Analysis Of Frederick Douglas's Speech At The Anti-Slavery

Frederick Douglas was an advocate of total abolition and women’s rights. In his Speech at the Anti-Slavery Association 1848, he provides a pictorial description of America in order to reveal the atrocities committed by slaveholders. Douglas does not care about who an individual is associated with (e.g. church or state) because if one not helping to find a solution to end slavery, and are indifferent, then one is merely adding to the problem of slavery. He does not support the union, constitution, or church as it is (254) because it furthers advocation of slaveholders and further deprives slaves. Skin color is merely an external factor, and was not intended to be seen as a distinction between peoples. He argues that God created all beings and …show more content…
He discusses that what an individual should do, is put themselves in the shoes of the slaves and advocate for their just treatment, which is what abolitionists do. However, abolitionists are broken up into multiple groups: the Republican Party, the Garrison, and Radical abolitionists. The Republican party sought for confinement of slavery within slave states, otherwise known as constitutional limits (258). However, Douglas does not agree with this because it still provides slave owners with the constitutional right to hold slave and do injustices onto them. Even though they hate slavery, they do not advocate total abolishment is necessary, believing slavery will die out on its own. The Garrison abolitionists strongly disliked the constitution because of its pro-slavery framing advocating “no union with slaveholders”(258). For this reason, the Garrison’s refused to vote for government officials. However, Douglas believes this is contradictory to abolitionists nature of advocating for those who do not have a voice and leaves slaves to fend for