The literary work promoted patriotism and American virtues to American youth (Blakley, 2015). In "The Columbian Orator" there is a passage of banter between a runaway slave and his master in which "the slave was induced to say some very intelligent and impressive things...things which had the desired effect although unexpected, because the conversation resulted in the voluntary emancipation of the slave on the part of the master” (Douglass, ps. 59 and 60). This proves Douglass's intuitions about escaping slavery through literacy. In the same book is one of Sheridan's speeches on the subject of Catholic emancipation (Douglass, p. 60). Black freedom can be compared to the freedom Catholics now have to run for office despite hatred from the Protestant community (Blakley, 2015). What Frederick Douglass took away from reading Sheridan was “a bold denunciation of slavery and a powerful demand for the rights of man” (Douglass, p. 60). Sheridan's teachings allowed Douglass to collect his thoughts on slavery and argue against those who wanted to preserve slavery. For all the good Douglass received from these readings, it made him hate his slaveholders even more. Although Frederick Douglass' skill allowed him to understand the possibility of freedom, it plunged his soul into a dark abyss of self-realization knowing that he and his people had been treated so poorly for so long.