Question

read the excerpt from \what to the slave is the fourth of july?\.

but i fancy i hear some one of my audience say, \it is just in this circumstance that you and your brother abolitionists fail to make a favorable impression on the public mind. would you argue more, and denounce less; would you persuade more, and rebuke less; your cause would be much more likely to succeed.\ but, i submit, where all is plain there is nothing to be argued. what point in the anti-slavery creed would you have me argue? on what branch of the subject do the people of this country need light? must i undertake to prove that the slave is a man? that point is conceded already. nobody doubts it.

which statement best explains why this is an example of a counterclaim by douglass?

• douglass addresses a potential argument of the other side and makes a case against it.
• douglass addresses a potential argument of the other side and admits the point is solid.
• douglass makes a claim and offers facts to support it.
• douglass makes a claim and admits the flaws within it.

Explanation:

🆕 New Concept Discovered: Identifying and Analyzing Counterclaims
Addressing opposing viewpoints to strengthen an argument.

Step 1: Define a counterclaim

A counterclaim is an argument or position that opposes, contradicts, or challenges the author's main claim. Authors use counterclaims to anticipate what critics might say, showing that they have considered other perspectives before proving those opposing views wrong.

Step 2: Analyze the excerpt

In the passage, Frederick Douglass states:

"But I fancy I hear some one of my audience say, 'It is just in this circumstance that you and your brother abolitionists fail to make a favorable impression on the public mind. Would you argue more, and denounce less... your cause would be much more likely to succeed.'"

Here, Douglass introduces an opposing perspective—that abolitionists should argue calmly rather than denouncing slavery so harshly.

He then immediately responds to and refutes this perspective:

"But, I submit, where all is plain there is nothing to be argued... Must I undertake to prove that the slave is a man? That point is conceded already."

By showing that the humanity of enslaved people is already an obvious, agreed-upon fact, he argues that there is no logical point left to calmly debate; therefore, denunciation is the only appropriate response.

Step 3: Evaluate the options

• Option 1: "Douglass addresses a potential argument of the other side and makes a case against it."

This perfectly describes a counterclaim. He brings up the critics' advice to "argue more, and denounce less" (the opposing side's argument) and then explains why that advice is invalid (making a case against it).

• Option 2: "Douglass addresses a potential argument of the other side and admits the point is solid."

Incorrect. Douglass does not agree that he should argue more and denounce less; he strongly rejects it.

• Option 3: "Douglass makes a claim and offers facts to support it."

Incorrect. While he does make claims, this option describes a standard supporting argument, not why this specific passage is a counterclaim.

• Option 4: "Douglass makes a claim and admits the flaws within it."

Incorrect. Douglass does not admit to any flaws in his own stance.

Answer:

Douglass addresses a potential argument of the other side and makes a case against it.