To the Public

Garrison stakes much of his argument on the immorality of slavery. He argues this point in both religious and secular terms. While this might seem obvious to the contemporary reader, Garrison wrote at a time when there were widespread counterarguments to his position. It would have been common for his audience to read and hear opinions that held slavery to be utterly moral and justified, having a basis in both Biblical and legal tradition.

Garrison takes pains to assert a divine morality that is not specific to any religious denomination. He wishes, he says, “to derive the assistance of all religions” (Paragraph 5). Readers would have been aware that Quakers, Presbyterians, and (Northern) Baptists were often associated with abolition, though nearly every group had members on both sides. Rather than following religious dogma as a guide to morality, Garrison invokes the religious but ecumenical concept of natural rights (see below) to bridge religious differences. That people are “endowed by their Creator” with rights both acknowledges the divine origins of equality and also leaves room for disagreement over theological details. He also invokes the American Revolution, seen by many as a moral war of the oppressed against the oppressor, as a touchstone for his argument. He draws an analogy between the struggle against slavery and the Revolution.

Garrison was deeply religious, though not a member of any particular church. He was influenced by the tenets of Protestantism that called for individuals to read and interpret the Bible for themselves rather than accept an interpretation given by a church. “To the Public” makes several Biblical references that a Bible-literate, 19th-century audience would quickly recognize. Garrison writes, for example, that people’s indifference to slavery—apathy is a great moral shortcoming for Garrison—will “hasten the resurrection of the dead” (Paragraph 6). In other words, the evil of slavery will accelerate the arrival of Judgement Day, when God will send the dead to their final destinations in Heaven or Hell.

Garrison goes on to quote from the Book of Proverbs when he cites “the fear of man that bringeth a snare” (Proverbs 29:25), which suggests that his courage to advocate for abolition is supported by God; the full proverb reads: “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” Slavery was violently contested in 1831, and many people who were opposed to it feared speaking out against it. Garrison assures his readers that their cause is righteous and that God will protect them.