Faculty Publications

Multicultural American Exceptionalism In The Speeches Of Frederick Douglass And Barack Obama

Document Type

Article

Keywords

African American studies, ethnicity, identity, race, rhetoric

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Howard Journal of Communications

Volume

29

Issue

3

First Page

225

Last Page

242

Abstract

In his Reconstruction-era speeches, Frederick Douglass faced a more complex rhetorical situation than prior to Emancipation: for the first time an African American man worked from within a major political party and to do this effectively Douglass pioneered a new kind of American exceptionalism rooted in America's “composite nationality” and founding social compact as well as his claim to a representative American identity. His rhetoric of Reconstruction contrasted with his ironic posture toward American principles in the era of slavery and the bitter period after “Southern Redemption,” but his constitution of self and nationhood formed an important model later adopted by Barack Obama. This article specifically examines Frederick Douglass's 1872 stump speeches, Barack Obama's 2008 stump speeches, “Recollections of the Antislavery Conflict” (1873), and “A More Perfect Union” (2008).

Department

Department of Languages and Literatures

Original Publication Date

7-3-2018

DOI of published version

10.1080/10646175.2018.1487891

Repository

UNI ScholarWorks, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa

Language

en

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