Though plagued by illness and death in his family in the years covered here, Garrison strove to win supporters for abolitionism, lecturing and touring with Frederick Douglass. He continued to write for The Liberator and involved himself in many liberal causes; in 1849 he publicized and circulated the earliest petition for women's suffrage.

Garrison's letters offer an insight into the mind and life of an outstanding figure in American history, a reformer-revolutionary who sought radical changes in the institutions of his day, and who, perhaps more than any other single individual, was ultimately responsible for the emancipation of the slaves.

Despite provocation, Garrison was a proponent of nonresistance during this period, though he continued to advocate the emancipation of slaves. Set against a background of wide-ranging travels throughout the western U.S. and of family affairs back home in Boston, these letters make a distinctive contribution to antebellum life and thought.

William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879), outstanding among the dedicated fighters for the abolition of slavery, was also an activist in other movements such as women's and civil rights and religious reform. Never tiring in battle, he was 'irrepressible, uncompromising, and inflammatory.' He antagonized many, including some of his fellow reformers. There were also many who loved and respected him. But he was never overlooked.