The Contributions of Frederick Douglas, William Apess, Sarah Margaret Fuller, and Sojourner Truth

The Contributions of Frederick Douglas, William Apess, Sarah Margaret Fuller, and Sojourner Truth

As has been noted before, when we look at the authors of The Declaration of Independence, we are quite aware that the 'document' was written in the interest of the people who were there. The wealthy, white, landowners make up the Constitution to fit their needs and exclude everyone else. The people most notably left without rights are African American's, Native American's and Women. These minority groups formed a bond with each other because they were outside the dominant group. These groups of people helped gain their strength and voice through speeches and conventions with each one using the very words of the Constitution as their platform. During this time powerful voices spoke out like: Frederick Douglas, William Apess, Margaret Fuller, and Sojourner Truth, who didn't have the advantage of a formal education, but still found a way to become educated or taught themselves.

A brilliant speaker, "Abolionist, women's rights advocate,journalist and newspaper editor, social reformers and race leader, Frederick Douglas was unquestionably one of the most prominent black leaders of the nineteenth century and one of the most eloquent orators in American public life"(1751). Frederick Douglas was basically self-taught and his voice became so polished that he was in fear of losing the audience of his own race to the cause of freeing slaves because he sounded "too white". Douglas was asked to speak at a Fourth of July celebration and in his speech; What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? ; He expresses that it is: "Your National Independence, and of your political freedom"(1819). He reaches out to his audience by showin...

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...ither has been answered fully"(2022). This is the backbone of most of the representative material. It is based on spiritual and Christian thought and that people are created and given their rights by God. Since most of these authors weren't taught in the classical sense the Bible was a useful and sometimes life altering tool. Hopefully, we will learn more about these representational authors so that as a collective group of Americans we can fully understand their impact on the growth and development of our country.

Works Cited

The Heath Anthology of American Literature Copyright 1998 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Issues in Feminism Copyright 1998,1995,1990 by Mayfield Publishing Company

Owl-eyes Biography and Etexts

http://owleyes.org/douglas.htm

Bright Moments

http://brightmoments.com/blackhistory/nsotrue:html