Sarah Meer
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- July 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198812517
- eISBN:
- 9780191894695
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198812517.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, American, 19th Century Literature
This chapter argues that claimants became fodder for mid-century periodicals, and they provided an imagery for anti-slavery rhetoric. It examines Frederick Douglass’s use of illegitimacy in his ...
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This chapter argues that claimants became fodder for mid-century periodicals, and they provided an imagery for anti-slavery rhetoric. It examines Frederick Douglass’s use of illegitimacy in his speech on the Fourth of July, and his deployment of ‘Yankee’ tropes to protest against segregation. It links them to his efforts to cultivate a transatlantic community through Frederick Douglass’ Paper, work involving personal and political bonds with British colleagues—William and Mary Howitt, and Julia Griffiths. The paper was both local and national in its reach, as was its fascination with claimants like Eleazer Williams and Monsieur Ben, two candidates for the ‘Lost Dauphin’. Monsieur Ben was the subject of a long-lost column by James McCune Smith, in the series ‘Heads of the Colored People’.Less
This chapter argues that claimants became fodder for mid-century periodicals, and they provided an imagery for anti-slavery rhetoric. It examines Frederick Douglass’s use of illegitimacy in his speech on the Fourth of July, and his deployment of ‘Yankee’ tropes to protest against segregation. It links them to his efforts to cultivate a transatlantic community through Frederick Douglass’ Paper, work involving personal and political bonds with British colleagues—William and Mary Howitt, and Julia Griffiths. The paper was both local and national in its reach, as was its fascination with claimants like Eleazer Williams and Monsieur Ben, two candidates for the ‘Lost Dauphin’. Monsieur Ben was the subject of a long-lost column by James McCune Smith, in the series ‘Heads of the Colored People’.
Leslie Elizabeth Eckel
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780748669370
- eISBN:
- 9780748684427
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748669370.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, American, 19th Century Literature
Frederick Douglass stood outside the nation because his race excluded him from citizenship. In his antislavery lectures in Ireland and Britain from 1845 to 1847, Douglass acted as an unofficial ...
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Frederick Douglass stood outside the nation because his race excluded him from citizenship. In his antislavery lectures in Ireland and Britain from 1845 to 1847, Douglass acted as an unofficial statesman, urging foreign countries to intervene in American affairs. He used the transatlantic press to structure his critique of American nationality, insisting that ‘[t]houghts expressed on one side of the Atlantic are distinctly heard on the other.’ As the founding editor of The North Star and Frederick Douglass’ Paper, Douglass called attention to the ties between the sovereignty of the nation and the preservation of slavery. By focusing on his professional identities as an editor and diplomat instead of his familiar role as an autobiographer, this chapter illuminates Douglass’s investments in international politics and African American freedom.Less
Frederick Douglass stood outside the nation because his race excluded him from citizenship. In his antislavery lectures in Ireland and Britain from 1845 to 1847, Douglass acted as an unofficial statesman, urging foreign countries to intervene in American affairs. He used the transatlantic press to structure his critique of American nationality, insisting that ‘[t]houghts expressed on one side of the Atlantic are distinctly heard on the other.’ As the founding editor of The North Star and Frederick Douglass’ Paper, Douglass called attention to the ties between the sovereignty of the nation and the preservation of slavery. By focusing on his professional identities as an editor and diplomat instead of his familiar role as an autobiographer, this chapter illuminates Douglass’s investments in international politics and African American freedom.
Sarah Meer
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- July 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198812517
- eISBN:
- 9780191894695
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198812517.003.0005
- Subject:
- Literature, American, 19th Century Literature
This chapter draws on the discussions in chapter 4 (illegitimacy, links with British editors, Julia Griffiths’s role), to read the reprinting of Bleak House in Frederick Douglass’ Paper. This brings ...
More
This chapter draws on the discussions in chapter 4 (illegitimacy, links with British editors, Julia Griffiths’s role), to read the reprinting of Bleak House in Frederick Douglass’ Paper. This brings out the novel’s proximity to claimant themes, and it ties the reprinting to dialogues with other periodicals, particularly Dickens’s Household Words. It suggests how Bleak House might read differently in Douglass’s paper, linking crossing sweepers with race, but sitting uncomfortably with its radical readership, particularly in matters of women’s rights and reform. It examines J. R. Johnson’s Uncle William’s Pulpit, an homage to Dickens published by Douglass.Less
This chapter draws on the discussions in chapter 4 (illegitimacy, links with British editors, Julia Griffiths’s role), to read the reprinting of Bleak House in Frederick Douglass’ Paper. This brings out the novel’s proximity to claimant themes, and it ties the reprinting to dialogues with other periodicals, particularly Dickens’s Household Words. It suggests how Bleak House might read differently in Douglass’s paper, linking crossing sweepers with race, but sitting uncomfortably with its radical readership, particularly in matters of women’s rights and reform. It examines J. R. Johnson’s Uncle William’s Pulpit, an homage to Dickens published by Douglass.
