Final answer:
Frederick Douglass claimed to speak for Slaves in his speeches, articulating their suffering and resilience while challenging the moral paradoxes of a 'free' society tolerating slavery.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Frederick Douglass's speeches, he represented the experiences and perspectives of Slaves (option A). As a former slave himself, Douglass sought to expose the reality of slavery and advocate for its abolition. For instance, he criticized the hypocrisy of a nation founded on principles of liberty and equality, tolerating and perpetuating an institution that denied these rights to a significant portion of its population.
Douglass also acknowledged the negative effects of slavery on slaveholders themselves, illustrating the moral and societal degradation caused by the system. Yet, his central vision was to articulate the pain, suffering, and resilience of the enslaved people, making their voices heard in a society that largely ignored them. Therefore, while addressing all Americans indirectly, he specifically claimed to speak for enslaved people.
Douglass captured the paradox of 'Christian' slaveholders, who, regardless of their claimed faith, failed to recognize the humanity of enslaved people. He challenged the norms of his era and firmly advocated for the abolition of slavery, demonstrating an intellectual nuance and moral courage that elevated his contributions to American history and thought.
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