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Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.14,0:00:01.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [David] Hey, readers.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.23,0:00:03.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This video is about historical context.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.45,0:00:05.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Let's get into what that is.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.97,0:00:08.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Have you ever heard a joke from a friend
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.13,0:00:10.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you didn't find it very\Nfunny and your friend goes,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.03,0:00:11.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Ah, you had to be there."?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.82,0:00:13.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's historical context.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.61,0:00:15.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We can't be there, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.63,0:00:16.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's over.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.46,0:00:18.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can't get there from here, pilgrim.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.60,0:00:20.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Studying historical context
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.55,0:00:22.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,allows us to get the joke,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.95,0:00:23.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as it were.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.78,0:00:25.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It allows us to understand the environment
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.92,0:00:28.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that a writer was operating in.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.08,0:00:30.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The political, social, cultural,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.99,0:00:33.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,geographical factors that\Nall play into how or why
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.62,0:00:37.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,someone might be writing\Nat a particular period.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.65,0:00:39.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's like asking your\Nfriend to explain the joke.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.91,0:00:43.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Historical context helps you\Nbetter understand the text.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.76,0:00:45.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, with that in mind,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.84,0:00:48.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm going to read you an excerpt from
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.12,0:00:50.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Autobiography of Frederick Douglass
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.73,0:00:53.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before giving you any historical context.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.89,0:00:56.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I have never approved\Nthe very public manner
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.73,0:00:58.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in which some of our Western friends
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.53,0:01:01.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have conducted what they call\Nthe Underground Railroad,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.47,0:01:02.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but which, I think,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.58,0:01:05.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by their open declarations has\Nbeen made most emphatically
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.88,0:01:08.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the upperground railroad.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.49,0:01:11.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I honor those good men and\Nwomen for their noble daring.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.21,0:01:12.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Upon the other hand,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.69,0:01:15.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I see and feel assured that\Nthose open declarations
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.69,0:01:19.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are a positive evil to\Nthe slaves remaining
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.17,0:01:20.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who are seeking to escape.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.82,0:01:23.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They do nothing towards\Nenlightening the slave,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.01,0:01:25.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whilst they do much towards\Nenlightening the master.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.83,0:01:27.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They stimulate him to greater watchfulness
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.95,0:01:31.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and enhance his power\Nto capture his slave."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.38,0:01:32.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, let's get into this.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.29,0:01:34.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you are unfamiliar\Nwith Frederick Douglass,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.65,0:01:36.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it is my privilege to present him to you,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.99,0:01:40.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and to give you a little\Ncontext on his life.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.20,0:01:42.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of America's premier\Norators and writers
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.34,0:01:44.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was the honorable Mr. Douglass.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.82,0:01:48.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The excerpt I just read\Ncame from his 1845 memoir,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.52,0:01:51.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Narrative of the Life\Nof Frederick Douglass,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.36,0:01:53.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an American Slave".
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.46,0:01:55.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here's some context on Frederick Douglass.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.62,0:01:58.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He grew up enslaved in Maryland.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.11,0:02:01.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1838, he escaped and\Ntraveled first to New York,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.68,0:02:05.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then to Massachusetts,\Nwhere slavery was illegal.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.10,0:02:08.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This helps me understand\Nwhere Douglass is coming from.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.37,0:02:10.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He escaped slavery himself.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.82,0:02:13.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The network of people, free Black folks,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.50,0:02:15.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,white abolitionists, Quakers,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.21,0:02:17.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and others who helped\Nferry enslaved people
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.70,0:02:19.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,along secret routes to freedom,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.23,0:02:21.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were known collectively as\Nthe Underground Railroad,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.48,0:02:25.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's important to know\Nthat Douglass did not himself
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.65,0:02:27.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,use this network to escape slavery.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.79,0:02:29.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with only a handful of friends,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.63,0:02:33.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,courage and unbelievable good luck,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.39,0:02:35.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Douglass escaped enslavement.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.82,0:02:38.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, what is he getting at in this passage?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.27,0:02:41.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What's he saying with all this\Nupperground railroad stuff,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.58,0:02:43.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how does the context of his life,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.85,0:02:47.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how does that context help\Nus answer these questions?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.07,0:02:48.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because it kind of sounds like he's saying
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.66,0:02:51.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he doesn't like the\NUnderground Railroad, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.99,0:02:53.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He has never approved of it,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.04,0:02:55.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which if we know anything about Douglass,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.05,0:02:57.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sounds like it doesn't make sense.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.60,0:03:00.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why would a man who slavery himself
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.20,0:03:03.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,dislike the Underground Railroad?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.30,0:03:05.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not that he doesn't\Nlike the route to freedom,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.19,0:03:06.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how could he not?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.02,0:03:07.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he says as much,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.75,0:03:10.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,quote, "I honor those good men and women
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.23,0:03:11.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for their noble daring",
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.67,0:03:14.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but he doesn't like\Ntheir open declarations
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.93,0:03:16.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of what they're doing.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.11,0:03:18.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He wants it to remain secret.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.90,0:03:21.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Douglass is approaching this\Nfrom a position of empathy
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.99,0:03:25.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with those people who are still enslaved.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.24,0:03:27.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The open discussion of\Nthe Underground Railroad
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.69,0:03:30.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,endangers everyone", he argues.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.37,0:03:32.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Rather than enlightening the slave,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.10,0:03:34.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it enlightens the master", he says here.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.08,0:03:36.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It educates him and makes him aware.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.42,0:03:37.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If the enslaver is aware
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.89,0:03:40.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that there is a network of abolitionists
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.02,0:03:42.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ferrying people out of bondage,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.24,0:03:45.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's valuable information\Nto the enslaver.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.87,0:03:47.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's information that Douglass
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.50,0:03:50.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,doesn't want that person to have.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.49,0:03:52.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He himself doesn't give details
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.31,0:03:55.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about how he escaped in his autobiography.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.05,0:03:57.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He wouldn't come clean\Nabout how he did that
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.06,0:03:59.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until well after the end of the Civil War,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.24,0:04:01.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when slavery was illegal everywhere,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.39,0:04:03.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he was out of danger.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.39,0:04:05.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Knowing that Douglass was also wary
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.07,0:04:08.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about giving away too many\Ndetails of his own escape,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.07,0:04:09.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because legally, in 1845,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.47,0:04:13.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the family that enslaved him\Ncould have just hired somebody
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.07,0:04:15.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to kidnap him back into slavery.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:15.29,0:04:17.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Knowing that gives us the context
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.76,0:04:19.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to better understand his discomfort
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.73,0:04:22.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with what he calls the\Nupperground railroad,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.37,0:04:26.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the open and advertised effort\Nto liberate enslaved people.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.70,0:04:29.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He wants to maximize the\Nnumber of people freed,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.97,0:04:33.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which means keeping the\NUnderground Railroad a secret.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.21,0:04:35.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, I hope the context I provided
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.28,0:04:38.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,informed your understanding\Nof the passage.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.10,0:04:40.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Remember, when reading\Na historical text, ask,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.80,0:04:43.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who was writing, what was\Nhappening while they were writing,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.65,0:04:46.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and why might they have said\Nor written what they did?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.50,0:04:48.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Those details can help\Ngrow your understanding,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.60,0:04:52.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not just of historical texts,\Nbut of contemporary ones too.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.89,0:04:53.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thanks for watching.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.89,0:04:55.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can learn anything.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.34,0:04:56.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,David out.