Read the excerpt from "What the Black Man Wants." I am for the "immediate, unconditional, and universal" enfranchisement of the black man, in every State in the Union. [Loud applause.] Without this, his liberty is a mockery; without this, you might as well almost retain the old name of slavery for his condition; for in fact, if he is not the slave of the individual master, he is the slave of society, and holds his liberty as a privilege, not as a right. He is at the mercy of the mob, and has no means of protecting himself. How does the repetition of the phrase “without this” support the paragraph’s argument?
Answer
A
It indicates that Douglass would be content without material possessions or status.
B
It suggests that a free society is possible, with or without equal rights for all people.
C
It proposes that slavery will not be abolished in the US without the support of all citizens.
D
It reinforces the idea that without equality in the US, the idea of a free society is a joke.
Explanation
Douglass repeats “without this” to stress that Black men’s enfranchisement is essential to real liberty. Without the right to vote, he argues, their freedom is “a mockery” because they remain vulnerable and lack equal rights. This supports the idea that a society cannot truly be free without equality for all people, which is choice D.
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