Argumentative Writing - ELA.8.C.1.3: Write to argue a position, supporting at least one claim and rebutting at least one counterclaim with logical reasoning, credible evidence from sources . His fair-play principle required, first and foremost, the cessation of various practices in the post-Reconstruction South that were designed to frustrate blacks efforts to acquire property for themselves. Latest answer posted September 30, 2016 at 3:50:30 PM. II, p. 528 (emphasis in original). [12] Douglass, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? July 5, 1852, in Douglass Papers, Vol. Slavery was brought to America in the 1600s taking millions of Africans from West Africa. The specific nature of slaverys worst wrongs, however, suggested a more definite approach. The Declarations affirmation, as self-evident truths, of the principles that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is now commonly read as a declaration only of the rights of propertied white males. Douglasss suggestions in these remarks about the proper way to conceive of reparation for slavery nicely encapsulate his political thought in the postwar period and indeed throughout his entire career. He states, The offence for which this girl was thus murdered was this: She had been set that night to mind Mrs. Hickss baby, and during the night she fell asleep, and the baby cried. This anecdote, among many others, is helpful in persuading the reader to understand the severity of rule slaveholders hold above their slaves. Douglass found solid reasons for believing what he repeatedly affirmed throughout the decade, as in his Dred Scott speech: I base my sense of the certain overthrow of slavery, in part, upon the nature of the American Government, the Constitution, the tendencies of the age, and the character of the American people. Informative_Paragraph.pdf - Name: Kayla Valadez Date: Every beating, every death, every malicious act was all recorded for the people of the U.S. to finally see the error of our ways. Plus, each essay includes a detailed analytical (not holistic) rubric for assessment-based learning. (a) In what ways is Douglass's word choice suited to his audience? His life was transformed yet again in August 1841, when the nations foremost abolitionist, William Lloyd Garrison, heard him speak at meetings in New Bedford and Nantucket, Massachusetts, and promptly offered him a position as a lecturer for the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. These will speak for him. [20] Douglass, Speech on the Dred Scott Decision, in Life and Writings, Vol. The counterclaim is just one of the four elements of an argument, which include: Claim - to assert facts that give rise to a legally enforceable right or judicial action. ', Then it's time for the reasons you've prepared well in advance, because you know exactly what she'll ask. The reasons can also be thought of as the "why" behind a claim. I, ed. Americas mission and destiny are to supply the [most] perfect national illustration of the unity and dignity of the human family that the world has ever seen. This is the essential bequest of our fundamental principles of government, world-embracing in their scope and character.[31] The Union victory, in Douglasss view, signified a momentous victory for a grand politics of integration. [8] The reader interested in a fuller account of Douglasss life should begin by reading Douglasss autobiographies: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845); My Bondage and My Freedom (1855); and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881; expanded 1892). Under the whole Heavens, he remarked in 1894, there never was a people liberated from bondage under conditions less favorable to the successful beginning of a new and free mode of life, than were the Freedmen of the South. [51] With respect to corrective justice, he firmly endorsed the principle but took a subtle, carefully measured position with respect to its present application. A counterclaim is the opposite of the argument, or the opposing argument. But the final, unimpeachable confirmation of Lincolns anti-slavery commitment came for Douglass in August 1864, when the President, fearing that a demoralized electorate would soon force a premature end to the war, summoned Douglass to the White House to discuss a covert scheme for liberating as many as possible in the meantime. the debate over slavery? I, ed. Tell why all or part of the opposing point of view may be reasonable, plausible, or valid, but minimize the opposing position. A claim is the main argument. Copyright 2009-2023 Pennington Publishing. In your argument for a new cell phone, your mom stands on the other side. I teach a seventh grade ELA class and weve just finished reading Walk Two Moonsby Sharon Creech. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. At the center of Kings dream was the hopeful expectation that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creedwe hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equaland that all men, yes black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.[1]. Then, it's time for your evidence, which, again, you have thoughtfully and thoroughly prepared. [60] He feared that such a development among black Americans likewise would be the effect of continuing failures to do justice by American institutions, as it could result also from the disaffection propagated by black advocates of emigration, despairing of Americas prospects for reform. . The rise of this abolitionist agitation would alarm slaveholders, who would respond by attempting to suppress abolitionist speech and to strengthen and perpetuate their political power by expanding slaverys presence in federal territories, thus preparing the admission of additional slave states. how does douglass refute this counterclaim? - fater24.com At the same time, Douglass' exploration of Christianity, and its hypocrisy when used to justify slavery, and the idea that the promise of freedom cannot be realized when a group of people are enslaved, helps to bolster the claims that slavery is America's "original sin.". So, not only does the author work on proving their claim, but they work on disproving the counterclaim or opposition's argument. What does Frederick Douglass mean when he says "Bread of Knowledge"? how does douglass refute this counterclaim? Such attention is properly directed toward, but also beyond, the icons of the recent era of reform. Woe, woe! Here, where universal suffrage is the ruleto rule us out is to make us an exception, to brand us with the stigma of inferiority, and to invite to our heads the missiles of those about us.[38], This was no merely abstract consideration. Evidence should be from a source that's reliable, and it makes your argument even better if you have evidence from multiple sources. In paragraph 5, what does Douglass acknowledge as a counterclaim to his Search where you will, there is no country on the globe where labor is so respected and the laborer so honored, as in this country.[47], This, too, was a corollary of Douglasss non-exceptionalism principle. Scarcely less important than suffrage as a guarantor of personal security were property rights. When Douglass remarked on Americas inexpiable debt to those who had been enslaved, he was not demanding an effort to restore, however imperfectly, the actual and potential material wealth that slavery had stolen from its victims. As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 88,000 Dont pick a straw man. In other words, dont pick a weak opposing argument that is too easy to refute. Counterclaim - Definition, Examples, Cases, Processes - Legal Dictionary He taught them through all their hardships to love their country and their future in it. III, p. 420. copyright 2003-2023 Study.com. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Masterplots II: African American Literature Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself Analysis, Critical Edition of Young Adult Fiction Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself Analysis, Critical Context (Masterplots II: African American Literature), Critical Context (Critical Edition of Young Adult Fiction), Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself, Frederick Douglass. Standing in the foreground of the Lincoln Memorial nearly 50 years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered the most famous speech by any American in the 20th century. The claim is the author's argument that they are attempting to prove in the essay. Your claim is that you need a new cell phone. The federal government would find itself surrounded by a hostile spirit in the lately rebellious states, he warned, and the strength to counterbalance this spirit would be found in the negroes of the south.[40] Moreover, a policy of equal suffrage would have, over time, a more profound integrative effect in the healing of racial divisions. For example, This view ignores the conclusive evidence that This position is mistaken because, 3. Whereas Douglass from the outset called urgently and insistently for the Civil Wars prosecution as an abolition war, Lincoln saw in such a course of action only a self-destructive rashnessa premature radicalizing of the war, most likely to result in the disaffection of vital allies and, ultimately, the catastrophic failure of the Union cause. Douglass attempts to show us how African American slaves were still human beings like their white counterparts, there have been numerous instances where it is shown that many whites did not want to accept slaves as true humans. 411, 414. Let us consider first the difficulties. Most of the slaves were hungry because they were ill-fed, and they were expected to toil sun-up to sundown. The thesis provides the main argument for the essay as well as an outline for the rest of the essay. What other words in the speech connect to this concept? I feel like its a lifeline. How does Douglass refute this counterclaim? A good conclusion for an argumentative essay should address at least one of the following: What implications does the argument have for various stakeholders? [27], Through long and deep reflection, Douglass finally came to regard Lincoln as the one manto whom we are more indebted for a United Nation and for American liberty than to any otherthe greatest statesman that ever presided over the destinies of this Republic.[28], Lincolns assassination was the crowning crime of slavery, as Douglass declared in his 1876 memorial, and it was also a damaging blow to hopes for a just and prudent policy for the nations postwar reconstruction. The three other claims are up for debate and need to be supported by a lot more reasoning and evidence in order to persuade an audience to believe the argument. While Frederick Douglass made some key arguments, he also made common ground to make his appeal for the abolition of slavery. athenaeum club southend membership fees. He claims that African Americans like himself have been denied the freedom that the holiday supports. Taking the policy claim from earlier, if an author is arguing that the United States should ban capital punishment, their reasons would be the reasons why they believe this is the case. What is remarkable, then, is not that Douglass felt alienated from his country for most of the 1840s, but rather that, by the force of his character and intellect, he overcame this alienation as rapidly and thoroughly as he did. In the Narrative of the Life Of Frederick Douglass, we are exposed to the iniquity of slavery and the dehumanization of the black race, which then led Frederick Douglass to recognize that literacy and education would aid him in his flight to freedom. In like manner, the election of Barack Obama as President might be viewed as the culminating, climactic event of the Civil Rights Era, signifying the advent of a post-racial America and vindicating once and for all the mainstream, integrationist tradition in AfricanAmerican political thought lately exemplified by King. Not only will people need to know where you got your evidence, they might even want to see it. The first of those, described above, was the most flagrantly pro-slavery legislation in U.S. history. Evidence is usually some kind of research. It is difficult to challenge the accuracy of the first hand account offered. Good reasoning for a claim is on topic, logically sound, factual, and can be supported by evidence. He also refutes a counterclaim presented by those with an opposing view. 9, Sala 89, Brusque, SC, 88355-20. His careful planning paid off in September 1838, when he fled Baltimore disguised as a seaman and made his way ultimately to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he settled, a newly married man, and took the surname Douglass from the hero in Sir Walter Scotts epic poem The Lady of the Lake. Addressing a womens rights convention in 1868, Douglass made the point simply and bluntly: If the elective franchise is not extended to the negro, he dieshe is exterminated.[39], Moreover, as the voting right was an imperative of justice, it was also, Douglass argued, a powerful agency for the cause of integration. After Douglass escape to freedom and his continuation of his education, he became an abolitionist through his works of literature and speeches. Douglass states that "scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed." Measuring him by the sentiment of his country, a sentiment he was bound as a statesman to consult, he was swift, zealous, radical, and determined. All I ask is, give him a chance to stand on his own legs! Douglasss escape from slavery and eventual freedom are inseparable from his movingly narrated attainment of literacy. What would you ask them to do? His first hand accounts of the cruel nature of slavery and the thought processes of the various slave owners help to substantiate his assertion. I know of no country where the conditions for affecting great changes in the settled order of things, for the development of right ideas of liberty and humanity, are more favorable than here in these United States. When providing evidence to support reasoning, always make sure that the evidence comes from a credible source and that it is directly relevant to the reasoning. If the claim is that the United States should ban capital punishment, an effective counterclaim would be that the United States should not ban capital punishment because capital punishment provides a sense of closure for the families of the victims of violent crimes. ete the task. In the long history of AfricanAmerican political thought, there is no more forceful proponent of the cause of integration than Douglass, and there is no more insightful analyst of the varieties and dangers of national and racial disintegration. how does douglass refute this counterclaim? - medialist.cz He talks of the ways in which black men and women struggle to hold their families together, and the importance of music as a way to express deep sadness. After your mom's counterclaim, she'll probably ask, 'Why is it that you think you need a new cell phone? In our example, you would need to give or cite some concrete evidence like, 'According to research, students with Internet access on their phones are more likely to make the Honor Roll.' V, pp. Your reason is because yours doesn't have Internet access, and your evidence says that students with Internet access make better grades. The power of education was also a key argument in The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, but it was not an argument with a consistent meaning. The question that has with stood the test of time is, are these encounters that have been written out, exaggerated or the whole truth and nothing but the truth? In the early 1800s Frederick Douglass was born in Tuckahoe, Maryland, and grew up on Colonial Edward Lloyds plantation. 4. appalachian school of law shooting victims; private members' clubs london mayfair. Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support. V, p. 625. It was just what I wanted, and. Douglasss new office as editor broadened his education as an abolitionist, and over the next few years, his differences with his erstwhile mentors grew more pronounced.