SPCM 201 1st Edition Lecture 20Newly Heard Voices in America As Our “Free State” Grows… It becomes more and more apparent that not all voices are valued  Adam’s “free state” is not as welcoming to all “young Americans”  Women and minorities  Frederick Douglass  1818-1895 A.D. Born into slavery and escaped into freedom A lifelong activist against the institution of slavery and for civil rights  Perpetually faces challenges to his ability to speak  Perhaps the greatest speaker in American history  The Freed Slave Speaker: Oxymoron?  Why was it so difficult for Douglass to be taken seriously? Slaves were not educated by law- It is unlawful, and unsafe to teach slaves how to read Why? - Knowledge = Power  Early in his career, he was “managed” by white men  Many doubted he was really a black man or had really been a slave  Therefore, Douglass has to perform a tricky balancing act his entire life… 1. Acquiring knowledge and using white people’s values against them  2. Documenting his own life story  3. A complex rhetorical style Acquiring Knowledge As described in his autobiography Learned some basic kills from the wife of his slave-masters “Hearing about abolition” on the street on day as a child - Trade bread for reading lessons from white children “All I know I have stolen”- White children in the street and The Columbia Orator- What does this mean for rhetoric and knowledge?  Douglass turns this knowledge against his audience (speech on the 4th of July)  How does he characterize freedom in this speech? Documenting His Life Story When Douglass first began to speak, most people doubted him because he was so good Broke away from his white colleagues and spoke for himself Write three autobiographies (despite the danger)  Eventually has his freedom paid for  Balanced Rhetorical Style  Uses highly-educated and ornate language in conjunction with less-educated dialects and phrases  Ex: “whilst” and “learn’t the ABC” Takes the name of a wealthy, white, Northern Aristocrat (Douglass)  Hair and Dress Different to set him apart from the white male  Having performed this rhetorical persona, Douglass is able to directly call out the contractions between Adam’s “free state” and his experience as a freed slave “The Meaning of July 4th for the Negro” Sarah Grimké and American Women  1792-1873 A.D. Daughter of a South Carolina Slave owner  Wealthy  Every family member has their own slave Quaker Educated by private tutors Art, needle work (appropriate at the time) With her sister, she became a strong anti-slavery advocate, particularly as speaker and advocate Quickly realized women’s rights were equally as important  As an advocate and speaker…  Grimke was quickly attacked Fire was set off in new at which she spoke in Not only by pro-slavery advocates Also by men who rejected women’s right to speak in public- Especially in Church  Why does the General Assembly of Congregationalist Ministers reject women as speakers? (Letter III) A threat to “FEMALE CHARACTER…” Threatens the domestic civil character Women speakers reject the source of women’s “mighty power” as dependent women Risk of “Ostentaious” language  Women shouldn’t get too fancy with the word choice. Simple preayers should be sufficient  Women speakers cant be protected  Grimke’s Response  Female character is at risk, but it is the fault of male “usurpers” who seek to deny women “the sphere which God created us to move in”  Women “hardly dare to speak their sentiments” In fact, men try to use the Bible to silence women (incorrectly) Consider: Language in the bible is gender neutral Directions are given to men and women both, not just men The minister go so far ad to claim that women should not speak to potential converts, but should send them to men instead  Letter III RESOLVED “Whatever is right for man to do, is right for women”  Including public speaking  Letter IV: The Social Intercourses of the Sexes  How should men and women converse and spend time together? Of particular concern to Grimke who spoke to “promiscuous audiences” and kept mixed company Grimke: rules for this are “derogatory to man and woman, as moral and intellectual begins”  What are these “rules”? A mean is taught that he must engage with a woman as a FEMALE and not as a HUMAN Men speak to women as unreasoning begins: Flattery  Appeal to passions Appeal to sentimentality  Thinks of her as a thing for his “pleasure”  The Rhetoric Contamination  If women are spoken to like men, they will be “contaminated” by ‘things which oughtnot be named” Alcoholism  Domestic Violence Poverty Sin Exposure to these concepts will make women susceptible to them Meanwhile, Grimke claims because women are also victim of these things, they have the most to gain by speaking about them  Grimke Men, not God, put women in these limited speaking roles Therefore, women often face a difficult decision  Women must defy God to please men when they should defy men to please God Grimke argues for the latter She wishes to be judged as a human, not a woman  Letter XIV. The Ministry of Women  Should women be permitted to preach the word of God? Grimke: If it is morally right for women to do everything that a man can do, then it is the duty of women to also preach Without doing so, women are not meeting the proper station afforded them by their creator - The result is great evil  Grimke argues men keep women from ministry so they can keep the honor, money, and power to themselves Men work to “crush” women  HOWEVER Women have been prophets in the past (universally acknowledged) Is not only done by priests (men only)  Requires no pay Therefore, this is just hypocrisy by