Reading What Historical Actors Read

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Why do we bother to study, in close detail, the writing of Frederick Douglass? We study the writing of Frederick Douglass for reasons that are similar to those that motivated Douglass to study the writing of those who came before him. We study Douglass in order to become participants and engage in the world of ideas, which is much bigger than the opinions of those in our immediate surroundings or the times that we live in.

Let me lay down this proposition: the study of history is a lot like detective work. A student of history will not settle for historical accounts from secondary sources, but will seek out primary sources (firsthand accounts) from newspapers, pamphlets, recordings, transcripts of interviews, and other sources from the period that student is studying. This takes time, but your efforts will be richly rewarded by the insights this will give to you.

You will not only want to read what historical actors wrote and said; you will want to read the texts that influenced those actors. You will want to read the texts that helped to shape their thinking and their writing. In order to understand the people who influenced history, we have to understand the ideas and discourse that influenced those people.

Who was Douglass reading? How was he influenced by what he read? How might his subsequent thoughts and speeches been responses to the thoughts and speeches that were written early in his life, or even before he was born? How might your own thoughts be responses to the thoughts that were written before you were born?

We know, from his autobiography, that Douglass’ thoughts and speeches were heavily influenced by school book called TheColumbian Orator. The full name of the text is rather long: The Columbian orator: containing a variety of original and selected pieces, together with rules, calculated to improve youth and others in the ornamental and useful art of eloquence.

Whew; that’s quite a mouthful.

This book, edited by Caleb Bingham, was published in 1797. Douglass studied the Columbian Orator because he wanted to learn how to read, speak and write, but he also studied The Orator in order understand his situation as slave, and to learn how to think in order to end that system. He had to learn what the dominant discourse was, during his life and times, so that he could participate in it, with the objective of ending slavery.

As he read The Columbian Orator he no doubt encountered many ideas that he disagreed with, as well as those with which he agreed. This is the nature of the activity.

So, what were some of the ideas that Douglass encountered in The Orator?

As you scan the table of contents of book (click on the link above and scroll down), looking for writing that might have influenced him, you will notice several chapter titles that should catch your attention. These chapter titles will stand out if you have already read a reasonable sample of the works of Frederick Douglass, particularly his autobiographies.

Among these are: Francis Blake’s “Oration on Independence: July 4, 1796”; an “Oration at Boston, July 4, 1794”; “A Dialogue Between a Master and a Slave”; and Arthur O’Connor’s 1795 “Speech before the Irish Parliament on Catholic Emancipation”, which Douglass erroneously attributed to Richard Sheridan.

Because Douglass cites these documents in his autobiography, as having had a profound influence on his motivation to fight against slavery, we would do well to go directly to these primary sources and read these texts. Again, the study of history requires investigation, speculation, and detective work.

Dialogue on the Meaning of the Fourth of July

It is a useful exercise to read the two Fourth of July orations in the Orator, and then to read Frederick Douglass’ 1852 The Meaning of the Fourth of July for the Negro. Imagine a dialogue between Douglass and the authors of the two previous orations; how would such a dialogue go? What would the two previous orators say to Douglass? What would Douglass say in response to them? Use excerpts from all three texts in order to reconstruct such an oration.

Isn’t this, in effect, what has actually taken place as Douglass responds to conventional notions of the Fourth of July in his own oration of 1852?

Dialogue Between A Master And His Slave

Next, read excerpts from chapters 6 and 7 of Douglass’ autobiography; then read the dialogue between the master and the slave. How does the dialogue between the master and the slave resemble the conditions of servitude that Douglass describes of his own life as a slave?

Like the slave in this dialogue, Douglass eventually escaped into freedom. And like the slave in this dialogue, although under much different circumstances, Douglass was eventually able to confront his former master, and discuss with him the injustice of the system he had labored under.

What parallels do you see between the argument the slave gives in this dialogue and the arguments Douglass gave against the legitimacy of slavery in his autobiography? What arguments do both Douglass, and the slave in this dialogue, give in response to the master’s assertion that, even under slavery, the particular slave in question, if not all slaves, has been well fed, well clothed and well housed?

Finally, what do you make of the way this dialogue ends? What do you make of the last paragraph? What do you think the author is trying to say in that paragraph? What implications might it have for a free, white American youth who would likely read that text in the late 18^th century, more than 50 years before the outbreak of the Civil War?

Analogy Between the British Empire and Slavery

Now, consider George Fox’s 1778 Speech in the British parliament. What do you think Douglass found in this passage that inspired him?  Why do you think Douglass referred to texts – such as O’Connor on Catholic emancipation, and William Pitt (1775) and George Fox (1778) on the American Revolution – to persuade white Americans that they should oppose slavery?

Pay special attention to passages in Fox’s and William Pitt’s speeches to the British Parliament describing the American side in the conflict with the British Empire. Douglass seems to see, in Fox and Pitt’s texts, an analogy that is useful to understand the spirit and the state-of-mind of black American slaves at that time, and their relationship with white Americans.

What is Douglass communicating through the use of this metaphor? How does this metaphor foreshadow the Civil War? What insight does it shed on the way the dialogue ends between the Master and the Slave, mentioned above?

In order to enter the mind of Frederick Douglass, we must learn to appreciate his use of metaphor.

C. Matthew Hawkins

Interpreting the US Constitution

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One of the persistent themes in U.S. history is the question of how to interpret the Constitution. Does one take a textual view of the document, in which the meaning of the Constitution is limited to the exact wording of the document, or does one see the Constitution as being a living document, which has an underlying philosophy that points toward a general disposition favoring the maximum degree of civil liberties, self-government and access to participation in the democratic process as is feasible at a particular time.

Justice Antonin Scalia represents the former view today, while Justice Stephen Breyer represents the latter view. Scalia's argument can be found in his book, A Matter of Interpretation: Federal Courts and the Law (1998). Breyer's perspective can be found in his book, Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution (2006).

Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals judge Richard Posner reviewed Scalia and Bryan A. Garner's new book, Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts, in the New Republic (September 13, 2012). In this piece, Posner gives a succinct summary of the problem with Scalia's "textual originalism": "A legislature is thwarted when a judge refuses to apply its handiwork to an unforeseen situation that is encompassed by the statute's aim but is not a good fit with its text. Ignoring the limitations of foresight, and also the fact that a statute is a collective product that often leaves many questions of interpretation to be answered by the courts because the legislators cannot agree on the answers, the textual originalist demands that the legislature think through myriad hypothetical scenarios and provide for all of them explicitly rather than rely on courts to be sensible."

While this is a legal debate that leaps out of today's headlines, it was also an important point of controversy in the 19th century. If one takes Posner's phrase "the fact that a statute is a collective product that often leaves many questions of interpretation to be answered by the courts because the legislators cannot agree on the answers..." you have a fitting description of what the constitutional convention did when it compromised on the question of slavery.

Douglass argued that the Constitution was not a pro-Slavery document, in contrast to the position of Southern slaveholders and many Northern abolitionists, such as William Lloyd Garrison. Douglass based his interpretation of the Constitution on two things: (1) The Constitution never explicitly used the term "slavery," thereby withholding legitimacy form that institution and (2) the passages that refer to slavery, indirectly, in the original document, were the result of a compromise -- leaving the matter to be resolved by future generations. This was eventually done through the Civil War.

Douglass' argument, in the 19th century, which was not at all unlike that of Stephen Breyer today, and stands in contrast to that of Antonin Scalia, was that the philosophical thrust of the Constitution can be known, and should guide our interpretation of the long-term intent of the writers of that document. Although they compromised on the matter of slavery when the document was written, this did not mean that they intended for slavery to become institutionalized as a permanent fixture in the American republic. In a sense, they "punted" on that question.

The philosophical thrust of the Constitution, argued Douglass then, and Breyer today, is to give the benefit of the doubt to interpretations that favor expanding civil liberties and increasing access to participation in the democratic process.

While the specifics of the debate may change from one generation to the next, based on changes in culture, economics, technology, and historical circumstances, the underlying philosophical thrust of the document remains clear. It was because of that underlying philosophical tendency, which Douglass believed that he saw in the Constitution, which led him to disagree with Garrison and interpret the Constitution as being a document that tended toward liberty, but which had been hijacked by forces in favor of slavery who sought permanent legitimacy for practices that the delegates could not agree on at the time of the signing of that document.

Douglass believed that it was the duty of the 19th century abolitionists to reclaim the underlying principle of the Constitution, and not to allow the trees to obscure the forest.

How might Douglass' approach to interpreting the Constitution be applied to controversial constitutional questions today?

Reference: See Frederick Douglass, "A Change of Opinion," May, 23, 1851 in The North Star.

C. Matthew Hawkins

The Four Arrows of Project-Based Learning

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Project-based education is focused on four primary areas of learning: It helps students take ownership over their process of learning; it helps students to become self-aware as learners; it provides students with ongoing opportunities for interaction, collaboration and engagement; and it provides students with opportunities to generate new knowledge.

Find out more about project-based education.

There are at least four arrows in the quiver of project-based learning: participating in Wikis; keeping a journal; participating in discussion boards; and developing a blog.

The Wiki is an effective tool for both collaboration and generation of new knowledge. It requires students to summarize their understanding of the course and to respond to what others are taking away from texts, class sessions and their own projects. Wikis provide a hands-on process that turns students into teachers, which is one of the most effective methods of learning. It is also a good arena for brainstorming. The keys to participating effectively in wikis are to build on what others have said, and to correct their errors.

Keeping a Journal strengthens students' skills in being self-reflective learners. Students use journals to note their process of learning, the problems and questions they encountered, and how they overcame those problems or answered those questions. The journal is used to plan and track one's progress in learning. Self-reflection as a learner is the key to writing effective journals.

Discussion Boards enable students to learn from one another and use each other as sounding boards to try out ideas. Students should use discussion boards to get ideas for what they might want to talk about in their blogs, and to test ideas before publishing them as blog entries. Discussion boards tend to be informal and the sources and warrants for one's opinions have not necessarily undergone careful scrutiny. Interaction and engagement with other students, in conversation, is the key to effective participation on discussion boards.

Publishing Blog Posts raises the stakes a bit. Although the voice of the author of a blog may be informal, when a student publishes a blog they need to be concerned about accuracy and seek verification of what they are about to publish before they post it. With the blog, your credibility is on the line. If you violate one of the academic virtues you will lose the confidence of your readers in the "real world," and, in the classroom, you will damage your credibility with your teacher, which could hurt your grade. Checking your sources, verifying your facts, and inviting people to participate in the discussion through their comments are keys to good blogging.

So, these are the four arrows in the quiver of project-based learning: Wikis, journals, discussion boards, and blogs. Be sure to make appropriate use of the tool for learning that you happen to be engaged in.

See also: Wikis, Journals, Discussion Boards and Blogs




C. Matthew Hawkins

Keeping a Journal as a Study Tool

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Keeping an academic journal can be a powerful tool for study. When you are reading a primary, or even a secondary, source you will likely come across terms, concepts, names or events that are unfamiliar to you. It helps to keep a journal, where you jot down things that are obscure so that you look them up and find out why they are important in order to get the most out of the text you are reading.

For example, in a history class, if a student is reading Frederick Douglass' Autobiography of a Slave and comes across Douglass' reference to Sheridan's speech for Catholic emancipation, and notes that Douglass said this speech resonated with his own struggle for freedom, it is highly likely that few contemporary readers would know who Sheridan was; what Catholic emancipation was all about, when the speech was made, and why this speech would have any meaning at all to Frederick Douglass, who was an African American slave in the 19th century.

A good use of your journal would be to note the reference in Douglass' text and search for [Sheridan Catholic Emancipation Speech]. Since this is an actual assignment I use in my classes, and since anyone can do this search right now and get the answer, I will not tell you what you will find -- I will let you try it for yourself.

The point is that in your academic journal you want to put your thought processes and problem-solving skills on display. One of the ways to do this is to jot down the terms, concepts, events, and persons who are unfamiliar to you; look them up; and then discuss how what you found is important to the text and enhances your understanding of what you are reading.

See also: Wikis, Journals, Discussion Boards and Blogs

C. Matthew Hawkins