Garrison’s Four Major Convictions

In his famous July 4, 1829, public speech at the Park Street Church, Boston, the twenty-three year old Garrison, announced what became central convictions of his life.    1.  Above all others, slaves in America deserve the prayers, and sympathies, and charities of the American people.    2. the non-slave-holding states are constitutionally involved in the guilt of slavery, and are obligated to assist in its overthrow.   3.  There is no valid or religious justification for the preservation of slave.   4. The ‘colored population’ of America should be freed, given an education, and accepted as equal citizens with whites.