Read the excerpt from "What the Black Man Wants." [W]hen 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. How does Douglass appeal to the audience’s sense of logic in the excerpt?
Answer
A
by describing how he plans to effect change in the US
B
by using his own personal experiences to gain their trust
C
by explaining the reasoning behind his argument
D
by recounting emotional events to evoke sadness
Explanation
Douglass uses a logical chain of reasoning: if someone else decides when, where, and how a person works, that person is effectively controlled like a slave. He then applies that principle to General Banks’s rules for freedpeople and concludes that those rules amount to slavery. This explains why choice C, “by explaining the reasoning behind his argument,” is correct; the excerpt does not focus on personal stories or sad events.
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