An illustrated broadside reviling four Rhode Island Whigs who broke party ranks to support a popular movement to free imprisoned radical Thomas Wilson Dorr. (On the Dorr Rebellion see also "Trouble in the Spartan Ranks, Tyrants Prostrate Liberty Triumphant," and "The Great Political Car and Last Load of Patriots," nos. 1843-6, 1844-19, and 1845-5.) The broadside's author alleges political opportunism in the alliance of (left to right) Charles Jackson, Samuel F. Man, James F. Simmons, and Lemuel H. Arnold with Democrats to support a "liberation" ticket in the spring elections of 1845. This notice, evidently published after the April canvass, laments the election of "an obscure individual like [President James K.] Polk" and "a pompous, self-conceited man like [Gov. Charles] Jackson" as well as "Foreigners, ignorant, barbarous and uncivilized," "radicals, disorganisers, and abolitionists assuming to be jurists" in general. The author exhorts the reader, "Let us not reward Traitors, but with just indignation abandon them as 'Scape-Goats,' to their destiny--forever." The "Four Traitors" are crudely caricatured. Jackson holds a proclamation of liberation, probably the act of June 1845 pardoning Dorr. Samuel Man is depicted as obese, sitting in a chair and holding an infant. Simmons thumbs his nose at Man, and his own coattails are in turn held by Lemuel Arnold. A verse appears below them: O, heaven that such companions thou'dst unfold; / And put in every honest hand a whip / To lash the rascals naked through the world.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1845-4.

Again Van Buren's flirtation with radical interests is portrayed as his downfall. As in "The Modern Colossus" (no. 1848-56) antislavery activist Abby Folsom (here "Abby Fulsome") is prominently featured. Here she witnesses Van Buren's flight from various foes, each depicted as an animal. In pursuit of Van Buren are Zachary Taylor (as an alligator), and senators Thomas Hart Benton (a bull), John C. Calhoun (a lion), and Daniel Webster (an elephant). Taylor vows, "I'll swallow him directly," while Webster says, "Let me put my foot on him." A crane "Poke," actually incumbent Democratic President James K. Polk, swoops toward the fleeing fox from the sky. On the left stand editor Horace Greeley, Folsom, and longtime Van Buren ally Benjamin F. Butler. Greeley tells the fox to "Run under my white coat Matty. It will not be the first time that it has covered a fox. But, cheer up, for there is still balm in Gilead. You shall be the candidate of the Fourierites [i.e., members of the reform movement championed by Greeley]." Folsom laments, "Now that he has doubled on his track & come over to us, what a pity that we can't save him!" Butler exclaims, "Alas! Alas! is this the end of my devotedness, my martyrdom, & above all, my state preaching?" Van Buren replies, "It's no use friends, my cake is all dough, as my face used to be. Why did you drag me out of my hole to be tormented thus." "Doughface" was a name given northern friends of slave interests, which Van Buren was perceived to have been during his administration.|Entered . . . 1848 by J. Baillie. |Published by James Baillie, 87th St. near 3d. Avenue N.Y.|Signed with initials: H.B. (H. Bucholzer).|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 89-90.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1848-57.

The Frederick Douglass Papers at the Library of Congress presents the papers of the nineteenth-century African-American abolitionist who escaped from slavery and then risked his own freedom by becoming an outspoken antislavery lecturer, writer, and publisher. The papers span the years 1841 to 1964, with the bulk of the material from 1862 to 1895. The printed Speech, Article, and Book Series contains the writings of Douglass and contemporaries in the abolitionist and early women's rights movements.The Subject File Series reveals Douglass's interest in diverse subjects such as politics, emancipation, racial prejudice, women's suffrage, and prison reform. Scrapbooks document Douglass's role as minister to Haiti and the controversy surrounding his interracial second marriage.

In addition to making historical points about nineteenth-century attitudes toward slavery, race, and abolition, you can use this speech to teach formal rhetoric. We have divided the address into four sections according to the function of each one. This division follows the classic structure of argumentative writing:

paragraphs 1–3: introduction (exordium)
paragraphs 4–29: narrative or statement of fact (narratio)
paragraphs 30–70: arguments and counter-arguments (confirmatio and refutatio)
paragraph 71: conclusion (peroratio)
We have included notes that explain the function of each section as well as questions that invite discussion of the ways in which Douglass deploys rhetoric to make his case.

This lesson features five interactive activities, which can be accessed by clicking on this icon . The first explores the subtle way in which Douglass compares the patriots of 1776 with the abolitionists of 1852. The second challenges students to determine how Douglass supports his thesis. The third focuses on his use of syllogistic reasoning, while the fourth examines how he makes his case through emotion and the fifth through analogy.

We recommend assigning the entire text . For close reading we have analyzed eighteen of the speech’s seventy-one paragraphs through fine-grained questions, most of them text-dependent, that will enable students to explore rhetorical strategies and significant themes. The version below, designed for teachers, provides responses to those questions in the “Text Analysis” section. The classroom version , a printable worksheet for use with students, omits those responses and this “Teaching the Text” note. Terms that appear in blue are defined on hover and in a printable glossary on the last page of the classroom version. The student worksheet also includes links to the activities, indicated by this icon .

This is a long lesson. We recommend dividing students into groups and assigning each group a set of paragraphs to analyze.

This collection uses primary sources to compare and explore the relationships between Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

A sheet music cover illustrated with a portrait of prominent black abolitionist Frederick Douglass as a runaway slave. Douglass flees barefoot from two mounted pursuers who appear across the river behind him with their pack of dogs. Ahead, to the right, a signpost points toward New England. The cover's text states that "The Fugitive's Song" was "composed and respectfully dedicated, in token of confident esteem to Frederick Douglass. A graduate from the peculiar institution. For his fearless advocacy, signal ability and wonderful success in behalf of his brothers in bonds. (and to the fugitives from slavery in the) free states & Canadas by their friend Jesse Hutchinson Junr." As the illustration suggests, Douglass himself had escaped from slavery, fleeing in 1838 from Maryland to Massachusetts. He achieved considerable renown for his autobiography "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," first published in 1845. The Library's copy of "The Fugitive's Song" was deposited for copyright on July 23, 1845. An earlier abolitionist song composed by Hutchinson, "Get Off the Track!" (no. 1844-14), also used a cover illustration to amplify its message.|Boston. Published by Henry Prentiss 33 Court St.|Entered . . . 1845 by Henry Prentiss.|Lith. of E.W. Bouve Boston.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1845-7.

An illustrated sheet music cover for an abolitionist song composed by Jesse Hutchinson, Jr. The song is dedicated to antislavery editor Nathaniel Peabody Rogers, "As a mark of esteem for his intrepidity in the cause of Human Rights." It is illustrated with an allegory of the triumph of abolitionism. In a landscape a railroad car, "Immediate Emancipation," is drawn by a locomotive named "Liberator" and followed by another locomotive, the "Repealer," which pulls a second car "Liberty Votes and Ballot Boxes." The "Liberator" was the name of a prominent antislavery newspaper published in Boston by William Lloyd Garrison. "Repealer" probably refers to the Irish insurgent movement in support of the repeal of the Legislative Union, a cause with which many abolitionists in the United States were allied. Flags bearing the names of two other abolitionist publications, the "Herald of Freedom" and "American Standard" (i.e., Rogers's" National Anti-slavery Standard), fly from the "Emancipation" car. The trains approach a bend in the track, nearing a station where a number of people gather to welcome them. Beyond the station is a church. In the distance two other trains, one marked "Van" and the other "Clay," crash and their passengers flee. These allude to Democrat and Whig presidential hopefuls Martin Van Buren and Henry Clay. The reference to Van Buren suggests that the music-sheet appeared before the Democratic convention in May, when James K. Polk, not Van Buren, received the party's presidential nomination.|Entered . . . 1844 by J. Hutchinson.|Thayer & Co's. Lith Boston.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1844-52.

Address--Bromley & Co. Box 4265 New York City.|There is a later state of this print in the Library of Congress with the full title and imprint, PC/US - 1864.B8687, no. 1a (B size). See American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1864-37.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)

In this video from ThinkTV Dayton, learn about Harriet Beecher Stowe and the basis of her famous book, Uncle Tom's Cabin, that documented racial injustice before the Civil War.

An illustrated sheet music cover for an antislavery song, dedicated to abolitionist spokesman Henry Ward Beecher. The illustration features a roundel illustration of the burning of the Free State Hotel in Lawrence, Kansas, by a proslavery mob in May 1856. The roundel is flanked by a standing Indian (left) and a settler, seated and holding a musket and Bible. The settler is probably meant to represent one of the emigrants recruited by associations like the New England Emigrant Aid Company to settle in Kansas in hopes of insuring its emergence as a free state.|A variant copy (cover only, with slightly different image) is in P&P LOT 10615-11; LC-USZ62-53600.|Boston. Published by Oliver Ditson Washington St.|Designed and engraved by Greene & Walker Boston.|Entered . . . 1856 by O. Ditson.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1856-10.

The artist attacks abolitionist, Free Soil, and other sectionalist interests of 1850 as dangers to the Union. He singles out for indictment radical abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, Pennsylvania Free Soil advocate David Wilmot, New York journalist Horace Greeley, and Southern states' rights spokesman Senator John C. Calhoun. The three wear fool's caps and gather, like the witches in Shakespeare's "Macbeth," round a large, boiling cauldron, adding to it sacks marked "Free Soil," "Abolition," and "Fourierism" (added by Greeley, a vocal exponent of the doctrines of utopian socialist Charles Fourier). Sacks of "Treason," "Anti-Rent," and "Blue Laws" already simmer in the pot. Wilmot: "Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble! / Boil, Free Soil, / Ther Union spoil; / Come grief and moan, / Peace be none. / Til we divided be!" Garrison: "Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble / Abolition / Our condition / Shall be altered by / Niggars strong as goats / Cut your master's throats / Abolition boil! / We divide the spoil." Greeley: "Bubble, buble [sic], toil and trouble! / Fourierism / War and schism / Till disunion come!" In the background, stands the aging John Calhoun. He announces, "For success to the whole mixture, we invoke our great patron Saint Benedict Arnold." The latter rises from the fire under the pot, commending them, "Well done, good and faithful servants!"|Entered . . . 1850 by J. Baillie.|Published by James Bailley, 87th St. near 3d. Avenue, N.Y.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 101.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1850-7.

Massachusetts senator and prominent antislavery advocate Charles Sumner is attacked here. The artist questions his sincerity as a humanitarian as he shows him dispensing a few coins to a black child on the street, while ignoring the appeal of a ragged white urchin. The scene is witnessed by two stylishly dressed young women. Though unsigned, the print has the relatively skillful draftsmanship and atmospheric quality found in the works of Boston lithographer Fabronius. See, for instance, that artist's "The Mower" (no. 1863-14). "The Secession Bubble" (no. 1862-12) also appears to be by Fabronius. Weitenkampf gives the 1862 date and publisher's imprint.|Boston. Published by G.W. Cottrell. |Probably drawn by Dominique C. Fabronius.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 136.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1862-11.

Calhoun, John C., “Speech on the Reception of Abolition Petitions, February, 1837.”

A burlesque triumphal procession representing victory for the Democratic platform in the election of 1848. In a chariot drawn by Democrats Lewis Cass and William O. Butler (shown as two horses), Uncle Sam drives toward the White House. On his way he rides over and cuts in two a black man representing abolitionism and then continues over Free Soil candidate Martin Van Buren. Whig candidates Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore trail along behind, sharing the saddle of the same bucking horse. Uncle Sam's chariot, called "Firm Confederation," is composed of a cab formed of large eagle wings and a shield. In it ride four crowned Liberty figures. They hold spears with banners reading: "Tariff of 1846," "Welcome [----] Oppressed," "No National Bank," and "Honor and Peace." Uncle Sam remarks enthusiastically, "Do tell now, ain't this the way to make a happy Republic?" Van Buren, visible beneath the chariot's wheels, groans, "Second sober thoughts--I wish I had been out of this muss!" Fillmore comments, "I say Taylor, we two have been too weighty for the Old buster! [i.e., their horse]" Taylor replies, "No, the Old thing was in a very bad condition when we mounted him."|Published by Peter E. Abel & Durang, Philada.|Signed with initials: E.F.D. (E.F. Durang).|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 95.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1848-43.

A bitter indictment of the Democratic administration's responsibility for violence and bloodshed in Kansas in the wake of the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act. (See also "Forcing Slavery Down the Throat of a Freesoiler" and "Democratic Platform Illustrated," nos. 1856-8 and 1856-11.) The print appeared during the presidential campaign of 1856. In the center stands Democratic incumbent Franklin Pierce, dressed in the buckskins of a "border ruffian," as the violent, proslavery invaders of the Kansas territory from Missouri were known. He has planted his foot on an American flag which is draped over Liberty, who kneels at his feet imploring, "O spare me gentlemen, spare me!!" Pierce is armed with a rifle, and has a tomahawk, dagger, pistol, and scalp on his belt. At right a similarly outfitted Lewis Cass stands licking his lips and scoffing, "Poor little Dear. We wouldnt hurt her for the world, would we Frank? ha! ha! ha! . . ." At the far right Democratic senator Stephen Douglas kneels over a slain farmer and holds up the hapless victim's scalp, exclaiming, "Hurrah for our side! Victory! Victory! "We will subdue them yet." "On the far left Democratic candidate James Buchanan and secretary of state William Marcy (with his characteristic fifty-cent" trouser patch) kneel over another victim and empty his pockets. Buchanan lifts the man's watch, saying,"T'was your's once but its mine now, "Might makes right," dont it." Pierce responds, "You may bet your life on that, ole Puddinhead," and says to Liberty, "Come Sis--sy, you go along wid me, I'le take Good care of "you" (hic) "over the left."" In the left background a cottage burns, and the mad widow of a murdered settler stands before a group of ruffians. Widow: "Come husband let us go to heaven, where our poor Children are." Ruffian, thumbing his nose: "Ho! ho! She thinks I'm her husband, we Scalped the Cus and she like a D--m fool went Crazy on it, and now she wants me to go to heaven with her, . . . " In the distance are further scenes of pillage and murder. Attribution to Magee is based on the print's clear stylistic similarity to his "Forcing Slavery Down the Throat of a Freesoiler" (no. 1856-8). A number of satires published by John Childs during the 1856 campaign are also attributable to Magee on stylistic grounds.|Drawn by John L. Magee.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Murrell, p. 190.|Weitenkampf, p. 115.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1856-9.

Another satire on Van Buren's alliance with extremists, here personified by radical abolitionist Abby Folsom. Van Buren's emergence as candidate of the Free Soil party in the 1848 presidential race was viewed as a reversal of his earlier administration stand on the issue. By invoking the specter of Benedict Arnold here the artist may also be criticizing Van Buren's repudiation of the regular Democratic party. On the left the ghost of Revolutionary War turncoat Benedict Arnold has emerged from his grave. He points threateningly toward "Abby Fulsome" (center) and Van Buren (right), and says, "Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? Behold the Government is rent from thee, & is given to thy neighbor, even to [Democratic presidential nominee Lewis] "Cass." The Buffaloes will be delivered into the hand of thine enemies, & thou and thy Son shall be with me." The print must date between Van Buren's nomination at the Free Soil party convention, held in early August 1848 at Buffalo, N.Y., and Zachary Taylor's electoral victory over Cass in November. Van Buren and "Fulsome" recoil in horror at the sight of the spirit. Folsom observes, "An old man cometh up and he is covered with a mantle." Van Buren responds, "Our sufferings "is" intolerable." The quote was a well-known grammatical lapse of Van Buren's, widely exploited by the opposition during his term of office.|Entered . . . 1848 by J. Baillie. |Probably drawn by H. Bucholzer.|Published by James Baillie, 87th St. near 3d Avenue N.Y.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 90.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1848-58.

An imaginative but puzzling commentary on sectional tensions over slavery between New England abolitionists and southern agrarian slaveholders. In his sweeping satire the artist also portrays a considerable hostility toward blacks as existing among various ethnic groups, including the Germans, French, Irish, and Scots. The title and main conceit here play on the differing regional cuisine: Cod-Fish as the staple of the North and, for the South, "Hopping-John," which he identifies as "Stewed Rice, Cow-Peas, & Bacon a Noble & invigorating dish much in Vogue," and "Johnny-Cake" or "Indian Corn-Bread the stamina of the South." A crowd has gathered at a wharf to witness a confrontation between a man draped from head to foot with cod-fish and onions and a wealthy southerner (center). The former grips the hand of a black youth (far right) and declares "Massachusetts never will relax in her demand, for this gentleman and friend of mine [i.e., the black man], enjoying his rights & protection, in the true spirit and meaning of the Constitution of the United States." A young woman stands at the man's side, her arm around his, and reassures the black youth, "Poor Soul Sir will do all he can to save you, from these wretched varmints." The southerner, who is dressed in white breeches, riding boots, and coat, reacts angrily, waving his riding crop, "There lies your path! be off at once, with that Black Villain for we are resolutely determined to permit no innovations in our Constitution and Sacred Laws at the hazard of Life & Fortune." A stout man in a long coat to the left chimes in on the southerner's behalf, "Why you must be a downright Ass to presume that our Sacred Constitution and Laws can be altered to suit your nonsensical Cod-Fish and Onion Notions." The black man, who is barefoot, says to his protector, "Ole Massa I tink wee best go way kase dees Bockara is blongst foh make Swonga dat fashion. But dem hadn't ought foh call you ole ho! Dem is too Cubbitch to gie me right!" Various comments come from the crowd. An Irishman: "Tunder & turf de darn Nagur has nie call wid de Repeal My honey." The Repeal movement was a source of strife in Ireland at the time (see "O'Connell's Call and Pat's Reply," no. 1843-1.) A Frenchman: "Vous etes bougres black dem rasskal. Je ne parle wis un Diable." A German or Dutchman: "Verdam black baese quiesta. Der fisch isch more schtink auer saur-Crout und kase!" A club-wielding Scotsman: "A'l noke ye doon ye black veelain gin ye 'mak anither wee whimper." Another man: "Hold your jabbering You black Son of a ----." Several slaves and their master appear at far left. The slaves remark, "Please ole massa let me gie that Yankee Nigga one Punch in e gut," "Ole Massa Chase it foh ebery body gwine free," and "Hold you mout you is one dam fool." In the foreground sits a large cannon with mottoes inscribed: "Pro Patria" and "Animis opibusque parati." Beneath the cannon a pile of spilled coins, "Our Blood & Treasure."|James Akin of South Carolina Lithographer, Philadelphia, April 1845.|Published at no. 18 Prune St. Philad.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Purchase Caroline and Erwin Swann Memorial Fund.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1845-6.

This kit provides teachers, college faculty and other educators with the materials needed to engage students in a dynamic and constructivist process of learning how antiwar movements have been perceived by the people in the United States and how the U.S. media has constructed that public perception. The subject areas covered include U.S. history, African-American studies, labor studies, Latino studies, media studies, Native American studies, peace studies, sociology and womenŒ_ΏŁ_ studies among many others.

In this lesson, created in partnership with the Association for Cultural Equity, students discover how the banjo and music making more generally among slaves contributed to debates on the ethics of slavery. They listen to slave narratives, examine statistics, and read primary sources to better understand how slavery was conceptualized and lived through in the 18th and 19th centuries. Throughout the lesson, students return to videos created by Alan Lomax of pre-blues banjo player Dink Roberts as a way to imagine what music among slaves in the United States may have sounded like.

A portrayal of the nocturnal raid on the Charleston post office by a mob of citizens and the burning of abolitionist mails found there in July 1835. Mail sacks are handed through a forced window of the ransacked post office, torn open and bundles of newspapers such as "The Liberator," the Boston "Atlas" and "Commercial Gazette" removed and strewn about. At left, in an open square before a church, a crowd surrounds a bonfire. A sign reading "$20,000 Reward for Tappan" hangs on the wall of the post office, referring to the bounty placed by the city of New Orleans on the head of Arthur Tappan, founder and president of the American Anti-Slavery Society.|The Library's impression of "New Method of Assorting the Mail" was printed on the same sheet as another abolitionist print, "Southern Ideas of Liberty" (no. 1835-3), and may have been part of a series with that title.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 38.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1835-2.