William Lloyd Garrison’s Copy of the Constitution

Origins
William Lloyd Garrison was a northern abolitionist whose newspaper, The Liberator, demanded immediate freedom for slaves. He was a staunch New England supporter of abolitionism, harshly criticizing slavery and later becoming a women’s rights’ activist. The moment he is best remembered for is when he publicly burned a copy of the American Constitution, condemning it for allowing slavery.

Effects
Causes severe distrust to those who make compromises and, in the user’s eyes, let ‘evils’ live on. It also causes increased anger towards everybody. When Garrison noticed he got angrier when he read it, he felt the allowance of slavery was a pact with the devil that had to be destroyed. To get rid of his affliction, he deliberately burned it in the town’s public square. The only reason the effects are known is because he documented his bout of anger, and it appeared some of the effects rubbed off onto his composing stick.