William Lloyd Garrison in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

William Lloyd Garrison

Garrison first meets Douglass at an anti-slavery convention, where the audience convinces a reluctant Douglass to stand up and talk about his experiences as a slave. Garrison is really impressed with Douglass and encourages him to become more active in the movement.

This is a big break for Douglass, since Garrison was an important abolitionist leader. Douglass and Garrison would later have serious disagreements about politics, but in 1845 – when the Narrative was published – they were still close friends, and Garrison wrote the preface to the book.