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?
Answer
A
Douglass addresses a potential argument of the other side and makes a case against it.
B
Douglass addresses a potential argument of the other side and admits the point is solid.
C
Douglass makes a claim and offers facts to support it.
D
Douglass makes a claim and admits the flaws within it.
Explanation
Douglass first presents a possible criticism from his audience: abolitionists should argue and persuade more, and denounce and rebuke less. He then responds by challenging that criticism, asking what about the anti-slavery cause needs further argument when the audience already concedes that enslaved people are human. This makes A correct: he addresses a potential opposing argument and makes a case against it.
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