Garrison was jealous of anyone who competed with
him for leadership. His brand of abolitionism attacked the
Constitution as a vicious document giving sanction to slavery. He
advocated that the Northern states separate from the South as a
means of removing federal protection from slavery. Because the
government was based on an unholy document, he concluded that
any kind of political action automatically enmeshed one in this
evil system. He was vehemently against the use of violence to
overthrow slavery and insisted that moral persuasion was the only
legitimate tool in the cause. Anyone who did not support his doctrines
faithfully was viewed as an enemy. This meant that he did not
cooperate with abolitionists who condoned the use of violence
or with those who were willing to accept the Constitution and engage in
political action.
Ironically, the abolitionist movement was also divided by racial
prejudice. While opposing slavery, some refused to believe in
political equality. Others were willing to grant political
equality, but resisted the idea of social mixing. The
Philadelphia anti-slavery society spent many meetings debating
whether it should extend membership to blacks, and, by a majority of
two, it finally voted to drop its color bar.
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