On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass, an African-American ex-slave and abolitionist, delivered a speech in Rochester, New York at the city’s annual Fourth of July Celebration, to the citizens of Rochester. Allowing the people of Rochester only a day to immerse in the “patriotic” festivities of the Fourth of July, Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the 4th of July?” challenges American ideals such as liberty, equality and justice, by providing arguments that examine the religious, moral and constitutional principles that the American people claim to abide by and glorify. Through rhetorical strategies such as repetition, pathos and logos, Douglass exposes the paradoxical nature of the Fourth of July. To begin, Frederick Douglass uses repetition to put emphasis on his ideas. In the beginning of the speech, Douglass repeats the word “your” to communicate to the audience that African-Americans do not have national independence and political freedom, and therefore are unable to celebrate the 4th of July. The repetition of “your” places his ideas onto the audience by connecting his perspective of the holiday with their experience, while depersonalizing the 4th of July from the African-American society. For instance, Douglass states, “It is the birthday of your [emphasis mine] National Independence, and of your [emphasis mine] political freedom. This, to you, is what the Passover was to the emancipated people of God. It carries your [emphasis mine] minds back to the day, and to the act of your [emphasis mine] great deliverance...” By dissociating the independence of the nation with himself, Douglass connotes the meaningless of the 4th of July to the African-American people, in order to make known to the audience that African-Americans are un... ... middle of paper ... ...e to the audience that the Bible adheres to the deserved emancipation and support of African-Americans, rather than enslavement and oppression. For example, Douglass preaches, “ A worship that can be conducted by persons who refuse to give shelter to the houseless, to give bread to the hungry, clothing to the naked, and who enjoin obedience to a law forbidding these acts of mercy, is a curse, not a blessing to mankind. The Bible addresses all such persons as ‘scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites, who pay tithe of mint, anise, and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith.” By using Matthew 23:23 to assert American Christians as righteously indignant, Douglass infers that if the White American people are truly Christian, they will obey the doctrines of The Bible and negate their duplicity by showing love and mercy to black people.
In Rochester, New York on July 5, 1852 Frederick Douglass, a former slave, spoke at the Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society on the irony of rejoicing and celebrating the freedom and independence of America, a country in which so much of the population was not free, but rather enslaved (Faigley 351). His speech was a fiery call to arms for the abolitionists at the meeting to not only concern themselves with the issue, but also to take action; not only to listen but to become engaged. His work was a powerful example of the anger, frustration, and raw emotion felt by the millions of slaves in the Americas, and how it could be put to work, exposing the hypocrisy of many white
In the speech, “what to the slave is the Fourth of July?” which Fredrick Douglass gave he emphasized how the fourth of July is not a celebration to the slaves but an insult and ridicule. Douglass uses logos and pathos to make the audience understand his point of view and how this so called “independence day’’ is for whites only because the black people in America are still slaves , which in turn means they can’t celebrate this day. Using these rhetoric’s he conveys his point on how this day is adds insult to injury.
Frederick Douglass’s speech was given to so many of his own people. The fact that Douglass speaks so harshly to them proves that he has passion for what he talks about through-out. “What to the slave is the Fourth of July”, compares and contrasts the different meanings the Fourth of July shared between Whites and African Americans. Douglass says “What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim”. Frederick Douglass was not striving for the attention, he just wanted to get across that the Fourth of July is not a day of celebration to African Americans and the respect he shared with them, having once being a slave himself.
On July 5th 1852, Frederick Douglass, one of history’s outstanding public speakers, carried out a very compelling speech at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York. Within that moment of time where the freedom of Americans was being praised and celebrated, he gathered the nation to clear up the tension among slavery and the establishment of the country’s goals. Frederick Douglass’s speech mentions the development of the young nation, the Revolution, and his own life experience. While speaking, his main subject was seen to be American slavery. The “Fourth of July Oration” was a commendable model of Frederick Douglass’s affection and engagement towards the freedom of individuals. Frederick Douglass’s speech left an impact on his audience and continues to change the minds of those who read his speech today. I agree with plenty of dominant thoughts and cases he acknowledged in the “Fourth of July Oration.”
Frederick Douglass uses effective evidence and language in order to support his argument in the speech “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro.”
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey (or better known as Frederick Douglass) was born in 1818 to a black mother and a white father. Despite this unfavorable beginning, he was – and still is, to this day – universally recognized as a symbol for freedom. He dedicated his entire life towards earning rights like freedom and the right to vote for African American people.
Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist who altered America's views of slavery through his writings and actions. Frederick's life as a slave had the greatest impact on his writings. Through his experience as a slave, he developed emotion and experience for him to become a successful abolitionist writer. He experienced harsh treatment and his hate for slavery and desire to be free caused him to write Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. In his Narrative, he wrote the story of his miserable life as a slave and his fight to be free. His motivation behind the character (himself) was to make it through another day so that maybe one day he might be free. By speaking out, fighting as an abolitionist and finally becoming an author, Douglass's transformation from a slave into a man.
Frederick Douglass's Narrative, first published in 1845, is an enlightening and incendiary text. Born into slavery, Douglass became the preeminent spokesman for his people during his life; his narrative is an unparalleled account of the inhumane effects of slavery and Douglass's own triumph over it. His use of vivid language depicts violence against slaves, his personal insights into the dynamics between slaves and slaveholders, and his naming of specific persons and places made his book an indictment against a society that continued to accept slavery as a social and economic institution. Like Douglass, Harriet Jacobs was born into slavery, and in 1853 she published Letter from a Fugitive Slave, now recognized as one of the most comprehensive antebellum slave narratives written by an African-American woman. Jacobs's account broke the silence on the exploitation of African American female slaves.
I believe Fredrick Douglass’s speech was as captivating and popular as it was because he was actually worthy, strong, and intellectually outspoken enough to mention the real issues at hand. Also, he spoke from a “Negro” point of view which was to not applaud but say how dare you. Douglass calls out the absurdity of the fourth of July by speaking to the audience and anti-slavery society. Douglass exclaims, “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. To drag a man in fetters into a grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony.” (Page 2151). Douglass asserts that this day means nothing to him but injustice and cruelty which he constantly falls victim to. He also goes onto to say that this day is nothing but deception, fraud, and hypocrisy. Douglass gives great claims of how slanderous they have treated us through speaking of American slavery and also, how they mock God singing hymns but still just destructive. Overall, Douglass doesn’t applaud this day instead he just brings greater awareness of the causes that have taken place. He does acknowledge that yes, people will celebrate this day but understand what it means to what was covered up on this day such as the disgraceful crimes committed. This was labeled the best American speech of all time because Douglass because he says slavery will be hidden to the world and because no one has ever intellectually spoken truth to our liberty, freedom, and pursuit of happiness.
Hans Christian Andersen once said , “Just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom,and a little flower”. Every human being deserves to be free ,and to be able to make any decisions of their own. People are not property no matter the race or color of their skin. In Frederick Douglass speech “Hypocrisy of American Slavery” he mainly argued about how hipocrates Americans were.His speech was one of the most famous speeches about freedom ,and it changed the perspective of how people view the Fourth of July. This article can be reviewed using the Toulmin Model.
In this article Douglas talks about the connotations the Fourth of July has for African American slaves. He describes the Fourth of July for slaves as "a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim". Through the use of intense words and phrases such as "gross injustice" he indicates the immensity of the injustice of slavery he is describing. Douglas also uses a set of question to examine the true meaning of freedom and how it applies to all despite the color of their skin. He explores the meaning of universal freedom and states that there is not a man "beneath the canopy of heaven, that does not know that slavery is wrong for him". He invites his audience to reflect upon the issue of slavery and gives them a chance for personal growth through reflection. The question he poses in the Jeremiad encourage the reader to personally answer those questions and grow from the reflection. These questions not only foster personal growth but also encourage civil engagement. Douglas Jeremiad invites people to act upon their reflection of the passage as well. He tells them to realize the inhumanness of slavery and work to abolish it. Both Reagan and Douglas create
Douglass’s feelings toward the American people is angry. He is appalled that while his people are enslaved, whipped, and killed, the civilian population is praising their “freedom”. “Fellow-citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are, to-day, rendered more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that reach them,” (Douglass
Rhetorically, Douglass was a master of irony, as illustrated by his famous Fourth of July speech in 1852: "This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn," he declared. Then he accused his unsuspecting audience in Roch...
The speech I read was 'The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro', by Frederick Douglas. In the 4th July, being Independence Day, people celebrate it for their liberty, independence and separation from Great Britain. But all these joy applied only to those who were not under the burden of slavery, not to the slaves and Frederick Douglass, who was once a slave: “The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me” (Douglas, 1852). In this speech, Douglas reproved those that endorsed slavery and stated that it was not his plan to argue slavery since people were well aware that man is entitled to freedom, that slaves are men, that they are moral, intellectual and responsible
This work is part of Frederick Douglass book: “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” at Bedford/St. Martin 's; 2nd edition (December 25, 2002), and it is about Frederick Douglass Experience as a slave in Maryland and does 4th of July meant to a slave.