Which speech claimed the Constitution is anti-slavery by its text?

Which speech claimed the Constitution is anti-slavery by its text?

• A. Frederick Douglass - Constitution Speech (1860)
• B. William Lloyd Garrison - On the Constitution and the Union
• C. Lincoln - Protest on Slavery (1837)
• D. Frederick Douglass - Dred Scott Speech (1875)

Answer: (A)

Frederick Douglass’s Constitution Speech from 1860 argues that the Constitution can be read as anti-slavery in its text and structure. He contends that the document embodies liberty and has the means within its framework to challenge and end slavery, using constitutional principles to advance emancipation. This stands in contrast to William Lloyd Garrison, who viewed the Constitution as a pro-slavery compact needing rejection; Lincoln’s 1837 protest centers on slavery’s spread but doesn’t present a textual, anti-slavery reading of the Constitution; and Douglass’s Dred Scott Speech (1875) focuses on the Supreme Court ruling itself rather than arguing about the Constitution’s wording.

Frederick Douglass’s Constitution Speech from 1860 argues that the Constitution can be read as anti-slavery in its text and structure. He contends that the document embodies liberty and has the means within its framework to challenge and end slavery, using constitutional principles to advance emancipation. This stands in contrast to William Lloyd Garrison, who viewed the Constitution as a pro-slavery compact needing rejection; Lincoln’s 1837 protest centers on slavery’s spread but doesn’t present a textual, anti-slavery reading of the Constitution; and Douglass’s Dred Scott Speech (1875) focuses on the Supreme Court ruling itself rather than arguing about the Constitution’s wording.