SOURCE: Zinn, Howard. “Abolitionists, Freedom-Riders, and the Tactics of Agitation.” In The Antislavery Vanguard: New Essays on the Abolitionists, edited by Martin Duberman, pp. 417-54. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1965.

In the following excerpt, Zinn addresses Garrison as a political “extremist,” discussing his overall influence on the attitudes of average Americans toward the slavery question in the mid-nineteenth century.

“Extremist” carries a psychological burden when attached to political movements, which it does not bear in other situations. A woman who is extremely beautiful, a man who is extremely kind, a mechanic who is extremely skillful, a child who is extremely healthy—these represent laudable ideals. In politics, however, the label “extremist” carries unfavorable implications. It may mean that the person desires a change in the status quo which is more sweeping than that requested by most people. For instance, in a period when most people are willing...