Liberated from the Liberator: Frederick Douglass and Garrisonian Political Theology
I argue that Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison held very different political theologies, even while they seemed to work productively together from 1841 to 1847. Examining Douglass's self-presentation on both sides of his split with Garrison, I conclude that he stifled his Christian...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
[2017]
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| In: |
Political theology
Year: 2017, Volume: 18, Issue: 5, Pages: 423-440 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Douglass, Frederick 1818-1895
/ Garrison, William Lloyd 1805-1879
/ Bible
/ Anthropology
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| IxTheo Classification: | HA Bible KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history NBE Anthropology |
| Further subjects: | B
Frederick Douglass
B Force B Bible B William Lloyd Garrison B Abolition |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | I argue that Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison held very different political theologies, even while they seemed to work productively together from 1841 to 1847. Examining Douglass's self-presentation on both sides of his split with Garrison, I conclude that he stifled his Christian moral vision in order to comply with Garrisonian theological ideals while working in New England. After moving to Rochester, New York, Douglass was free to give full voice to his authentic Christian political vision. I explore their differing approaches to the Bible's authority, theological anthropology, and the moral permissibility of force, which influenced their political responses to slavery. Scholars such as John Stauffer and John Sekora have argued that his departure facilitated esthetic and racial forms of emancipation for Douglass; I argue that leaving Garrison allowed Douglass to express not only his authentic literary and black identities, but his true Christian identity as well. |
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| Item Description: | Das Heft ist als Doppelheft erschienen: "Volume 18 Numbers 5-6 August-September 2017" |
| ISSN: | 1462-317X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Political theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/1462317X.2016.1195593 |