...Makayla Cowles Professor Snow History 100 04 February 2015 The Meaning of the Fourth of July The Fourth of July is a national holiday celebrating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, which declared the United States free from England’s control. This day gives Americans the great opportunity to renew our dedication to the principles of liberty and equality. It speaks to all who strive for liberty and seek to show the principles of self-government. Unfortunately, not everyone living in America felt the same American pride on the Fourth of July. The freedmen and slaves living in America has different views about the United States and the documents securing freedom and equality. One man, Frederick Douglass, spoke out for the slaves and freedmen in his speech “The Meaning of Fourth of July for the Negro”. In 1852, Frederick Douglass was invited to speak about what the Fourth of July means for America’s black population. In his speech, Douglass questions what the Fourth of July means to a slave. His answer: the Fourth of July is, “a day that reveals to him … the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim”. Douglass continues by saying, “your celebration [is] a shame, a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages”. Douglass states there is no other nation on Earth guilty of the bloody and crimes made by Americans during this time. Douglass makes it known that equality is not within America. The high independence...
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...Gerry Gunawan Public Speaking 4th of July Speech 7/11/2012 The fourth of July speech that I choose is Obama Speech. The speech was held in White House building. He was accompanied by Michelle Obama the first lady. They hosted a barbeque party in the white house lawn. While everybody gather in the lawn for the party, He is giving a speech for this Fourth of July in 2012. The topic of his speech is about military “Represent what is best in America”. He thanks military heroes in the Fourth of July celebration. He said that “You serve under our proud flag. You and your families sacrifice more than most of us can ever know all in defense of those God-given rights that were first put to paper 236 years ago: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,”. He is then welcome everybody there for the barbeque and off courses the fireworks. The content of the speech is light and doesn’t contain anything that hard to understand. Simply thanking and naming all the people who become heroes to America and then he invites all the people to enjoy the food and the fireworks. He delivers the speech very loud and clear. He has a very good eye contact, he is reading a note but he keeps maintaining the eye contact to all the people who is coming there. He also doesn’t seem nervous or anxious at all. He maintains the speed of his speech very well and he doesn’t lose his composure when people are giving him applause. The situation there seems really happy and casual. I can see Obama wearing a...
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...In “The Fourth of July”, Audre Lorde express her anger toward American society. Her angry was caused by discrimination and racism in our Nation. I agree with Lorde, during this period in our nation’s history racism was treated differently. Lorde describes the excitement she felt before her family trip, her reaction to the first encounter of racism while on the trip, and how her parents did or did not deal with racism. To begin, I feel that Lorde was excited to receive a trip to Washington D.C. as a graduation gift. Lorde believed the trip was a gift of accomplishment for graduating the eighth grade, which turned out to be a train wreck. She didn’t understand what people meant by “it’s time to grow up” until her trip that summer in 1947. Her eyes were opened to what her parents had been hiding from her during childhood. The trip that was to celebrate her achievements and the beginning of her journey into adulthood turned into an abrupt experience that would change her aspect of our nation. Conclusion: Lorde provided a personal experience on how cruel our racial society could be. …….. I grew up in a mostly white neighborhood with only a few African Americans that went to my school, so racism was not an issue in my childhood. From the history books, movies, and articles like “The Fourth of July”, it helps me understand what it must have been like. With the Civil Rights Laws in place today, people are supposed to be treated equal, but unfortunately , that does not always...
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...Sydni Craig 000108021 Professor Bailey T and TR April 6, 2016 The Fourth of July In the story, the Fourth of July, by Audre Lorde the little girl is telling the story of a graduation present of going to Washington D.C. As a graduation present from graduating from the eighth and older sister from graduating from high school. And it says that she received the best graduation present but I agree to disagree with the people, who would say she received the best graduation present. I agree with going to Washington D.C. was the best graduation gift the eighth grader could receive. I agree because at a young age especially since she will be going to high school, it is great for her to see everything at firsthand of what the world was like during that time. It gives her an idea of how the world looks like in 1947, were as she is always being hidden from it and not telling what has been going on. But I can also disagree because her parents should explain to her in detail of what was going on, and I also disagree with that being a graduation present and it being the best present she will ever receive. She went through the process of seeing how and what life really is at her age and how it will be for the next couple of years. The world at the year if 1947 was full of racism and discrimination in which it is bad in some states, but also horrible in others. The young girl in the story witnesses her family and not be treated right at firsthand. The thing that was messed up about the...
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...The Fourth of July Audre Lorde’s “The Fourth of July”, is a very descriptive essay about racism and how it affected her deeply on a family trip to Washington, D.C. Audre uses sensory language to captivate her audience. She starts her essay out as an innocent child on vacation because her parents have tried to hide the ugly truth about racism from her. She tells of how she learned of her sister Phyllis not being able to go on a senior trip to Washington because they didn’t let blacks in the hotels. She explains in her writing that she was told at a young age not to trust white people but was never told why, this was confusing to her because her mother was light skinned along with her aunts. She uses verbal irony when she describes the brightness her eyes are exposed to in Washington, squinting up at the Lincoln Memorial. She states, “I was squinting because I was in that silent agony that characterized all my childhood summers.” She uses narrative commentary to describes an incident in the Breyer's ice cream and soda fountain...
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...Frederick Douglass, a well-known self-taught former slave, gave a speech about the Fourth of July on July 5, 1852 that challenged the institution of slavery and revealed the hypocrisy of the Fourth of July to slaves. Douglass uses ethos, pathos, and logos throughout his speech in order to convince his audience that there is no conceivable reason for slavery to exist. His audience were rich white citizens, including the president. Douglass first uses ethos by introducing himself to his audience and explaining how he got there, “… the distance between this platform and the slave plantation, from which I escaped, is considerable…” which establishes him as a former slave. The use of ethos isn’t a traditional one in this speech. Frederick Douglass, a very well-known speaker during this time, wouldn’t need ethos to prove himself credible. In this introduction he’s trying to appeal to the audience by acting like a grateful Freedman while subtly showing his credentials He talks about only speaking to he has a “little experience and with less learning” and had only spoken at “public meetings, in country school houses” yet states he has spoken to...
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...In Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Douglass gives a well written empathetic speech on the ignored truth and irony about the celebration of Independence Day. His descriptive and impactful retellings of the inhumane practices used in the slave trade gave listeners a revelation that slaves were more than items and laborers but were people just like them. His description of the slaves’ trials and tribulations as families, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters gave a relative point for listeners to second guess the trusted idea that slavery was only a business practice akin to selling cattle. He finally made slaves look like people in the eyes of the American citizen Douglass’ history as a former slave further pushes his point of how terrible slavery can be. Being a part of it firsthand gives a sense of surrealism to the situation since Douglass is not only speaking of slavery from things he’s only seen but situations he has experienced. If he was a man that had never gone through slavery I doubt his words would have made as much as an impact. Being an ex-slave Douglass can give the ugly but necessary truth of what slavery does to people. Douglass’ overall tone of the essay, to me, does seem angry. He puts down the unjust celebration of freedom by the American citizens all the while recalling the atrocities of slavery that exist alongside it. It’s impossible for to see his speech come off as anything but angry. To summarize, Frederick Douglass’ speech...
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...For Frederick Douglass the Fourth of July was a day to reflect on the hypocrisy in America at that time. It was a day to celebrate freedom for the free citizens and simultaneously imprisoning a race of people by keeping them in bondage. How could the citizens of America celebrate a day of independence while enslaving a race of people? It was a day to call attention to the principles of true freedom and ask oneself why the Negro is not included in this day that marks the Declaration of Independence. Life, liberty and pursuit of happiness is extended to every race, except the Negro. It was a day to mark the victimization of a race of people. In comparison, the founding fathers celebrated a day of gaining political independence from Britain and henceforth able to chart their own course. All free citizens have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for themselves. The Fourth of July was a day to recognize the growth and progress made since gaining independence and to dream...
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...end slavery, would you? Frederick Douglass, a former slave, presented his speech “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” at a celebration of the Declaration of Independance, but took it upon himself to make it known that the Fourth of July was not a day of celebration for him or his people. Douglass utilized pathos, rhetorical questions, and repetition to drive home his argument against slavery and to encourage his audience to also fight for equality between everyone. Pathos is a quality that evokes sadness and pity. Douglass used pathos all throughout his speech to continuously catch the attention of his audience and to give them a surreal realization of the world surrounding them. For example, in lines 60-67, Douglass referred to the slave and to humanity as “bleeding”, “fettered”, and “trampled upon.” He needed to use such thought-provoking words in order to catch the attention of his audience and to maintain that hold throughout the entire speech. Douglass also tried to incorporate his own emotion into his speech....
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...In the beginning of Fredrick Douglass’ famous speech, he’s embarrassed to be asked to speak about our nation’s Independence Day, the Fourth of July. At one point he questions, “Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here today?” (pg.503). Douglass requests his audience to be patient and respectful toward him, for he has endured as a former slave. Through much of the first half of the speech, Douglass describes how our fathers must have felt in 1776. Most were still loyal to Great Britain. The public didn’t know which side to take and if taking one, would seal their fate. Douglass is clearly speaking to a crowd of white and black citizens, by constantly reiterating that he respects the men that brought our great nation together. However, during the speech, he suggests that disastrous times are ahead if things don’t change. The United States are still a young nation that may not be forever. There’s a hidden anger during Fredrick Douglass’ speech of America. After quoting a passage from the Declaration of Independence, his view on the Fourth of July is obvious. “Resolved, That these united colonies are, and of right, ought to be free and Independent States” (pg.500). He continues to say to the people, you were granted freedom and you reap the fruits of their success. “The Fourth of July is the first great fact in your nation’s history” Douglass says (pg. 500). To a slave, there’s no independence and there’s no country they could call their...
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...“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” is a compelling praise and condemnation of the history of America. Frederick Douglas wrote said speech and was able to make perfect points and examples of this country’s faults with enough passion to draw a listener/reader in. Based on the time the speech was said and the people with the amount of patriotism the audience must have had, one can assume that Douglas’ almost belittling manner of speaking to them, almost as if they were children that needed to learn a lesson, was also a technique Douglas used to his advantage to be able to make his speech listen-worthy and as compelling as it was. Douglas’ very own patriotism can be questioned throughout this speech as one can infer that his patriotism and...
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...America was founded on freedom and equality. Americans were given rights that they were entitled to. Many people argue whether freedom is actually granted to everyone. Frederick Douglass argues that slaves are not free or given the rights that everyone else has as Americans. In his speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” he claims that the United States cannot consider itself a free country if all its people are not actually free. Similarly, Elizabeth Cady Stanton argues the point of women’s equality in part of her speech from the Declaration of Sentiments of the Seneca Falls Woman’s Rights Convention. Women were not treated as equally as the men were. By comparing and contrasting Douglass’s and Stanton’s speeches it is clear that...
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...Why is Christianity so central to Douglass’ argument? Why does he make numerous references to the Bible? Christianity is a religion based on values of love, respect, forgiveness, and understanding, and the Bible is the book from which those values are taught. Frederick Douglass, born into slavery, was a prominent figure in the fight to abolish slavery, and a great speech giver. In his speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Douglass centrals his argument around Christianity to bring to light the sham under which his audience resides, and makes numerous references to the Bible to support his claim. It has been, and still is to this day, said that the United States of America was built upon a foundation of Judeo-Christian values. In what feels to be increasingly heated words, Douglass speaks on behalf of the American slave, presenting to his audience the travesty they have made of the Christian faith. He explains that “American Christianity” is “to [the American slave], mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy – a this veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages” (Douglass 485). Through the use of harsh words, Douglass is hoping they will penetrate the souls of those listening, resulting in sorrow and guilt for allowing such a travesty to arise from a religion based on love and respect. Further into his speech, Douglass emphasizes on how the lives of his audience are a sham, and he feels he is helping them to do right by making...
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...“There are more African-American men in prison, jail, on probation or parole than were enslaved in 1850” (Alexander). Racism in present day America is harder to see than previous periods because the most apparent and obvious forms of racial discrimination, such as slavery or segregation, have been eliminated. Nonetheless, racism effects the political, economic, and sociocultural structures of America in ways that cause separation between people of color and whites. Race constantly affects the way we are seen in society and controls our actions. Racism leads to ostracizing, bullying, and even violence. “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples and “The Fourth of July” by Audre Lorde both exhibit these struggles of racism....
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...When America is typically described you usually hear phrases such as, “Land of the free and home of the brave or “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The Fourth of July celebration is a reminder of the struggles and challenges Americans undertook to win independence from Great Britain. However, for many people America wasn’t free, nor could they pursue life, liberty or happiness. Even though black men fought for the Continental Army, they still were not free and The Fourth of July celebration is a reminder of those times, when America was racial divided. A quote by Frederick Douglass in 1852 sums up how many Black Americans feel about the Fourth of July today; he said, "This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must...
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