Write the word “Editorial” at the top of the board or screen at the front of the classroom and ask students to define it. As students share their definitions, record key words and phrases on one side of the board/screen, focusing especially on how editorials are different from news reports/articles. Next, ask students to brainstorm some of the ways that newspaper editorials contributed to the abolitionist movement. Record key words and phrases on the other side of the board/screen. (Ensure students identify “debating tactics or opinions” as one way that editorials contributed to the abolitionist movement.)

Inform students that William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass—two of the nation’s most influential anti-slavery activists and abolitionist publishers—ended their long-term partnership due to disagreements over tactics and ideology in the abolitionist movement. Tell students that they are going to examine this debate by reading and discussing excerpts from Garrison’s The Liberator and Douglass’s North Star that touch on one aspect of their disagreement.

Distribute Frederick Douglass, “Change of Opinion Announced,” North Star, May 15, 1851 to half the student pairs and William Lloyd Garrison, “No Compromise with the Evil of Slavery,” The Liberator, February 24, 1854 to the other half. Instruct students to read their excerpt and underline key passages that reveal the author’s views on the relationship between slavery and the U.S. Constitution. Then students should work with their partner to summarize their editorial excerpt and choose at least two passages from the editorial that best support their author’s overall argument about slavery and the U.S. Constitution. 

Next, begin a Jigsaw activity by creating new groups of four by combining pairs who read each of the editorials and distributing the Comparison T Chart to each student. Instruct students to fill in the Comparison T Chart as they “teach each other” the main arguments of their author’s editorial and share their supporting passages from the text. 

After students have filled in their Comparison T Charts, bring the class back together, review their findings, and lead a final discussion:

  • Why did Douglass “change his opinion” on the U.S. Constitution? According to his editorial, what did Douglass now believe?
  • How did Garrison respond to Douglass’s arguments? According to his editorial, what did Garrison believe about the U.S. Constitution?
  • (Speculate) How might different abolitionists have responded to this debate? How might pro-slavery supporters have responded to this debate?
  • Why is it important that this debate took place publicly in newspapers (as opposed to in private)?

Editorial Debates: Garrison and Douglass on the Constitution