Question

excerpt from \what the black man wants\
by frederick douglass
delivered 1865
before the annual meeting of the massachusetts anti - slavery
society, boston, ma
i do not know, from what has been said, that there is any difference of opinion
as to the duty of abolitionists, at the present moment. how can we get up any
difference at this point, or any point, where we are so united, so agreed? i went
especially, however, with that word of mr. phillips, which is the criticism of gen.
banks and gen. banks policy. i hold that that policy is our chief danger at the
present moment; that it practically enslaves the negro, and makes the
proclamation the emancipation proclamation of 1863 a mockery and delusion.
what is freedom? it is the right to choose ones own employment. certainly it
means that, if it means anything; and when any individual or combination of
individuals undertakes to decide for any man when he shall work, where he shall
work, at what he shall work, and for what he shall work, he or they practically
reduce him to slavery. applause. he is a slave. that i understand gen. banks
to do - to determine for the so - called freedman, when, and where, and at what,
and for how much he shall work; when he shall be punished, and by whom
punished. it is absolute slavery. it defeats the beneficent intention of the
government, if it has beneficent intentions; in regards to the freedom of our
people.
what is the central claim of \what the black man wants\?
there is no logic
behind the
oppression of
certain groups,
such as black
people and
women.
in a country that
was built on the
idea of freedom,
everyone should
have equal rights.
slavery is a
violation of human
rights and should
be abolished
immediately.
the history of the
united states
treatment of black
people is strikingly
unjust and
atrocious.

Explanation:

Frederick Douglass's "What the Black Man Wants" focuses on equality in a nation founded on freedom. The excerpt emphasizes freedom as the right to choose employment, and the context of the US being built on freedom supports the claim that everyone should have equal rights. Other options either focus on other groups (first option), immediate abolition of slavery (third, but the central claim is about equality in the free - founded nation), or US history of injustice (fourth, while true, not the central claim of the work's focus on equality in a free - based country).

Answer:

In a country that was built on the idea of freedom, everyone should have equal rights.