About this video
David Walker was a Black political thinker of the 1820s and 1830s who wrote the Appeal, calling for the end of slavery and an early form of Black nationalism. His radical questioning of America's claim to be built on liberty made Southern slaveholders ban the Appeal.
You'll be able to
- describe who David Walker was and what his Appeal called for.
- explain why Southern slaveholders saw the Appeal as dangerous.
Key words
- Appeal
- David Walker's pamphlet calling for the end of slavery and action by Black people.
- Black nationalism
- The idea that Black people should unite and govern their own future; Walker's was an early ('proto') version.
- Radical
- Calling for deep, far-reaching change.
Transcript
David Walker, who is the next generation of Black American political writers, political thinkers in the 1820's and 1830's. He's just like a skilled laborer who writes something called the appeal to the colored people of the world, essentially, calling for the end of slavery for independence for a proto Black nationalism. He too, represents this questioning of the premise of the United States, when you say this is a country built on freedom, built on liberty, but here you have enslaved and oppressed an entire class of your citizens. Walker's voice is quite radical. In the South, basically, the appeal is banned from circulation, they're trying to keep it out of the hands of people because they view it as so dangerous, Southern slaveholders. But he becomes a very influential figure in terms of, again, his call for action,
but also his questioning of the very premise of American society and American political life.
Video © Khan Academy, used under CC BY-NC-SA. Watch on Khan Academy. Puzzicle is not affiliated with Khan Academy.