Francis Jackson Garrison, William Lloyd Garrison, 1805-1879; the story of his life told by his children: volume 2

Side by side with this moral and religious quickening, the political measures already employed by the abolitionists not only were maintained, but assumed a fresh and for the moment an overshadowing importance. Petitioning to Congress went on, in forms new and old, against the standing iniquity of Federal slaveholding, against impending extensions of the area of slavery,² against the denial of the right of petition itself. By the same means the Northern State legislatures were again incited to present resolves of a like tenor—to renew them when they had been unheeded—to protest against the affront when they were even unread and ³ unconsidered. The catechising of candidates, Congressional and local, was unabated, and began to tell in nonelections. With almost absolute unanimity, however, the abolitionists refused to side with either party as such, and adopted the negative formula of duty—to vote for no man who would not take anti-slavery ground on the cardinal issues of the hour. They were ready, as Stanton said, to ‘stamp abolitionism upon all political⁴ parties,’ but they would neither commit themselves to any nor form a party of their own. The address of the Massachusetts Board cited above, which undertook to⁵ define the nature and limits of the political functions of abolitionists, pronounced a distinct party organization⁶ in the highest degree dangerous, if not fatal, to the cause, which would cease to be primarily religious.⁷ Such a party, being in the minority, would be exposed