David Walker's Appeal: An Anti-Slavery Tract

Perhaps one of the most intrepid and inflammatory anti-slavery documents ever written, David Walker's Appeal (1830) has been largely overlooked by historians, but lauded for its self-affirming, no-nonsense confrontation with white power structures over the issue of chattel slavery. Walker's act of open protest was, in many ways, one that was characteristic of an age of uprising, as Walker's words mirrored the courageous acts of other early civil rights martyrs such as Nat Turner, who led the historical slave rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia, the following year.

Walker, the self-proclaimed "restless disturber of the peace" (Gates et al., 227) models his document after the United States Constitution, by presenting a preamble in which he decries the abhorrent state of his people. From the preamble Walker addresses the wrongs done to the colored people of the U.S. in articles and sections, denounces U.S. slavery as the most wretched manifestation of human bondage, and asserts his own humanity and that of his fellow bondsmen.

Like his predecessor, Olaudah Equiano, Walker engages the literary form and models imposed upon him by the dominant white culture to craft an act of rebellion. As you reflect on this document, compare and contrast Walker's Appeal to Equiano's Narrative. How does each author appeal to his readers' Enlightenment philosophies concerning democracy, human rights, and concepts of individual freedom? What references, or historical analogies does Walker use to reach his audience? Compare his tone and language to that of Equiano's. How do you respond to each?

Select some passages from Walker's Appeal that illustrate the ways the author attempts to provoke or persuade his audience on the themes of democracy and human rights. Which passages do you respond to the most, and why?