"The Columbian Orator was of profound importance to the shaping of
the African American canon, through "The Narrative of Frederick
Douglass," David Blight has done historians and literary critics a
profound service by so expertly editing this germinal text. A must
read for scholars of American and African American studies."
"--Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Harvard University"
"Thousands of young readers in 19th century America learned
about eloquence and liberty from the stirring speeches, plays, and
poems in The Columbian Orator. When one reads it today--even
better, reads it aloud- -its eloquence speaks to us all."
"--Sydney Nathans, Duke University"
"Frederick Douglass validated his manhood by giving Edward
Covey, his surrogate slave master, a good whipping. What inspired
his fists was not only manly rage, but liberating
knowledge--knowledge gained in part from his reading of The
Columbian Orator. I read it now and the words still inspire and
inflame."
"--Ossie Davis"
First published in 1797, The Columbian Orator helped shape the
American mind for the next half century, going through some 23
editions and totaling 200,000 copies in sales. The book was read by
virtually every American schoolboy in the first half of the 19th
century. As a slave youth, Frederick Douglass owned just one book,
and read it frequently, referring to it as a "gem" and his "rich
treasure."
The Columbian Orator presents 84 selections, most of which are
notable examples of oratory on such subjects as nationalism,
religious faith, individual liberty, freedom, and slavery,
including pieces by Washington, Franklin, Milton, Socrates, and
Cicero, as well as heroic poetry and dramatic dialogues.Augmenting
these is an essay on effective public speaking which influenced
Abraham Lincoln as a young politician. As America experiences a
resurgence of interest in the art of debating and oratory, The
Columbian Orator--whether as historical artifact or contemporary
guidebook--is one of those rare books to be valued for what it
meant in its own time, and for how its ideas have endured. Above
all, this book is a remarkable compilation of Enlightenment era
thought and language that has stood the test of time.
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