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Frederick Douglass July 5th speech
Essay on the american anti slavery movement
A short summary of biographical profile of frederick douglass
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Frederick Douglass delivered one of the most famous anti-slavery speeches at the end of Independence Day celebrations in Rochester, N.Y., in 1852. Douglass begins his speech nervously by greeting everybody and apologizing for being nervous. In the beginning of the speech he makes an important statement when he says “The nation is young, and, like a young child, it is still impressionable and capable of positive change.” In this speech and throughout his life he pushed for equal justice and rights, and citizenship for African Americans.
Frederick Douglass was a genesis, his planning and logic in this speech is amazing. He sets up his argument for the freeing of all slaves by reminding the audience that, “in 1776, many people thought it was subversive and dangerous to revolt against British tyranny. In 1852, however, with hindsight, to say that America was right, and England wrong is exceedingly easy." Similarly, he also stated that “in 1852, people consider abolitionism a dangerous and subversive political stance.” Douglass then implies that future generations will probably consider his anti-slavery stance patriotic, just, and reasonable and that they
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Garrison saw the 13th amendment which abolishes slavery go into effect thirty-four years after his publication of The Liberator. It took his lifetime of work but as we can see, the morality of his position held up strong. Douglass concludes his speech on an optimistic note. He believed that anti-slavery sentiments will eventually triumph over pro-slavery forces and as we can see in today’s world he was right. He even closes his speech with a quote from one of William Lloyd Garrison poems called “The Triumph of Freedom”, the quote says, “stressing the inevitable arrival of freedom and the abolitionist's promise to fight slavery whatever the peril or the
After suffering the overwhelming ferociousness and inhumanity of being a slave for over two decades, a black man by the name of Fredrick Douglass fled from enslavement and began to make a concerted effort to advance himself as a human being. Combating many obstacles and resisting numerous temptations, Douglass worked assiduously to develop into a knowledgeable gentleman rather than the involuntary alternative of being an unenlightened slave. In doing so, Douglass successfully emerged as one of the Civil War era’s most prominent antislavery orators. From his first major public speech at the age of 23, Douglass became widely renowned as a premier spokesperson for Black slaves and the movement for the abolition of slavery. In one of Douglass’ most distinguished speeches, “The Meaning of July 4th for the Negro,” he uses the intermittent occasion of speaking on behalf of African Americans to a multitude of White Americans to outline arguments against slavery.
Frederick Douglass made the most of his years after escaping from slavery in 1852. Douglass spread his words against slavery through being a well-known writer. Douglass was one of the most prominent reform leaders of his era (Foner, 481). A popular document written by Frederick Douglass on July 5th, 1852, spread some powerful words among the nation. Douglass’s speech was titled “What to the slave is the Fourth of July”. When his speech was published, his intended audience was his “fellow citizens” and those unaware that the Fourth of July was a day of mourning for slaves; unlike white Americans celebrating the day of freedom. The reason Douglass’s speech was published was to bring attention to the separation on the Fourth of July between white and black Americans. Even though Frederick Douglass was free he could not celebrate but mourn the day for horror of the past and presence of slave cruelty.
1.) Fredrick Douglass’s purpose in this speech was to explain the wrongfulness of slavery in America. Fredrick Douglass states in his speech “Are the great principles of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?” and “The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence, bequeathed by your fathers is shared by you, not by me.” These prove that the freedom and independence Americans have aren’t shared with the Africans when it should be that Africans have those rights as well. Frederick Douglass then talked about how badly whites treat blacks and how wrong it is. “There are 72 crimes in Virginia which, if committed by a black man, subject him to a punishment of death, while
... William Lloyd Garrison the main idea of which is to set free the enslaved ones and establish legal state based on true democracy and equality of people. This moment is especially powerful because it allows Douglass to extend the scope of his influence. He makes an attempt to show that all people are the same, there are no exceptions. There will also come times when things will change as long as there are people who can recognize and tolerate otherness without harming this Other.
During Douglass lifetime one of his most important significances is about the 13th amendment, which still is very relevant in today’s society. The 13th amendment made it illegal to own slaves, and it was taken in to effect in 1865. (Fletcher, George P. pg. 52) The 13th amendment wasn’t an easy amendment to get through since slavery was such a big part of the society, especially in the south where many people owned multiple slaves. However, due to the fact that Douglass was a high ranked politician, and had great oral skills he was able to influence both the people in the society, congress, and House of Representatives. Though, it wasn’t only because he was a high ranked politician he was able to influence people and make them understand how horrific the slavery actually was. Twenty years before the 13th amendment was passed in congress, Douglass released an autobiography book “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.” In his autobiography book he explained about how it was to be a slave, what he had to do and how terrible it was. Additionally, he also explained about his escape from slavery and how he got in to politics, and different Anti-Slavery organizations. It’s very important to have Frederick Douglass in mind when talking about the 13th amendment because without him the 13th amendment most likely wouldn’t have passed
This excellent biography fluently tells the life story of Douglass; one of the 19th centuries's most famous writers and speakers on abolitionist and human rights causes. It traces his life from his birth as a slave in Maryland, through his self-education, escape to freedom, and subsequent lionization as a renowned orator in England and the United States. Fascinating, too, are accounts of the era's politics, such as the racist views held by some abolitionist leaders and the ways in which many policies made in post-Civil War times have worked to the detriment of today's civil rights movement. The chapter on Frederick Douglass and John Brown is, in itself, interesting enough to commend this powerful biography. The seldom-seen photographs, the careful chapter notes, documentation, and acknowledgements will encourage anybody to keep on learning about Frederick Douglass.
His main argument in the speech is that it 's unjust and hypocritical for a country to celebrate its freedom while it still has slaves. Now that in itself is a morally viable argument, and it has never been more relevant than today in our racially hate fueled world where every situation is turned into a hate crime. However, back in those days majority of slaves were sold into slavery by their own people. Most slaves were sold by rival tribes as prisoners of war, or trouble makers of the tribe, thus giving us the “bottom of the barrel” of the groups. Another counter to Douglass was that even though slaves were people, they were still considered property. A hard working farmer could have used his last penny in order to purchase that slave because he was unable to tend his farm and provide for his family. One common misconception was that all slaves were beaten and treated lower than swine, while to the contrary some were treated well being given a bed and meals every day in exchange for their hard work. While Douglass may have had a bad time under the ownership of Auld, most northern states did not treat their slaves in this manner. This is one of the main reasons Douglass learned how to read, yet no credit is given to his former owner. Most slaves developed a relationship with their owners, in which their owners taught them useful skills such as reading, writing, simple math and farming skills. Another argument brought into Douglass’ speech was that most churches were segregated, and in turn perpetuated the racism that helped keep slavery alive in well. He proposed that a God that wouldn’t allow such evil and disservice in this world would contradict everything the bible proposes and teaches. He praises the writers of the constitution, considering them his equal and thanking the signers of the Declaration of Independence, calling
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.
In his speech he tries to make white people consider the behavior of black people. Specially their feelings towards a national occasion such as Independence Day. At the time of Douglass’s speech America were actually two different nations, white and black. Two separated nations one had great benefits
In his speech, Frederick Douglass made it clear that he believed that the continued toleration and support of slavery from both a religious and legal standpoint was utterly absurd when considering the ideals and principles advocated by America’s forefathers. He began by praising the American framers of the Constitution, an...
Frederick Douglass was one of the foremost leaders of the abolitionist movement, which fought to end slavery within the United States in the decades prior to the Civil War. A brilliant speaker, Douglass was asked by the American Anti-Slavery Society to engage in a tour of lectures, and so became recognized as one of America's first great black speakers. He won world fame when his autobiography was publicized in 1845. Two years later he bagan publishing an antislavery paper called the North Star.
Frederick Douglass’ source, “The Desire for Freedom” was written in 1845. He was born into slavery in 1818 and became an important figure in the fight for abolition. Douglass was also involved in other reform movements such as the women’s rights movement. He “experienced slavery in all its variety, from work as a house servant and as a skilled craftsman in Baltimore shipyard to labor as a plantation field hand” (Pg.207¬). “The Desire for Freedom” was meant to document how his life was within slavery and how his education could someday help him escape it. Douglass meant to speak to American slaves and those who did not really understand slavery in order to help persuade everyone that life was meant to be lived freely. In order to obtain this future, Douglass wrote about his own personal experience and how he believed that enslavers were “in no other light than a band of successful robbers, who had left their homes, and gone to Africa, and stolen us from our homes, and in a strange land reduced us to slavery” (Pg. 208). This source brings on the idea that slaves were willing to fight back, wanted to be educated, and, most importantly, wanted the chance to live life freely.
“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe”( Douglass). This famous quote epitomizes the philosophies of Frederick Douglass, in which he wanted everyone to be treated with dignity; if everyone was not treated with equality, no one person or property would be safe harm. His experience as a house slave, field slave and ship builder gave him the knowledge to develop into a persuasive speaker and abolitionist. In his narrative, he makes key arguments to white abolitionist and Christians on why slavery should be abolished. The key arguments that Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass the most successful abolitionist who changed America’s views of slavery through his writings and actions. Frederick Douglass had many achievements throughout his life. His Life as a slave had a great impact on his writings. His great oratory skills left the largest impact on Civil War time period literature. All in all he was the best black speaker and writer ever.
William Lloyd Garrison was one of the most radical social reformers during his time, and was the publisher of The Liberator which a newspaper that highlighted the Abolitionists’ Movement’s cause. He advocated the immediate and complete emancipation of all slaves although it was an unpopular view amongst people, even to those residing in the North who were against slavery.Garrison managed to remain passive, the amount of violence from those who did not agree with him. He obtained numerous death threats, and the State of Georgia’s government even offered a reward of $5,000 for his arrest. Despite of this, he continued in getting his views across, and burned a copy of the Constitution on J...