Document · book

Papers relating to the Garrison mob

Lyman, Theodore, 1833-1897, 1870. A public-domain text about Boston, accessioned whole so the archive can quote it.

Document

Type

book

Author

Lyman, Theodore, 1833-1897

Publisher

Cambridge [Mass.] : Welch, Bigelow

Published, as stated

1870

Language

en

Media type

text/plain; charset=utf-8

Size

127608 bytes

Preservation

preserved

Digest (SHA-256)

6f5b76cf441ddb2646cd79a9e8717ceaf6b9287766e6c589eaf9c09e78f2ab17

Text

Extracted text, as held. Quoted without alteration.

THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IN MEMORY OF ALEXANDER GOLDSTEIN PAPERS RELATING TO THE GARRISON MOB. EDITED BY THEODORE LTMAN, 3D. CAMBRIDGE : WELCH, BIGELOW, AND COMPANY, I'KINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY. 1870. LOAN STACK UNIVERSITY PRESS : WELCH, BIGELOW, & Co., CAMBRIDGE. f- HARDLY a night passes in any of our large cities without greater violence done to person and to property than occurred in the so-called "Garrison mob." Although its results scarcely entitle it to the name of a riot, it has more historical importance than can be claimed by some battles. This wretched street fight was indeed the first muttering of that awful storm which was to burst over this country a quarter of a century later. In October of 1835 there had come to Boston Mr. George Thompson, a Scotchman, who proposed to speak publicly in favor of the abolition of negro slavery. This was a discussion which few people then heard patiently, especially from the lips of a foreigner ; and a considerable excitement followed. There was to be a meeting of the Female Anti- slavery Society, and the Mayor, Theodore Lyman, Jr., sent a messenger to Mr. Garrison, editor of an anti- slavery paper called the Liberator, to ask if Thomp son would then speak; because, in such a case, it would be necessary to provide additional police. Mr. Garrison replied that Thompson would not be 132 present, and consequently no unusual precautions were taken. The meeting took place at the rooms of the Society, No. 46 Washington Street, in the afternoon of October 21st. The Mayor was soon told that the few constables on the spot were not enough to preserve order, and he went in person with more men. The mob be came larger and more threatening, but was prevented by the police from entering the building. Mr. Gar rison, considering his person in imminent danger, es caped by a back window into Wilson's Lane, where he was seized and roughly handled by the rioters, and was dragged into State Street. There he was rescued by the authorities, and taken into the Old State House, a portion of which was then used as a City Hall. As night was drawing on, and the mob seemed likely to grow too strong for the constables, it was thought best to place Mr. Garrison for safety in the jail, and to this end he was committed, pro forma., as implicated in a riot. He was taken from the City Hall, placed by dint of hard fighting in a carriage, and driven safely to the jail. The next morning he was set free, having sustained certain damage to his clothing, but none in his person. Such is a sketch of this riot, and one that all parties will assent to as true. But there are other and important points which are by no means so easily settled. The following newspaper articles will bring out, quite emphatically, some of these points, and will serve to introduce a general consideration of the affair. 5 No. I. [From the Boston Daily Advertiser of Wednesday, November 3, 1869.] THE GARRISON MOB. To THE EDITORS OF THE BOSTON DAILY ADVERTISER : — In your report of Mr. Phillips's lecture on the Question of To-morrow, he is made to say, concern ing the Garrison or " Gentleman's " riot, " He saw the Mayor of the city, cap in hand, almost on his knees, entreating the men who were his social com panions to have the kindness to obey the laws." I beg to say that the above statem

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Identity

Identifier

urn:lemay:boston:document:papers-relating-to-the-garrison-mob

Canonical URL

https://boston.fyi/document/papers-relating-to-the-garrison-mob

As JSON

https://boston.fyi/document/papers-relating-to-the-garrison-mob.json

Version

1 · last changed 5 September 2026