"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 emphasis on literacy and self-improvement most directly challenged which contemporary proslavery argument?
- A
That the Constitution required the protection of slavery in the territories
- B
That northern wage labor was harsher than southern slavery
- Ccheck_circle
That enslaved people were naturally suited only for bondage and incapable of self-government
- D
That slavery would naturally die out due to economic forces
Explanation
Proslavery writers like George Fitzhugh argued African Americans were inherently dependent; Douglass's articulate self-portrait directly refuted such claims and demonstrated the humanity and capacity of enslaved people.