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Read a collection of slave narratives. You can find them at the library or at any of the following sites: The African American Mosaic; The African American Slavery Page of the Hisorical Text Archive ; the University of South Carolina's Documenting the American South, or the Excerpts from Slave Narratives page at the University of Houston. What elements seem common to many of the narratives? Can you offer any explanation for why those elements were typically included in the stories? (What emotions and/or ideas might they provoke in nineteenth century readers?) Is Frederick Douglass's narrative different in any respects?
Read some of Frederick Douglass's speeches (available at the library and at the The Douglass Archives of Public Address)and write a summary of some of the points he was trying to communicate to his audiences. How did his ideas change over the course of time and what do those changes tell you about how America was or wasn't changing during those years?
Read one or more of the narratives written by nineteenth century slave-owners; you can find a selection at Documenting the American South. How do these descriptions of slavery differ from the one offered by Douglass?
Write a brief summary of the abolition movement and include a discussion of the main ideas which were championed by Frederick Douglass as part of that movement. You will find useful background material at the African-American Mosaic Exhibition sponsored by the Library of Congress. You should probably also read some of the lectures offered by Douglass and others on this issue; one collection can be found at the Douglass Project's Controversy/Movement List of Speeches and Documents.
What was the nature of the nineteenth century American "conversation" on the subject of slavery? In other words, what kinds of arguments did people make to attack or support slavery? What kind of role do Frederick Douglass's writings play in this conversation; in what ways is he echoing or responding to arguments which have been put forth by others? How do his arguments connect to concerns, beliefs, and values we have encountered in other nineteenth century American works? What "voice" does Douglass use when contributing to this discussion, and why does he choose to express his ideas in that particular voice?
As a starting point for your deliberations, you may wish to read the course pages entitled:
Arguments in Support of Slavery
and Autobiography as Argument.
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