Question

[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 1

The options are:

a). by using his own personal experiences to gain their trust

b). by recounting emotional events to evoke sadness  

c). by explaining the reasoning behind his argument

d). by describing how he plans to effect change in the US

Answer:

C). by explaining the reasoning behind his argument

Explanation:

In the given excerpt, Douglass appeals to the readers' logical sense 'by elaborating the causes or reasons behind his argument.' He argues that a group of people determining the time, place, and duration of the work for an individual is basically a form of slavery and supports it with the reasoning that an individual who is free must decide these things independently on his own. The author further explains his point of view that it is not possible to pronounce someone a free man whose decisions are being taken by someone else as these decisions do not actually let them remain free(referring to the black population) and makes them slaves indirectly. Thus, option C is the correct answer.