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Frederick Douglass Hypocrisy Essay

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On July 5th, 1852, a man named Frederick Douglass gave a speech to many White abolitionists in Rochester, New York at Corinthian Hall. Douglass used this day not for celebration or remembrance of the greatness of our country's history, but to remind people that millions of Black Americans were still enslaved. For a holiday that is supposed to honor the freedom won, our country’s actions showed the exact opposite. This speech has been revered for its depiction of hypocrisy regarding Americans and our country’s history. Douglass’ testimony and words affected masses of people and he stood as a figurehead for the abolitionist movement. His image represented hope and inspiration, while his voice shaped the way we think about social issues such as …show more content…

Douglass was born to an enslaved woman on the eastern coast of Maryland, in February 1818. His mother tragically passed away in slavery while in a forced labor camp. When Douglass was just eight years old, he was sold to a family in Baltimore. He taught himself how to read and write early since he was not allowed to go to school or interact with other educated children. What sparked his love for speaking and writing was a book called The Columbian Orator. This is a collection of speeches, debates, and writings all on the concept of natural rights. This book was an important part of his life as it helped shape his understanding and skills in speaking on freedom and rights for enslaved people. As he read and expanded his knowledge, he started rebelling against the slave owners intensely. He would educate his fellow slaves and fight with slave owners both verbally and physically. On his way back to Baltimore after a fight with his enslaver, Frederick met a woman named Anna Murray who was a major contributor to how he gained his

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Imagine you were a slave in the 1850’s, and were asked to celebrate the Fourth of July, despite the fact that you still didn’t have your own freedom. Would you do it? Frederick Douglass stands up to this question, when he gives his, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July”, speech in 1852. Douglass is not only speaking to a crowd of abolitionists, but also a crowd filled with anti abolitionists. Douglass is speaking, to share his bold argument on this topic, and support anti slavery.

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Frederick Douglass was an escaped slave who joined the Abolitionist cause in the North, writing books and speeches with a first-hand account of the horrors of slavery. In 1852, as the anti-slavery movement in the North was approaching a new peak and as secessionist sentiments were emerging in the South, he was invited to give a speech at a Fourth of July celebration in Rochester (Douglass). Douglass used the opportunity to expose the hypocrisy of this democracy through his speech, “July 4, 1852.” In the speech, he pointed the flawed logic behind celebrating freedom while keeping millions of people as property, denying them rights.

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He was a prolific author, writing several books and articles throughout his life on a wide range of topics, including slavery, politics, and religion. His works were marked by their clarity and insight, and they continue to be studied and appreciated today for their literary and historical

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This excerpt from “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave"—Frederick Douglass’s autobiography published on May 1st, 1845—tells the story of Douglass’s life shortly before and following his escape from slavery and explains Douglass’s belief that slavery has detrimental effects on all parties involved. He utilizes a variety of rhetorical devices, including repetition, imagery, and analogy, to depict the powerful emotions and hardships he encountered on his path to emancipation. Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in rural Maryland. He spent many years enduring the torture that comes with enslavement. He was subjected to horrible injustices, witnessing and often experiencing the cruel treatment of the enslaved.

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Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in Talbot County, Maryland around 1818. Douglass lived with his grandmother until he was chosen to live in the plantation owner’s home. Suspicions say that the plantation owner could have been his father. His mother died when Frederick was ten. Later, he was sent to live with the Hugh Auld and his family.

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Furthermore, Douglass skillfully adds historical references throughout his argument, particularly by using the principles of the Constitution. He highlights the contradiction between the nation's ideas of freedom and equality when the government then denies these principles to a significant portion of the population. By showing the audience the nation’s founding values and the fight against slavery, Douglass challenges the audience to live up to and prove the idea of the country’s

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I was given the errand of dissecting such a discourse. I will demonstrate to you why he was the best abolitionist of his chance and portray his focuses all the more completely. Frederick Douglass begins his discourse by making inquiries. "Are the immense standards of political flexibility and of normal equity, typified in that Declaration of Independence, broadened to us" (Douglass1)?

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Douglass was invited to give a celebratory speech to commemorate the birth of the United States, however, what he said instead was much more thought-provoking. Frederick Douglass was an escaped slave who grew to become a prominent figure and activist for the abolitionist movement. In his address, Frederick Douglass seeks to illustrate the ironic and faulty thought that he should be celebrating the Fourth of July with the anti-slavery society by dramatizing the parallels and hypocrisy of the current race relations in

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Hypocrisy towards the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” Frederick Douglass expressed a multitude of ways of the hypocrisy of slavery in his narrative. One of which was when Douglass was sent to Edward Covey by Master Hugh. Covey was known as the “negro-breaker”. Slave owners would send their “misbehaved” slaves to Mr. Cover for a year to put them back into shape. Covey was born as a poor white man who could only afford to buy one slave.

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His father was an anonymous white man. Douglass was born some day in February, 1818. As a child, he spent most of his life split between Baltimore and St. Michaels in Maryland (McDowell). In the year of 1825, Douglass’s mom died, and he was sent to live in the Aulds house.

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Group Essay on Frederick Douglass “That this little book may do something toward throwing light on the American slave system”, and that Frederick Douglass does in his eponymous autobiography. Douglass throws light by dispelling the myths of the slave system, which received support from all parts of society. To dispel these myths Douglass begins to construct an argument composed around a series of rhetorical appeals and devices. Douglass illustrates that slavery is dehumanizing, corrupting, and promotes Christian hypocrisy. Using telling details, Douglass describes the dehumanizing effects of the slave system which condones the treatment of human beings as property.

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The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass shows the imbalance of power between slaves and their masters. In his book, Douglass proves that slavery is a destructive force not only to the slaves, but also for the slaveholders. “Poison of the irresponsible power” that masters have upon their slaves that are dehumanizing and shameless, have changed the masters themselves and their morality(Douglass 39). This amount of power and control in contact with one man breaks the kindest heart and the purest thoughts turning the person evil and corrupt. Douglass uses flashbacks that illustrate the emotions that declare the negative effects of slavery.

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Frederick Douglass was a highly respected abolitionist, reformist, as well as civil and women’s rights leader. Douglass was apparently born on plantation in Talbot County, Maryland around the years 1816-1818. He dies 77 years later due to a fatal heart attack. Throughout his journey beginning from a captive slave to a well-known and esteemed activist, Douglass also changes the way Americans viewed race, slavery, rights and America’s democracy. From the 1800s, Douglass’ life and captivity along with his escape as a slave has been a widespread foundation for inspiration, motivation, knowledge and hope for decades.

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After being separated from his mother at a young age, Frederick Douglass fights back against slavery and human rights. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, the author, Frederick Douglass, uses powerful rhetoric to disprove the Pragmatic and the Scientific pro-slavery arguments of Pre-Civil War America. The Pragmatic Argument is about how many people believe that if all black slaves were to be freed, then this would result in convulsions which would then lead to extermination of the one or other race. Many people also believed that black slavery was necessary for American history.

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Douglass was born in Maryland on February 14, 1818. His mother was a slave named Harriet Bailey, and his father was her master. Douglass’ birth was a result of the rape of his mother. From his earliest memories through his early adult years, Douglass’s life as a slave was brutal. He was sold from slave owner to slave owner, and was almost beaten to death on multiple occasions.

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