The Columbian Orator
"TheColumbian Oratorwas of profound importance to the shaping of the African American canon, throughThe Narrative of Frederick Douglass. David Blight has done historians and literary critics a profound service by so expertly editing this germinal text. A must read for scholars of American and African American studies."-Henry Louis Gates, Jr.,Harvard University"Thousands of young readers in 19th century America learned about eloquence and liberty from the stirring speeches, plays, and poems inThe Columbian Orator. When one reads it today—even better, reads it aloud—its eloquence speaks to us all."-Sydney Nathans,Duke University"Frederick Douglass validated his manhood by giving Edward Covey, his surrogate slave master, a good whipping. What inspired his fists was not only manly rage, but liberating knowledge—knowledge gained in part from his reading ofThe Columbian Orator. I read it now and the words still inspire and inflame."-Ossie Davis,