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Mary Ann Shadd Cary : More Than A Woman

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Mary Ann Shadd Cary: More Than a Woman Mary Ann Shadd Cary was one of the most influential African-American, female leaders during the Antebellum era. As an advocate for equality and integration, Cary contributed an immense amount of effort towards establishing the foundation of black livelihood. Though labeled inferior on the basis of ethnicity and gender, she was a fierce, headstrong, successful activist in a political world dominated by white males. This essay will analyze Cary’s approach to solidifying African American safety and nationalism during the 19th century.
Native to the United States, Cary joined the massive migration of blacks to Canada following the implementation of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850. The law increased slave …show more content…

Plus, the region appeared promising for the advancement of the black man with respect to political, social, and economic status. Overall, she portrayed assimilation and establishment in a world dissimilar to the U.S. as a temporary fix for African Americans.
The weekly Provincial Freeman gained Cary access to a large scale audience. She used the pressing system to build the African American community in Canada through constructive strategies. As a writer, her most significant device was language. During the antebellum era, men possessed a great deal of power in and outside of the household. Cary used this fact to her advantage by manipulating her word choice in particular editorials. For example, in one article she argued that black men should have the opportunity to “plant his tree deep in soil” , which targeted the male readers specifically. By focusing on the more masculine, dominant portion of her audience, Cary was able to encourage more black families to migrate to Canada. Another strategy implemented to build the black community involved comparison tactics. By evaluating policies in both regions, Cary provided concrete evidence of the moral and political differences between the two. She also compared American Indian and white relations with that of black America. To her, African Americans could learn from the mistakes of Indians during the Manifest Destiny period and flee instead of fight. Ultimately, Cary portrayed Canada as the

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