Aspen Ideas Festival: David Blight on 'Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom'
Historian David Blight says Frederick Douglass was the "prose poet of American democracy” and “the prose poet of abolitionism.”
“The power of his voice changed the world.” Douglass’ ability as a writer, as an orator and his ability to use moral suasion for the anti-slavery case ensured that he had real impact, Blight said.
“He was able to convince people that the cause was worth their attention — and maybe even their lives. … He mastered the power of metaphor to make people think.”
“But slavery ended in Armageddon and mass slaughter … a war Douglass advocated for,” Blight said.
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Douglass “had the audacity to think he could get this country to get rid of slavery.”
Quoting Douglass’ own words, Blight told the Aspen audience, “Slavery’s not dead because it didn’t die honestly. Slavery didn’t die because Americans woke up and had a referendum and voted it out. It died in a bloodbath. And we may yet have more blood to try to determine whether it’s ever been dead.”
Blight concluded those remarks by saying, “Sometimes there are single sentences by Douglass that you can take in, and before you realize it, you’re thinking about today.”
Blight is a professor of history at Yale and spoke at the 2019 Aspen Ideas Festival about his book "Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom."
The moderator was professor John McWhorter of Columbia University.