The daughter of white Massachusetts abolitionists, Lydia Maria Child deepened her commitment to the elimination of slavery upon making the acquaintance of famed abolitionist leader William Lloyd Garrison in 1831. Already a successful and esteemed author of historical novels, Child drew upon her writing skills to better educate the northern population about the evils of slavery and further the cause of abolition. To this end, in 1833 she produced An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans, her most well-known work, which serves as both a history of slavery in America and a fierce condemnation of it. Reflecting the outlook of Garrison, the book calls for the immediate cessation of slavery rather than a gradual one, as recommended by more cautious abolitionists. While the controversial nature of the book cost Child a significant portion of her readership, it had the intended effect of informing many white people of the insidiousness of slavery and furthering the cause of abolitionism. This passage, from chapter eight, questions why laws existed throughout the country that prohibited marriages between individuals identified as members of different races.