History of Philosophy: India, Africana, China HAP 48 - Happy Holidays - Two Speeches by Frederick Douglass
Mar 15, 2020
Frederick Douglass, a promoter of world citizenship and appeals to conscience, discusses the significance of holidays in shaping national identity, the critique of glory, the use of denunciation and rebuke to confront slavery, global unity, African American celebrations of emancipation, and the role of violent resistance in British emancipation.
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Douglass's Holiday Irony
- Frederick Douglass contrasts the celebration of American Independence Day with Emancipation Day, revealing irony in the differing reasons for celebration.
- He highlights how freedom from British rule lacks meaning for enslaved Americans, while British abolition sparks genuine joy.
Denouncing Slavery Through Rebuke
- Douglass argues that in confronting slavery, argument and persuasion are unnecessary because the nation's laws already recognize slaves as human.
- He advocates for rebuke and scolding to awaken conscience and disrupt complacent hypocrisy.
Globalization Undermines Slavery
- Douglass celebrates the shrinking distances of the 19th century linking nations through technology and commerce.
- He predicts that slavery in America cannot survive the global gaze and mounting international disgust.