In a debate in 1851, famed abolitionist Wendell Phillips presented a moving and forceful argument for acceptance of African Americans into the military by telling the story of the Haitian general, Toussaint-Louverture. Phillips' message survives today, over a century later, not only as a tribute to the hero who rose from slavery to create the first black republic, but also as a compelling statement against racial discrimination. Expertly using a mix of literary devices, including juxtaposition, irony, metaphor, and personification, Phillips enables his audience to see, through the lens of the orator's mind, the ideals that he promotes.
Phillips' juxtaposition amplifies his argument that a man of color has the same capabilities as other men. The orator compares Toussaint, the leader of the only successful slave insurrection in history, to Napoleon, "the great captain of the nineteenth century." Ironically, both men, although adversaries, inspired political movements founded on the principle of liberty, equality, and brotherhood. Phillips next pits Toussaint against the revered George Washington. Both men were liberators - Washington fought for American independence, while Toussaint fought for human rights in Haiti. Positioning these heroes side by side, the difference between them becomes as apparent as their similarity; Washington was a slaveholder, and Toussaint was a slave liberator. Phillips then measures the Haitian general against the English leader, Oliver Cromwell. Concluding that Toussaint's successes surpassed Cromwell's, Phillips aptly points out "the state Cromwell founded went down with him into the grave." History bears out this assertion; in 1660, when Charles II came to the English throne, his supporters ...
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... the "soldier, the statesman, the martyr, Toussaint-Louverture."
The story of Toussaint-Louverture, in Phillips' own words, is "the story of a negro who has left hardly one written line." However, as related by Phillips, the story becomes epoch - as significant as the narratives of other legendary heroes. Through his imaginative use of literary devices, the writer allows us to visualize and see for ourselves, rather than just telling us; when we come across a phrase that we cannot interpret literally, we have to think. Using graphic imagery to communicate, Phillips achieves eminence not only in debating in favor of black men serving in the military in the Civil War, but also in conveying an enduring message against discrimination. "Born a slave, but given the soul of a free man," Phillips' image of Toussaint-Louverture remains indelibly etched in memory today.
C. Vann Woodward, who died in 1999 at the age of 91, was America's most Southern historian and the winner of a Pulitzer Prize, for Mary Chestnut's Civil War. He’s also a Bancroft Prize for The Origins of the New South. In honor of his long and adventurous career, Oxford is pleased to publish this special commemorative edition of Woodward's most influential work, The Strange Career of Jim Crow. The Strange Career of Jim Crow is one of the great works of Southern history. The book actually helped shape that historical curve of black liberation; it’s not slowed movement; it’s more like a rollercoaster.
In his work “Escape and Revolt in Black and White,” James M. McPherson discusses the lives of now famous black and white defenders of the black population and how society’s views of these individuals changed over time. The majority of his essay focused on the stories of Harriet Tubman, Harriet Jacobs, and John Brown, each of whom impacted their own immediate surroundings, even if only on a small scale, in an attempt to improve the condition of blacks. He investigates whether these now famous individuals became famous due to their own merits or as another piece of propaganda to support either side of the fight over civil rights. However, this overall point was very unclear and jumbled as he focused too heavily on just his narrative of these
Coates wrote a 176 page long letter to his 14 years old son to explain what the African American society were going through at the time being. In the book, Coates used himself as an example to demonstrate the unjust treatment that had been cast upon him and many other African Americans. Readers can sense a feeling of pessimism towards African American’s future throughout the entire book although he did not pointed it out directly.
A fifty-thousand French force of experienced soldiers arrives on the shores of Saint-Domingue. Not ready to give up their freedom and return to their previous servitude, the Africans of the colony defend themselves. Assisted by yellow fever and other diseases, they are a force to be trifled with. By November of the following year, the French surrender and within three months Jean-Jacques Dessalines declares independence from France and the new nation of Haiti is created. Frederick Douglass attributes their great success to the Negros themselves and their manhood, courage, and military skill in his Lecture on Haiti in 1893. He even solidifies these claims by pointing out how their intelligence and bravery has conserved their independence since 1804, almost ninety years prior to his lecture. By this time, Haiti has been around for almost a century and her supporters and opponents debate whether the Haitian revolution was a success or not. The citizens are labeled as lazy and superstitious, stereotyped in that neat little box with no room for movement. Douglass agrees that they can be a bit lazy and are ignorant, but they are not simple idle at all times. By this time, Haiti prospers on a coffee economy and continue to import and export goods from within her borders. Its important to recognize that this nation and its citizens were the first to fight and win their emancipation. The slave revolution in the former French colony of Saint-Domingue was a historic event that brought about universal liberties as other nations followed suit. In solidarity the slaves took up arms and fought until their chains broken. This should vindicate Haiti, at least in the eyes of Douglass. He believes that even though she has not yet met her full potential, she will become a
The symbols and language used in “Battle Royal” allow readers to understand the concept of being black in America; fighting for equality. Symbols such as the white blindfold, stripper, and battle itself all give a suggestion about how the unnamed protagonist felt, but more importantly, Ralph Ellison’s “Battle Royal” depicts the difficult struggles facing the black man in what’s supposed to be a post-slavery era.
A human being is a complicated entity of a contradictory nature, where creative and destructive, virtuous and vicious are interwoven. Each of us has gone through various kinds of struggle at least once in a lifetime, ranging from everyday discrepancies to worldwide catastrophes. There are always different causes and reasons that trigger these struggles, however, there is common ground for them as well: people are different, even though it is a truism no one seems to be able to realize this statement from beyond the bounds of one’s self and reach out to approach the Other. The concept of the Other is dominant in Frederick Douglass’s text “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro”, for it determines the main conflict and illuminates the issue of intolerance and even blasphemy regarding the attitude of white Americans towards Negroes. The text was written as a speech to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence and delivered at Rochester’s Corinthian Hall on July 5, 1852.
As an abolitionist and previous slave, Frederick Douglass comprehended that the way to opportunity and full citizenship for African American men walked strai...
The American Civil War is perhaps the most important event in U.S. history since the American Revolution. Over half a million men would perish between the Union and Confederate Armies. It is important to know that Ulysses S. Grant was an important figure (perhaps the most important behind Abraham Lincoln) in the war. Many will see him as the hero of the American Civil War. Nevertheless there were others who would play an important role to help the Union win the Civil War. The implementation of black soldiers was crucial to the Union in order to achieve victory against the Confederate Army. Yet, the contributions and accomplishments of black soldiers during the Civil War were overlooked for nearly a century following the Civil War. However, within the last 30 years, many scholars and historians have begun to publish books on the history of black soldiers and their contributions to the Civil War. During the Civil War, free blacks were permitted to serve in the Union Army. But it was not until 1863, that black soldiers would see combat and charge against the confederate armies. It is estimated that around 186,000 African American served the Union Army throughout the war, with the creation of 163 colored regiments. My research paper will focus on the Black regiments of the American Civil War and their importance to U.S. history. Some of the important issues that will be discussed in this paper will include the struggles of black soldiers during the Civil War, from their wage earnings (where most made less money than white soldiers); the clothes they wore (most had no uniforms at all). Also, many of these soldiers had trouble getting the basic necessities like shoes, socks and soap. Other areas I will discuss will be the discriminatio...
On July 5th of 1852, the Ladies Antislavery Society of Rochester requested that emancipated slave, Fredrick Douglass, speak for their celebration of the United States’ national independence. Douglass accepted this request and presented a powerful speech that explained and argued his true beliefs and feelings concerning this event. He considered their decision to request him as a speaker on that day to be a mockery of his past and of the ongoing status of blacks as slaves in America at the time. Nevertheless, Douglass skillfully constructed his speech utilizing various methods that forced his audience to take him seriously and think twice about the issue of slavery in America. His passion about the subject, his ability to captivate his audience, and his persuasive skills combine to form a clearly effective speech that continues to be studied to this day. Douglass warmed up his audience by commending the moral and patriotic excellence of their forefathers. He then delivered the argument of his speech which cleverly criticized the hypocrisy of the institution of slavery and those who tolerated or supported it. Yet, to conclude his speech, Douglass asserts that there is still hope for the young nation so as not to leave the audience completely discouraged. The way in which Douglass constructed and delivered this speech had a lasting impact and left his audience with an effectively argued point to consider.
“The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife, – this longing to attain self-consciousness, manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He would not Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa. He would not bleach his Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message f...
François Dominique Toussaint L'Ouverture was an educated former slave and soldier of the king that would eventually lead the revolution against French rule in Saint-Domingue. The prime objective of Toussaint’s letter to the Directory of France was to end colonial tyranny and declared an end to slavery in Saint-Domingue (Haiti) by utilizing the language of freedom and equality in reminisce of the French revolution. Toussaint fiercely pursued the abolition of slavery, as his letter warned the Directory of France against the reinstatement of slavery. Although Toussaint was captured in 1802 and executed in 1803 by the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte, his movement lived on. The French ultimately failed to recapture the island of Saint-Domingue, declaring the independent state of Haiti in 1804.
The plight of the civil rights movement stands as one of the most influential and crucial elements to African-American history. We can accredit many activist, public speakers, and civil rights groups, to the equality and civil rights that African-American men and women are able to have in this country today. We see repeated evidence of these historical movements describes in fiction, plays, TV, and many other forms of media and literature. An artistic license is provided to many authors developing these concepts amongst their writing. When examining specific characters and literary works you can see an indirect comparison to the personality traits, actions, decisions, and journey to that of real-life historical figures.
The literary work promoted patriotism and American virtues to America’s youth (Blakley, 2015). Within “The Columbian Orator” is a passage of banter between a runaway slave and his master in which “the slave was made to say some very smart as well as impressive things…things which had the desired though unexpected effect, for the conversation resulted in the voluntary emancipation of the slave on the part of the master” (Douglass, ps. 59 and 60). This proves Douglass’s intuitions into escaping slavery through literacy. Within the same book is one of Sheridan’s speeches on the subject of Catholic emancipation (Douglass, p. 60). The freedom of blacks can be compared to the freedom that Catholics now have of running for office despite detest from the Protestant community (Blakley, 2015). What Frederick Douglass got from reading Sheridan was “a bold denunciation of slavery, and a powerful vindication of human rights” (Douglass, p. 60). The teachings of Sheridan allowed Douglass to collect his thoughts on slavery and to argue against people who wanted to preserve slavery. Despite all of the good that Douglass received from these readings, it caused him to loathe his enslavers even more. Although Frederick Douglass’s competence allowed him to understand the possibility of freedom, it plunged his soul into a dark abyss of self-realization in knowing that he and his people were treated so poorly for such a long
Without being educated, slavers endure dehumanization and the control of their slaveholders. As a result, Douglass is motivated to get literate with ingenious strategies. He constantly bribes the “little white boys” and the “poor white children” who live closely with him to teach him reading with extra bread (Douglass 62). His writing lessons are from the boys who can compete with him in writing letters, Master Thomas’s book, and ship-yard. Along with his reading’s improvement, he comprehends the injustice between slaves and slaveholders from the books. A book “The Columbian Orator”, which provokes him the critical thinking about slavery and freedom. Through reading the Sheridan’s speeches that are from the same book, he claims, “[w]hat I got from Sheridan was a bold denunciation of slavery, and a powerful vindication of human rights” (Douglass 62). Sometimes he listens the discussion of abolition even though he does not really understands it. Until he gets a city paper that allows him to pray for “the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia” (Douglass 63), he understands the meaning of abolition. Being literate helps him understand the extensive knowledge, which is ready for
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, brings to light many of the social injustices that colored men, women, and children all were forced to endure throughout the nineteenth century under Southern slavery laws. Douglass's life-story is presented in a way that creates a compelling argument against the justification of slavery. His argument is reinforced though a variety of anecdotes, many of which detailed strikingly bloody, horrific scenes and inhumane cruelty on the part of the slaveholders. Yet, while Douglas’s narrative describes in vivid detail his experiences of life as a slave, what Douglass intends for his readers to grasp after reading his narrative is something much more profound. Aside from all the physical burdens of slavery that he faced on a daily basis, it was the psychological effects that caused him the greatest amount of detriment during his twenty-year enslavement. In the same regard, Douglass is able to profess that it was not only the slaves who incurred the damaging effects of slavery, but also the slaveholders. Slavery, in essence, is a destructive force that collectively corrupts the minds of slaveholders and weakens slaves’ intellects.