lloyd Garrison 1805-1879 (1885)

People

“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

Declaration of Sentiments, Boston Peace Conference http://fair-use.org/the-liberator/1838/09/28/declaration-of-sentiments-adopted-by-the-peace-convention#p3 (28 September 1838)

Country , Revenge , World , Love

“The right to enjoy liberty is inalienable. To invade it is to usurp the prerogative of Jehovah. Every man has a right to his own body—to the products of his own labor—to the protection of law—and to the common advantages of society. It is piracy to buy or steal a native African, and subject him to servitude. Surely, the sin is as great to enslave an American as an African.”

William Lloyd Garrison

“Declaration of Sentiments of the American Anti-Slavery Convention,” speech in Philadelphia, (Dec. 6 1833) http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/abolitn/abeswlgct.html

Law

“Every slave is a stolen man; every slaveholder is a man-stealer. By no precedent, no example, no law, no compact, no purchase, no bequest, no inheritance, no combination of circumstances, is slaveholding right or justifiable. While a slave remains in his fetters, the land must have no rest.”

William Lloyd Garrison

"No Compromise with the Evil of Slavery" (1854) essay http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/185/civil-rights-and-conflict-in-the-united-states-selected-speeches/5061/no-compromise-with-the-evil-of-slavery-speech-1854/

Law