
Anti-Slavery Dialectic
A Frederick Douglass Anthology
Paperback | 3 February 2026
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734 Pages
20.3 x 12.7 x 4.1
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Anti-Slavery Dialectic: A Frederick Douglass Anthology brings together the fugitive slave lectures and emancipatory thought of Frederick Douglass gleaned from his vast body of intellectual work as seminal contributions towards laying the philosophical foundations of Black liberation discourse in a single comprehensive edition.
What can the Revolt of human 'being' against chattel slavery tell us about the human condition? What does it mean to be human? And, how does this question of the meaning of human 'being' speak to socio-historical imperatives of human liberation against established structures of power in our contemporary world that are inscribed with an originary violence of chattel slavery, and thus systematically disavow ethical responsibility and disallow human consideration when confronted with the assertion of Black subjectivity-as-human 'being'?
Anti-Slavery Dialectic immediately serves as a classic text on the question of human freedom and outstanding testament of Frederick Douglass' enduring philosophical relevance to insurgent struggles of ascendant humanity against a western imperialist continuum.
Industry Reviews
"We understand Frederick Douglass the fugitive American slave is expected to deliver lectures on American slavery in Leeds, the week after next, Mr. Douglass is a noble specimen of physical intellectual manhood, and we have no doubt his lectures will excite the same interest in Leeds which they have done in Belfast, Liverpool, Edinburgh and other places."
Leeds Mercury, 12 December 1846
"Frederick Douglass, the famous fugitive from slavery, who is said by the Eastern papers generally to be a powerful speaker, lately addressed the good people of Lloydsville in this State. He soon obtained the command of their feelings, and set them to laughing or weeping at will."
Cincinnati Philanthropist, 15 November 1843.
"Douglass knew that the battle for African American liberation had to be fought on the philosophical terrain of discourse ..."
LaRose T. Parris, author of Black Thought Matters and Being Apart:Theoretical and Existential Resistance in Africana Literature
"His speeches were always logical, often lyrical and incomparably lucid. Laced with poetic allusions and built on a firm philosophical foundation, they embodied constant appeals to justice, equality, and freedom."
John W. Blassingame, editor of The Frederick Douglass Papers - Series One: Speeches, Debates, and Interviews, 5 Vols.
"Here are the eloquent words and penetrating thoughts that exerted a decisive influence on the course of national affairs for half a century and moved countless men and women to action in behalf of freedom. Most important of all, here are the militant principles of the outstanding leader of the Negro people whose ideas have remained vital and valid down to the present day."
Philip S. Foner, editor of The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass Vol.1-5.
A Collective Intellectual History of Frederick Douglass... 21
Introduction to an Insurgent Reading of Douglass.......... 31
Anti-Slavery Dialectic .............................................. 45
Revolt Against Human Slavery
First Existential Meditation on Slave Revolt .................. 53
Enslave Humanity at Your Own Peril............................ 64
Blood of the Slave on the Skirts of the Northern People... 67
No Tears When Slaveholders Meet with Death .............. 73
Nothing Short of the Blood of the Slaveholder .............. 77
Freedom's Battle at Christiana ...................................... 81
Is Civil Government Right? .......................................... 88
The Fugitive Slave Law ................................................ 97
A Terror to Kidnappers .............................................. 103
Is it Right and Wise to Kill a Kidnapper?..................... 104
Desire for Freedom ..................................................... 112
Second Existential Meditation on Slave Revolt............. 113
Slavery is What Incites Slave Revolt ............................ 137
The Slavemaster Already Recognizes the Humanity of the Enslaved 138
Bare Suspicion, False Accusations and Torture............. 139
The Final Struggle ...................................................... 140
Peaceful Annihilation of Slavery is Hopeless ................ 144
Slaveholders Beyond the Reach of Moral Appeals......... 145
Slaveholders Must Feel Death in the Air....................... 147
How to End the War.................................................... 169
The Power of Anti-Slavery .......................................... 173
Fighting Rebels with Only One Hand .......................... 187
The Proclamation and a Negro Army........................... 192
Men of Color, to Arms!................................................. 224
Why Should a Colored Man Enlist?............................. 229
The Mission of the War............................................... 236
Third Existential Meditation on Slave Revolt................ 268
Intellectual Resistance
First Existential Meditation on Intellectual Resistance.. 297
Every Tone as Testament Against Slavery ................... 310
A Still Tongue Makes a Wise Head .............................. 313
Keeping Down the Spirit of Insurrection pt.I................ 315
Sober Mind a Threat to Slavery pt.I ............................ 319
Slavery is a System ..................................................... 322
Overthrowing the Accursed System of Bondage ........... 343
Undoing the Burdens of My Brethren........................... 394
Who Will Take Care of the Philosophy?........................... 604
The Struggle to Be as the Question Forced Upon Us .................... 707
ISBN: 9781733551052
ISBN-10: 1733551050
Available: 3rd February 2026
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Number of Pages: 734
Audience: College, Tertiary and University
Publisher: Cannae Press
Dimensions (cm): 20.3 x 12.7 x 4.1
Weight (kg): 0.71
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