...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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...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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...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 own. Although he believes in our...
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...“What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July” is a speech given by Frederick Douglass. In this speech, Douglass aims to give the audience a clear view of the injustices being experienced by slaves in America and what the Fourth of July means to them. Douglass implements vivid imagery and poignant anecdotes to evoke emotion from his audience. In “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July,” Douglass uses very specific imagery to paint a picture in the mind of the reader of the horrific abuse endured by the slaves. On one hand, Douglass uses his imagery to show the reader a jubilant scene. In the fifth paragraph of page 4, a display is described by phrases such as “Banners and pennants wave exultingly on the breeze,” and “The ear-piercing fife and the stirring drum unite their accents with the ascending peal of a thousand church bells.... while the quick martial tramp of a great and multitudinous nation, echoed back by all the hills, valleys and mountains of a vast...
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...On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass was invited to give a speech to the citizens of Rochester, New York. His speech was titled, “What, To The Slave, Is Fourth of July”, in his speech he reveals the hypocrisy, false appearance, of the nation’s freedom and justice. In his speech he states, “Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us” (Douglass p.46). He points out that the celebration of the fourth of July is not for African Americans when millions are enslaved. In the Declaration of Independence, it states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that...
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...Revolution and “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Thomas Jefferson first used the phrase, “all men are created equal,” in the Declaration of Independence which is something that has been criticized as an immortal declaration. It is also a popular phrase that is a popular theory prediction of the United States Revolutionary period with great continuing importance. The American Revolution would help lead to the national holiday of July 4th and the birth of a new nation that would be celebrated as a day that marked America’s independence. In the nineteenth century, many of the American communities celebrated Independence Day with a ceremonial reading of the Declaration of Independence, followed by a speech dedicated to the celebration of independence and the heritage of the American Revolution of its Founding Fathers. On July 5th, 1952, Frederick Douglass spoke to his black community about the meaning of the Fourth of July. His speech was not to praise the celebration of July 4th, but it was to inform the audience that freedom has not been applied to everyone like how America said it would be. There are connections between our Revolutionary Founder book and Frederick Douglass’ speech that show the struggle of African Americans fighting for freedom before and ongoing after the American Revolution. I chose Frederick Douglass’s document “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”, where he touches on the history of African Americans fighting for freedom and what the Declaration...
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...In the nonfiction speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” (1852) Frederick Douglass eloquently, yet powerfully delivers his presentation by utilizing three important strategies. He establishes his own credibility through the respect he shows to his audience; captures the audience’s feelings of national pride; and uses the reasoning behind their pride against them in order to open the eyes of white men in the United States. They then may see the injustice of celebrating freedom when so many men are still bound by chains. Douglass establishes credibility in his humble stance by grasping the audience’s attention with his story of being a former slave. He modestly introduces himself and his hard work by explaining “the difficulties to be overcome in getting from the latter to the former, are by no means slight”, the latter being the “slave plantation” and the former being “[the] platform”. By describing his path to freedom as a challenge, it gives the audience an understanding that Douglass not only speaks as a free man allowed to express himself, but as a former slave who was once held back from going anywhere. He then addresses his limitations due to his “little experience and…less learning”, but despite that, “[he was] able to throw [his] thoughts hastily and imperfectly together”. In describing these...
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...In the speech, “What to the slave, Is the Fourth of July?”, which was presented by Frederick Douglass on July 5, 1852, Douglass condemns the hypocrisy of American society when they asked him to speak about the meaning of the Fourth of July and their freedom when a majority of the African American population remained in slavery. Considering that Douglass was a black man who escaped slavery, he found it ironic that they asked him to speak about this topic, but he still took the opportunity to establish his reasons on why the slaves should receive their freedom. In his speech, Frederick Douglass is trying to persuade the people who are pro-slavery to change their minds. In the introduction, Douglass starts off the speech by apologizing for being nervous and says, “apologies of this sort are generally considered flat and unmeaning.” He tells his audience this to show that he is being sincere and to establish trust between him and the congregation. He also states, “The little experience I have had in addressing...
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...activist, orator and journalist who fought for the equality of African Americans. In the speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July”, he discusses the meaning of the fourth of July to Americas black population which consists of mostly slaves. Douglass believes that people who are still enslaved should not celebrate the white man’s freedom. Slave are not free therefore they should not rejoice in festivities not designed for them. Secondly, he condemns the church for not speaking out against slavery. Douglass gives the title “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” because he wants others to view the lack of equal rights, democracy and freedom of the very people who are oppressed: Slaves....
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...“This fourth of July is yours, not mine, you may rejoice, I must mourn”. This was delivered on July 4th,1852 in Rochester, New York by a former slave named Fredrick Douglass. The goal of his famous speech “What to Slave is Fourth of July?” was to convince the people of the wrongfulness of slavery. In his speech he stated that while he hears the joy of the rejoicing citizens he also hears mournful wail of millions whose chains and grievous rendered more intolerable by jubilee shouts that reach them. What this means is that while the whites are celebrating “freedom”, his people mourn. He also questioned his audience by asking “Was I being mocked by them inviting me to speak?”. He believed that fourth of July was a revolting reminder to him and...
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...During the 1800s, slavery was a massive issue spread out all over the country. Abolitionist slave Frederick Douglass became one of the several African-Americans to help change that in today’s societal standards. Douglass had been patronized all of his life as a slave and was brought to a community center to speak publicly about his issues. In Douglass’s “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?,” Frederick shows an exaggerating amount of figurative language, pathos, and logos throughout his speech to convey his message. Figurative language makes an appearance all throughout the speech. There are plenty of examples of figurative language in the speech; allusion, metaphor, antithesis, and parallelism. For example, the constant allusions to God made the audience emotionally connect with the speaker, considering the majority had been believers of God in any way. Giving the audience something to compare helps them earn...
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...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 of American citizens shows a great gap between slaves and citizens...
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...life-changing speech that could 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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...written by Frederick Douglass is called “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” along with the time of slavery but it was hard for him to win over the white majority of the audience. The speech was used to give the idea how bad slavery was by using persuasive techniques. Douglass used many techniques such as rhetorical questions and Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. Logical claims and statements made by Douglass. Douglass is giving a logical point of view about the situation. Douglass states “There are seventy-two crimes in the state of Virginia, which, if committed by a black man (no matter how ignorant he be), subject him to the punishment of death; while only two of these same crimes will subject a white man to the like punishment.” The quote...
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...“What Does America’s Fourth of July Mean to Me” The speech given by Mr. Frederick Douglas at the Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York gives 5 reasons why Mr. Douglas believes that the Fourth of July does not apply to him or any slaves. Mr. Douglas was an escaped slave who did not receive a formal education but was self-taught. During his time he was to slavery what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X were to the Civil Rights movement. The voice of reason and hope, he was invited to speak before different audience where he expressed the true feelings of the slaves and called into question and convicted the beliefs of the slave owners. Mr. Douglas believed that the Fourth of July did not apply to the slaves or himself because; 1) It is more important to the white people, but a mockery to the black people 2) It gives a conflicting feeling because slaves had no freedom. 3) The slave is acknowledged as a man by the government in only in the punishments given for their crimes 4) The wrongfulness of slavery is so strong that if any man be asked if it is wrong, he would say yes 5) The Fourth of July is hypocritical because it is a celebration of freedom, but there is still the evil and inequality of slavery The lingering attitudes are still present today; we have a Declaration of Independence that is founded on principles of slavery that still does not apply to us. The U. S. Constitution while it has amendments that provide provisions for African-Americans...
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