Reading Guide for "Slavery, Race, and the Making of American Literature" -- Jefferson, Walker, Garrison, Grimke, Truth, and Delany 1682-1696. Introduction
According to Sidney Smith, how many slaves were there in America in the early 1820s? In what year was the Dred Scott v. Sanford decided and what was the courts decision? **********
Thomas Jefferson
Rephrase the main idea of the question with which Jefferson begins this section of "Notes on the State of Virginia." What is his overall, basic response to his own question? From whence comes the color of African skin according to Jefferson? According to Thomas Jefferson, which was the most beautiful of the human varieties and why is it that that group excells the others in beauty? To whom does the phrase "their own judgment" refer and what is it that is being judged? Who does like women of color and what does this prove according to Jefferson? Why does Jefferson seem to think that Africans need less sleep? Can you think of an alternative explanation for his "supposed" evidence? Explain the following quote, what it means, and list two pieces of evidence he gives for thinking this: ". . . their existence appears to participate more of sensation than reflection" (1685). Indians have more skill than Africans at what activity and what does this "supposedly" show about the Indian and African? Why is it, according to Jefferson, that Phyllis Whately, cannot be a good poet? At the end of this piece, Jefferson tries to qualify everything he's just said before: What might be wrong with his whole argument? ********** David Walker
Why, according to the editors, was Walker's book considered so radical? What, according to Walker, are Africans called as opposed to what all others are referred to as? What makes American's rich? What is the tone of voice of the parenthetical aside following: "(they being an enlightened and christian people)? Briefly explain your conclusion. What is worse about the American institution than was the case in other countries and times? What conclusion about the reasons for enslavement in America is Walker forced into? Why is he forced to that conclusion? Where has Mr. Jefferson gone? Why are the recent arguments against racist theories like Jefferson's insufficient to Walker? What argument of Walker's does the old expression "Every dog must have his day" sum up? What evidence for the superiority of white's does Walker summarize from Jefferson and what problem does he say that this will cause for African-Americans? What are two main differences between Roman laws governing slaves and American laws? Why is it, according to Walker, that it is wrong, a sin, to call a white man master? How does Walker sum up the character of whites and what evidence does he point to as showing this to be true? According to David Walker, what historical change has made the slave masters more cruel and audacious than ever they were as Greeks and Romans? Who would whites throw out of power if it were in their power to do so?
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William Lloyd Garrison
What was the name of Garrison newspaper and how long, how many years, was it published? How, according to Garrison, does the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution at odds with one another and where does Frederick Douglass fall in this argument? What best describes Garrison's attitude and argument for the solution to the slave issue? Martin Delany According to Martin Delany, what is the key element needed to determine whether one is free or not? When did the Supreme Court make the Dred Scott decision?
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Sojourner Truth
In Sojourner Truth's speech, how much space does a woman have upstairs compared to what a man has up there.
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