"I have observed this in my experience of slavery,—that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only increased my desire to be free, and set me to thinking of plans to gain my freedom... I have found that, to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one." — Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, 1845
Douglass's purpose in publishing his Narrative was best described as which of the following?
- A
Defending the gradual emancipation movement
- B
Advocating for African colonization as the only solution
- Ccheck_circle
Refuting proslavery arguments by exposing the realities of bondage
- D
Endorsing the political program of the Whig Party
Explanation
Douglass wrote the Narrative to challenge proslavery defenses and to prove his identity as a fugitive slave whose firsthand account exposed the brutality of the institution to skeptical northern readers.