Douglass' Theories
What is "Self-Made Men"?
Individuals who achieve success through their own efforts and hard work.
What did the Civil War set up in regards to Douglass and society?
This war, which ended in 1865, set the stage for Douglass' speech and the Reconstruction era.
Define the Reconstruction era
Refers to the period following the Civil War when the Southern states were reorganized and reintegrated into the Union.
Channing was physically weak. Milton was blind. Montgomery was small and effeminate. But those men were more to the world than a thousand Sampsons”(63)
Ethos
Education
self taught
What is "perseverance"?
Douglass argued that a self made man is often defined as the ability to overcome obstacles and persist.
What did Douglass deliver in 1859?
Douglass delivered his "Self-Made Men" speech.
What is the 14th Amendment?
This amendment granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including former slaves.
"that man who will get up will be helped; and the man who will be allowed to stay down."(34)
Logos
occupation
American abolitionist, and orator
What is "education"?
Douglass emphasized the importance for personal and societal progress.
What is the emancipation proclamation?
Issued by Abraham Lincoln; declared the freedom of enslaved people in the Confederate states.
What is the freedmen's Bureau?
Established in 1865; to aid freed slaves during the reconstruction era.
“ Not transient and fitful effort, but patient, enduring, honest unremitting and indefatigable work into which the whole heart is put, and which, in both temporal and spiritual affair's, is the true miracle worker. Everyone may avail himself of this marvelous power, if he will. there is no royal road to perfection. Certainly no one must wait for some kind of friend to put a springing bored under his feet, upon which he may easily bound from the first round of their ladder onward upward to it’s highest round” (38)
Pathos
Famous speech
What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?
What is "self-reliance"
Douglass believed that self-made men must possess traits that involve taking responsibility for one's actions.
What happened in 1865? (Hint: one of the amendments)
The 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery.
What is the 15th Amendment?
Nature tolerates no halfness. He who wants hard hands must not, at sight of the first blister, fling away the spade, the rake, the bored ax or the hoe; for the blister is the primary condition to the needed hardness. To abandon work is not only to throw away the means of success, but it is also to part with the ability to work.”(51)
Pathos
Birthday
February 20, 1895
Which historical figure did Douglass use as an example of a self-made man?
Abraham Lincoln
What is the reconstruction act?
Laid out the process for readmitting Southern states into the Union.
This president succeeded Abraham Lincoln and was responsible for implementing much of the early Reconstruction policies.
"The wonder is that its varies do not see its consequences. It does go away with that noble and just idea of Abraham Lincoln, that our government should be a government of the people, by the people, and for the the people, and for all the people."
Ethos and Logos
Death date
February 20, 1895