Liberia Capital Monrovia Analysis

Douglass got his passion to promote freedom for all slaves after he escaped from slavery and ultimately had an end goal to “abolish slavery in all its forms and aspects, and promote the moral and intellectual improvement of the coloured people and hasten the day of freedom to the three million of enslaved fellow countrymen”. He also wrote several autobiographies describing his experiences as a slave. One of the autobiographies in particular, ‘Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave’ published in 1845 was a best-selling and was extremely influential for promoting the cause of abolition. The narrative shows a compelling argument to basic human rights thus making it extremely influential as the narrative clearly possesses features and linguistic skills, which for most white people, negated their common perception of black people being illiterate in the 19th century.

By supporting the Revolutionaries actions to break free from British Rule, Douglass alluded to the similar fight that the American population faced to attain the same liberty that white citizens had. With the same courage the Founding Fathers had to create a free country, the American generation of 1852 faced a similar test to uphold the values of the Declaration of Independence, and liberate American slaves.7 After applauding the Founding Fathers, Douglass acknowledges that the emphasis of his speech is not to give praise, but to call on America to act on it’s own failures and begin to faithfully fulfill the nations oath.8 He asks his audience, “Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us [African Americans]?”9 This rhetorical question Douglass presents, challenges America to reevaluate what they are truly celebrating on the Fourth of July, for it is surely not the freedom in which they claim to have achieved. Douglass asserts that asking black people to rejoice in the “shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery”10 and do not respect the courage, and steps the Founding Fathers took to create a free, liberated nation.11

“Free Black people still faced danger. Many appeared in court to ask for a Certificate of Freedom. The claimant had to prove that he/she was born free or had been previously freed. If the court was satisfied, it would

Document B is a journal entry written by, Charles Mackay in 1859. It is about some of the rights and restrictions that free blacks had in the North. According to Doc. B, “He shall be free to live, and to thrive, if he can, and to pay taxes and perform duties…”. Document B shows that black men in the North were given the freedom to have a thriving life, pay taxes and have an occupation.

Despite the private donations and decent funding, only few trips were made and little people were escorted out resulting in the formation of only one colony that would become Liberia, nothing large enough as to affect the nation greatly. This period of soft spoken activists did have some national affects but was not by any means revolutionary.

The statement from the letter from a fugitive slave suggest that the slave-owner tried to make it seem as though it was a privilege to be a slave. Stating that slaves have a better life than free blacks because they have food, shelter and can receive medical assistance if needed. In reality all she was trying to do was brainwash the slaves into thinking that them not being slaves would make their lives even harder. Now, that statement may not be inaccurate but, a colored person in those times would rather be free and having to worry about where their next meal will come from than to be treated like an animal. In todays society everyone in the country of the united states is supposed to be treated equally but, people of color still have a difficult

He greets them with a reserved yet cheerful, “Mr. President, Friends, and Fellow Citizens…” (117). He remains respectful of those in authority, while simultaneously conveying to his audience that he, a black man and freed slave, shares in their celebrated citizenship. Douglass, however, does not limit his correlation with the audience there; he then goes so far as to address them as “friends”. This greeting and introduction perfectly prefaces the righteous ridicule that is to come. These men, products of the free town of Rochester, are oblivious to the absurd juxtaposition that is present before

 On 2 December 1853, Douglass himself wrote and published a letter to Harriet Beecher Stowe concerning her added involvement in abolitionism in Frederick Douglass' Paper. In this letter Douglass directly, under his own name, praises Uncle Tom's Cabin as a useful tool in the fight for abolitionism. He writes, "I desire to express, dear Madam, my deep sense of the value of the services which you have already rendered my afflicted and persecuted people, by the publication of your inimitable book on the subject of slavery. That contribution to our bleeding cause, alone, involves us in a debt of gratitude which cannot be measured . . . ." (Douglass) . By writing this letter, Douglass establishes the novel as both valuable and sympathetic to the plight of the enslaved African American. His stature as the premiere African American abolitionist affirms this to the public.

Later on, he says, “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed to the

Reading the first letter from Jourdan Anderson, one of the meanings of freedom one can take away from the tone of Anderson’s diction is the freedom to throw shade. Seriously, Anderson is now a free man and thus free to write smugly to his former master, and eloquently so. His letter essentially tells the Colonel there is no chance in hell that he and his family will return to live with the man who previously enslaved them. Anderson also expressed he knew he was already a free man in response to the Colonel promising his freedom upon his return. Anderson states, “there is nothing to be gained on that score, as I got my free papers in 1864 from the Provost-Marshal-General of the Department of Nashville.” That line asserts to the Colonel that going returning to Big Spring would not be advantageous because he can already live freely with his family. He does not need, nor want to return to the Colonel’s home.

In lines 18-32, Douglass describes what was an abnormality in those times- a white woman (his master’s wife) taking pity on him, and teaching him to read and write. Douglass’s juxtaposition of his master’s wife’s attitude toward him- which was one of a “pious, warm and tender-hearted” nature, to the way the rest of society perceived him as a “mere chattel” helped highlight just how abnormal her behavior was. This contrast further developed through the fact that to treat a slave as a human being back in those days was “not only wrong, but dangerously so,” yet despite that commonplace assertion found all throughout life back then, his master’s wife still treated Douglass no different than she would treat a friend. This section of the text elaborated upon her kind-hearted nature, which led her to pity and help those worse off than her, no matter how society perceived it. Douglass emphasized this point by using mostly long, well constructed sentences that were filled with figurative language. This syntax helped elaborate upon the tone of newfound hope in this section, by demonstrating his flowing thoughts and feelings, due to his newfound freedoms. This syntax helped emphasize the fact that Douglass had acquired the very knowledge slave owners sought to keep from him, therefore acquiring the power that had been kept from him his whole life.

Phillis Wheatley wrote, To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth, to William Legge, a British politician who sided with the American’s wishes to repeal the Stamp Act, and refused to personally wage war against them. This poem is often viewed as a poem dedicated to congratulating and praising Legge for his amiable actions towards the American people. However, this idea is not entirely true. Wheatley’s poem isn’t solely a poem of praise but a desperate woman’s plea for help. In the poem Wheatley employs tactics of sympathy, empath, and bribery to convince Legge to use his influence to aid the African American race. It is important that we realize this poem is a cry for help because not only do we overlook Wheatley’s intelligence, but we also ignore he utter frustration and helplessness that the African American’s felt during the conclusion of the American Revolution.

In “To My Old Master, Thomas Auld” By Frederick Douglass, Douglass wrote about the horrid things that happened to him, his family and other slaves. By writing the letter, Douglass became an activist with a strong voice. He spoke for himself, former slaves and slaves that were currently in chains. He used his strong voice to portray his feelings and experiences, he showed emotion through his words. By doing so he created empathy in the reader, something that many before him were not able to do. The white population was hard to get through but Douglass managed to bring them to understand by using his extraordinary literary skills and described his experience with vivid imagery. He used word play and imagery to draw attention to the horrible treatment of colored folk in the 1800’s.

In the except from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, he did not talk about the horrible treatment of a slave like beatings they would receive or how they were not fed but rather how they were ripped away from their family and friends. . (Foner, 2011) The author wanted the reader to realize that they were parted from family and friends because of the greed of the white man and that this is the new refinement in cruelty during those times. He made it known that the only positive aspect of being a slave was at least they were able to be with their friends and family, but now the white man had taken that away. He is asking the white men to live up to their perceived belief in liberty and that all men are created equal according to their god. He also is asking, why the African people should give up their comfort of being together because the white men want their luxuries.

It is this dignity that many African people's all but lost in the colonial period...The writer's duty is to help them regain it by showing them in human terms what happened to them, what they lost." (Achebe/Killam Eds. Pg. 159.)