Crusade Against the Wrong: Abolitionist Rhetoric in Anti-Slavery Speeches
Keywords:
Anti-slavery, abolitionism, Slave, Rhetoric, PathosAbstract
The abolitionist movement sought abolition of slavery in America. The movement made use of various means and strategies to circulate its anti-slavery views and enforce an immediate abolition of the inhuman system. Ranging from famous abolitionists and former slaves like Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth to great political leaders like Abraham Lincoln, these people have brought their views to the large audience through their highly eloquent speeches. The abolitionists made frequent use of their oratory skills through their speeches. The present paper is an attempt towards an analysis of various facets of some of the famous speeches by well known abolitionists like Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and William Lloyd Garrison. The paper will examine speeches like “Ain’t I a Woman”, “No Compromise with the Evil of Slavery” “What to the Slave is Fourth of July” and others. The anti-slavery rhetoric used by these orators to further the abolitionist cause will also be analyzed in the paper.
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