By: Zane Johnson
For my history class, I had to read a speech written by Frederick Douglass called The
Composite Nation. I was inspired by the speech and decided to write a blog post about it. Before I start dissecting the speech, I am going to provide some background information about the period and Fredrick Douglass so that you can have a better understanding of the speech.
After the events of the Civil War and Reconstruction, advocating for equality was considered “cool” and “trendy.” However, there were still many people who had to suffer through the unfair treatment that comes from prejudice and discrimination. Frederick Douglass’ speech The Composite Nation fit this new trend of advocacy because it addressed America’s bias against Asian-Americans. Frederick Douglass was born in Tuckahoe, Maryland as a slave. He was involved in the abolitionist movement, the American Civil War, and the Reconstruction. Douglass convinced President Abraham Lincoln to allow black people to fight in the Civil War and to emphasize the importance of abolition. He also “became the highest-ranking Black official” (Britannica) in the United States during his time. His own experience with unfair treatment caused him to become an advocate for the equal rights of all minorities, so once Douglass knew about the unfair treatment of Asian Americans, he had to make a speech about it.
The first thing about the speech that I want to talk about is the title. The speech’s title uses the word composite. This word refers to something that is made up of different and unique components. Douglass uses this word to describe the United States because it is a country that has countless groups of people with different ethnicities and cultures.
The beginning of Douglass’ speech talks about how divided the United States is. Even though the country is composed of different groups of people, everyone constantly disagrees with each other. Douglass concludes that this division is caused by peoples’ refusal to take action and carry out the principle of absolute equality which has the potential to solve all of our problems and give us peace. Douglass explains that the United States’ refusal to give certain ethnic groups equal rights has harmed the country. He states that the unfair treatment of African Americans had “slacked humanity” and “brought the nation to the verge of ruin” (Voices of Freedom 20). The rest of the speech talks about the rise of the Asian immigrant population. Douglass believes that since the population of Asian Americans is rising, they should have the opportunity to vote and hold office. Although Douglass respects White Americans, he believes that they should
not keep the privilege of equality to themselves.
Douglass’s speech still has a lot of relevance today. We are still in a time when people are still trying to be treated equally. His speech can persuade anyone to promote not only the rights of Asian Americans but for the rights of all minorities. He describes a country that is unique because it combines people with different races and cultures. But the nation’s refusal to accept and respect those cultures is what makes the United States flawed. We are all made in the image of a common Creator, and refusing to give each other fair treatment goes against the natural order. Fredrick Douglass was one of the few people who knew that the only way that we can prosper is to accept each other’s differences.
Works Cited
Foner, Eric. Voices of Freedom: a Documentary History. W.W. Norton & Co., 2011.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Frederick Douglass.” Encyclopædia Britannica,
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 13 Aug. 2020,
www.britannica.com/biography/Frederick-Douglass.
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