Frederick Douglass’ was an African American man that was catered to the abolitionist movement after growing up as a slave. When he was just twelve years old, his slaveholder’s wife and other white children in the neighborhood taught him the alphabet. Douglass’ was one of the most intellectual of his time because of his distinct ability to read and write even though others of his kind could not. His speech titled as What to the Slave is the Fourth of July questioned the everyday practices of the American people. Some of which would be the enslaving of the black ethnicity, the hypocrisy of the United States government, as well as the wrong teaching of the Declaration of Independence. Thirty years before Douglass’ death, the actions of slavery …show more content…
was abolished and that really speaks truly for all that he did during his lifetime in our country. His main accomplishment and goal was that helped abolish slavery, but his speeches that he spoke really impacted the society during his time. Douglass’ speech ab was a great way to reflect upon the realities of the American society because his whole intention was to put an end to slavery, compare their practices to other countries and point out the characteristics of the slave’s view of Independence Day. From my stand point the maltreatment of the black ethnicity needed to be put to an end and Douglass’ surely helped the cause of that during his time.
His speech and other literary documents helped develop him as a trailblazer in the African American community. In the excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, it mentions the total equality of all men from creation. If that is so true, then Douglass has a problem with this message because that is not how America is at the moment. His main purpose throughout his life was to end the actions of slavery in our nation and his speech helped spark that movement. Douglass’ believes that slaves are men as well, so the when the Declaration states that “All men are created equal,” the American founders are not holding true to their word. He does not think that America can truly be a nation when they do not follow the Declaration that they created seventy-five years ago. If the government aligned these standards then we should hold true to them. We follow ninety percent of everything else in the Declaration and when the reading gets to the subject of all people should be treated equally the American people want to overlook that. He believes that America needs to realize that slaves are not free so there is not a Fourth of July to celebrate every year for …show more content…
them. In Douglass’ point of view, of country performs bloody actions that other nations do not.
We supposedly stand as a united nation and treat everyone as equal but then look cause these slaves get whipped, raped, and forced to perform tedious assignment in brutal weather. There was not a good or valid reason for the punishment of these colored men and women. They were only treated in this way because of their skin color. We had black men and women that should be treated as equal because that is what the Declaration states. Instead they were maltreated in many ways and did not get the ability to voice their opinion as much as those that are free. Douglass mentions how others needed to give his ethnicity a better level of respect. He was right and his speech about Independence Day does the opposite of that. If other nations do not look down upon those that have foreign ancestors, then the United States has no reason to do
that. Frederick Douglass directly critiques how the celebration of the Fourth of July in America does not mean the same to white men and women as it does to slaves. When those that are free wake up and see Independence Day they are thinking about the other countries claiming of this American nation. The whole point of that holiday is to celebrate that all people in the country are free from the chains and bondage that were forced upon them by Great Britain. However, all the people that are that are free are enjoying the fact that they are free, although that is not the case for the colored people that are continuing to get held captive even after the Declaration of Independence was signed. There is not a Fourth of July celebration every year for slaves, but rather even more agony. When July comes around there is even more concern for why the slaves have to live in the position they are in. I feel as if you cannot expect me to celebrate a day that only benefitted you and nobody that looked like myself. If that is the case then there should not be a celebration because you are creating a false image for the American people. Furthermore, Douglass critiques the celebration of the Independence Day in America. Douglass’ uses many different ways to keep his audience’s attention and help them envision what problem is in front of this nation. The title was created to make a closer relation to Douglass’ point of view on slavery. The title also catches the reader’s attention so that they know exactly what the subject is. The first line of his speech sounds like spoken words because he says “Allow me to ask, why I am called upon to speak here to-day.” He speaks about him using the “severest language possible” and words are taken in as severe when they are heard not written because of their tone. He approaches his listeners with a serious tone just by the words he speaks. He does not come across his audience in a playful or even a desperate manner. He just wants them to know that the slaves are people of this nation as well and they should be treated as such. His attitude towards his viewers helped him because he seemed caring for all the others enslaved men and women. The language used in his speech was up-to-date but seemed to be canny. That just shows the level of intelligence that Douglass’ exhibited in his daily life. Through his words his imagery helped me picture what it was like for the African Americans on the Fourth of July. An allusion he made for his spectators was when he spoke about slavery in America that lead to him bringing up the practices of other nations. There are many literary devices shown is Douglass’ speech that help the listeners visualize what it is really like for slaves on the Fourth of July. His strategic mindset throughout this speech was to ask questions, use severe language, and to speak with authority.
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.
Frederick Douglass is known as one of the most prominent African American figures in the Civil War, serving as a consultant to President Abraham Lincoln, an acquaintance to William Lloyd Garrison, giving many civil rights lectures, and highly influencing the Emancipation Proclamation. Frederick Douglass is known for his abilities as an abolitionist, orator, writer, and social reformer.
America in the mid to early nineteenth century saw the torture of many African Americans in slavery. Plantation owners did not care whether they were young or old, girl or boy, to them all slaves were there to work. One slave in particular, Frederick Douglass, documented his journey through slavery in his autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Through the use of various rhetorical devices and strategies, Douglass conveys the dehumanizing and corrupting effect of slavery, in order to show the overall need for American abolition. His use of devices such as parallelism, asyndeton, simile, antithesis, juxtaposition and use of irony, not only establish ethos but also show the negative effects of slavery on slaves, masters and
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
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 after the independence and another still fight for basic human rights. What does the independence means for people who still suffer after it? This question is the most important. In the Declaration of Independence. He is implying that these rights are not being extended to African Americans. When this country was created it was meant to be a plac...
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...
Douglass states, “What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and loses his own soul? It may be said, also, What doth it profit a nation to gain the whole world, and lose its honor?” stating that America loses their honor when they call upon their citizens in time of war but once war has been won and America is in a time of peace they alienate those same citizens and make them slaves and discriminate against them again, which leads Douglass to ask this question, “Shall we be citizens in war, and aliens in peace? Would that be just?” Absolutely not! Douglass states that the negro has been a citizen three times and each time in a time of war. Never in a time of peace and that’s so true. In 1776 when America gained their independence The Constitution stated that all men were created equal and rightly so. In Americas time of need nobody discriminated on who they were fighting alongside but rather welcomed the brother to arms. Once the war was over the African Americans went back to the plantations and to slavery. What did American constitution have to say then? They acted as though the same man who gave his life for his country those three separate times was not worthy to be a citizen afterwards due to the color of their skin. Well the right to bear arms and fight for his country grants you the right to suffrage, which was Fredrick Douglass’s
Frederick Douglass was an African American born in slavery in 1818 in Talbot County MD, he devoted his work to inspire blacks to believe that color need not to be a permanent influence on their dreams whilst reminding whites to be mindful and support equal access to the American dream. Douglass, thought himself how to read and at the age of sixteen rebelled against his slave master for humiliating, tormenting and all the beatings he received whilst with the slave master. There were whispers of him being the son of a slave master who was white and cruel to him and never talked about him. Douglas in search of the truth about himself never had a relationship with his mother because he was taken from her mom as an infant and
Douglass was speaking from experience and what he knew and been through so this is also what might have made the argument even stronger and everything he said more important. You wouldn’t know what’s going on unless you been through it and that’s a fact. The main argument in his speech is “To the American slave, the 4th of July is a cruel sham”, to make that argument stronger he stated that “The manhood of the slave is conceded. It is admitted” and this here shows that laws support his argument that they are all humans and deserve to live as humans. He does not share in America’s blessing and he stated that by basically saying that the rich inheritance of justice and liberty is shared by everyone else except for him and his
As Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin known for black power movement stated, See, justice is a joke in this country, and it stinks of its hypocrisy”. The United States lives a hypocritical lie claiming “freedom” with the famous “all men are created equal” constitution, however America has denied those basic rights to colored men throughout decades. Frederick Douglass testifies to the hypocrisy of American slavery through his speech where he makes a strong point in defining what's wrong with America. Using a Toulmin model of rhetorical analysis, Frederick Douglass’s main claim is that people in America are hypocrites because they celebrate independence while the American society continues slavery.
Frederick Douglass depicts the hypocrisy, horrors of slavery, and the immense inequalities between white Americans and African Americans in his speech. Specifically, he portrays the difference in the importance of the Fourth of July between the two races. The meaning of the holiday differs greatly between the two groups. In particular, he targets the hypocrisy of not just a group people, but the character of a nation.
Frederick Douglass was an American abolish, an author, and a orator. He escaped slavery at the age of 20. He wrote three autobiographies, that described how it was to be a important works of the slave narrative tradition. For 16 years he edited an influential black newspaper, and achieved international fame as an inspiring and persuasive speaker and writer. In thousands of speeches he spoke against slavery and racism. Frederick Douglass was the most important black american leader of the nineteenth century.
Frederick Douglass was intense and unapologetically true with many of the things that he spoke about in his speech on July 5, 1852. And whether they are popular today or not, they still serve as true statements on society today. Celebrating Independence Day while another group of people are suffering harsh conditions is not just hypocrisy; it is an insult to that group of people’s intelligence. Frederick Douglass in his moving, but perfectly spoken speech, showed how at that time, America had such a long way to go as a nation; and even though there has been some progression, still has a long way to go as far as people being treated with their due
He states that any just man who is not (unfair, pre-decided bad opinions) will see that his words are of truth. He speaks of the Constitution, he speaks of the Bible, and he speaks of God. With such credited references backing up his argument, it would almost make a man feel like the devil to even dare to disagree. For the last half of his speech, Douglass addresses what he should speak of, what he should argue. He goes into detail about each different aspect of why African Americans have the same natural right to freedom as do any other human beings. One by one, he suggests he argue about the slave being a man, that man be entitled to freedom, that it is wrong to make men "animals", and finally, that slavery is not wonderful/God-related. With each, he explains details about the fact that each argument is so basic, so understood, that it need not be argued. It all flows back to his own argument about the holiday on which he speaks. Freedom is the natural right of all
Frederick Douglass grew up during an unfortunate time in America when the term, "All man created equal", only applied to those who were white. Douglass, who was born a slave, had to undergo the evils and horrors of his unwanted reality. Born into oppression, Douglass had no means of escape as the powerful white slave owners did everything in their power to hold down their black property. He was taken from his mother at a very young age and dehumanized in every single way imaginable by his oppressors. Despite being dragged away from the care of his mother at such a young age, the thing that Frederick, and all other slaves, were deprived of the most was an education. Education, more than anything else, is what separates slaves from their