“ The American Antislavery Society took the boldest ground in favor of the immediate abolition of slavery, and its work was for many years looked upon as fanatical, or at least hopelessly impracticable, its members were denounced, its meetings broken up, and rewards offered in the South for its leaders alive or dead. Divergence of opinion on the question of political action caused a split in the society in 1840. The non-voters under Garrison, although but a small portion of the Abolitionists, gained control of the old society. ”