ipl-logo

Frederick Douglass Speech Rhetorical Analysis

444 Words2 Pages

When the United States created the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, they preached the idea of rights, freedom and equality. Frederick Douglass gave a speech on July 4th, 1852, where he explained how hypocritical it actually was. In Frederick Douglass’ speech, he states how slaves are not included in the Declaration of Independence. He argues that slavery is the sin and shame of America. He points out the idiocy of slavery since they must do what other men do, but have to actually prove that they are men. He explains the hypocrisy of the people by giving them the perspective of a slave. Fourth of July is just another day to a slave that reminds him even more of his injustice. Prayers, religious celebrations, sermons and hymns are just …show more content…

He wants the people to realize just how hypocritical they are in what they proclaim compared to what they actually do. He does this when he says, “The existence of slavery in this country brands your republicanism as a sham, your humanity as a base pretence, and your Christianity as a lie.” Frederick Douglass exposes the evils of slavery by giving the people a slave’s perspective of their Fourth of July. He explains that Fourth of July is just another day to a slave, where he is reminded that he is a victim of abuse and inequality. He also discusses how slavery even damages society by saying it is the enemy of improvement/progress. He does this when he states, “It is the enemy of improvement, the deadly foe of education; it fosters pride; it promotes vice; it shelters crime.” Frederick Douglass has hope that slavery will soon end because the world is becoming united/closer to one another. For example, when he states, “Thoughts expressed on one side of the Atlantic are distinctly heard on the other.” He also sees how nations are more advanced and are not in the same state they were in the past. He believes that as more people become better educated, they will realize the foolishness of slavery and it will soon come to an

Show More
Related
352 Words | 2 Pages

Mr.Douglass’ speech in 1852 reveals that slaves should not celebrate Fourth of July because they did not have their freedom. Slaves did not know the meaning of Fourth of July. In Douglass’ speech he state, “I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty” means that slaves was

Read More
1032 Words | 5 Pages

To begin, he uses emotional appeal to create powerful imagery to persuade the reader that celebrating freedom is wrong when slavery still exists. He announces, “fellow citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions, whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are today rendered more intolerable by the jubilant shouts that reach them” (para. 4). By creating a picture in the audience’s mind of other people’s cries of freedom deriding slaves, they begin to feel ashamed for being so cheerful while African Americans have no liberty. The readers have recognized that they are being hypocrites by supporting slavery while boasting about their freedom as a country, which leads them to begin wanting to

Read More
743 Words | 3 Pages

He points out personal facts about how he feels when he says, “I often found myself regretting my own existence, and wishing myself dead; and but for the hope of being free, I have no doubt but that I should have killed myself or done something foe which I should have been killed”. The words that he uses explains the emotions that he was going through and to build an appeal to emotions. Throughout the time that he has been expanding his knowledge he runs across the word “abolitionist” which means it’s a movement to end slavery. He was always eager for someone to speak about it and he was ready to listen he says, “I did not dare ask anyone about its meaning, for I was satisfied that it was something they wanted me to know very little about”. He says this because he realized that the word is spoken very rarely and he knew if he spoke that word and someone heard him, he could get penalized.

Read More
828 Words | 4 Pages

He questions his audience of the significance of Independence Day to slaves, and he answers it in an extremely contrasting way: “your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; … your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery,” that the celebration is “a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.” Douglass dismisses the national pride, characterizing it as a mere expression of people’s ignorance. The antithesis, with “greatness” being “vanity,” “sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless,” and “shouts of liberty and equality” being “hollow mockery,” provokes shock and anger from the audience, who have just been part of it and are now degraded as “savages.” However, Douglass was not trying to be inflammatory but provocative, witnessing the pathetic enthusiasm in the anniversary, that people feel exuberant about themselves while ignoring the saddening

Read More
1056 Words | 5 Pages

When most people hear the words “Fourth of July” they think about fireworks, cookouts, and sparklers. During the 1850’s, the Fourth of July served as a reminder of the many horrors and injustices in the world. On July 4, 1852, Frederick Douglass-- a former American slave, abolitionist leader and adroit speaker-- spoke in Rochester, New York about the affectation of celebrating independence. In his speech, “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery”, he claims celebrating independence is unethical when slavery is widespread. To convince the reader of his claim, he uses rhetorical questions, emotional appeal, and antithesis in hopes of shedding light and sparking action on the wrongful situation.

Read More
776 Words | 4 Pages

Fredrick Douglass was an abolitionist, civil right 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 America’s black population which are mostly slaves. I am going to discuss and explore two points that were given in his speech that I agree with. The first one is that Douglass feels that people who are still enslaved cannot celebrate a holiday that boasts of freedom and independence.

Read More
1080 Words | 5 Pages

In “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, Douglass narrates in detail the oppressions he went through as a slave before winning his freedom. In the narrative, Douglass gives a picture about the humiliation, brutality, and pain that slaves go through. We can evidently see that Douglass does not want to describe only his life, but he uses his personal experiences and life story as a tool to rise against slavery. He uses his personal life story to argue against common myths that were used to justify the act of slavery. Douglass invalidated common justification for slavery like religion, economic argument and color with his life story through his experiences torture, separation, and illiteracy, and he urged for the end of slavery.

Read More
647 Words | 3 Pages

In the text "What to a slave is the 4th of July¨ Fredrick Douglass´ motivation was to abolish slavery, he became a motivational speaker due to the fact that he wanted everyone to be free and what it meant to actually be free. As explained on P3 , “ As an escaped slave now living in the North, Douglass knows that his people living as slaves are not included in the anniversary of American independence from Great Britain. He knows that though the Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal, that principle is not a reality in the United States.” Frederick Douglass´ approach with this speech was to show the people who were not freed that the Fourth

Read More
1110 Words | 5 Pages

Douglass points to the vast unwillingness from the group of whites that refuses to fully perceive and accept African-Americans as deserving and equal citizens of the nation. Based on his personal experiences as a slave, Douglass is abundantly aware that the battle to abolish slavery is not an easy task. For the first twenty years of his life, he witnessed firsthand the abject cruelty of that institution in our country. Tactfully, Douglass seizes this opportunity to publicly highlight the unmerited and coarse differences in the treatment between the whites as opposed to the blacks living in the United States during this time period. He makes a “powerful testaments to the hypocrisy, bigotry and inhumanity of slavery” (Bunch 1).

Read More
1025 Words | 5 Pages

He declares, “to forget them [the slaves], to pass lightly over their wrongs and to chime in with the popular theme would be treason most scandalous and shocking, and would make me a reproach before God and the world,” (para. 5). He discusses that slavery is unjust, and says that celebrating freedom with slavery would be treason. This helps the audience realize that celebrating freedom in their country is not a peccadillo, and they naturally will try to right the wrong because of their moral instincts by stopping their celebration. He also says, “to him your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mock; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy - a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages,” (para. 15). In this quote, Douglass says that celebrating liberty is covering up a crime: slavery.

Read More
636 Words | 3 Pages

Freedom is the primary ideal upon which America was founded. It is the tenet most cherished by the original colonists; it is a pillar upon which they built the new government. However, freedom was denied to a large part of America's citizens for a long time. Frederick Douglas was one of the greatest activists for African-American freedom of the 19th century; he used literary works and speeches, instead of violence, to achieve his goals. In his piece "What, to the Slave, is the Fourth of July?"

Read More
775 Words | 4 Pages

Rhetorical Analysis Frederick Douglass composed a speech for the 4th of July for the citizens of Rochester, New York. He emphasizes the hypocrisy of the American Government in his "What To The Slave Is The 4th Of July?". The people of Rochester thought that it would be suitable for Douglass to write the speech because he was a slave. Fourth of July is a celebration marking America's independence from Great Britain.

Read More
762 Words | 4 Pages

In Frederick Douglass’s The Meaning of Fourth of July for the Negro, he exposes the hypocrisy and iniquity that is infused into considerably one of the most prolific American moments in history known as The Fourth of July. Douglass, who was a former slave that eventually reached freedom, was invited to speak about what Fourth of July meant for the black population within America. Although Douglass provided much gratitude to the Founding Fathers for their courage and ability to oppose oppressive systems, he criticizes the American country for its involvement within slavery. Slavery served as the foundation that constructed America, allowing for it fuel the economy and develop into a cultural and political norm within society.

Read More
1024 Words | 5 Pages

The fourth of July and slaves really don’t mix. Frederick douglass was born as a slave and he does a speech on the fourth of july and they are thinking that he is going to give a whora speech but he dont do that it 's the complete opposite of what they thought. In frederick douglass, Hypocrisy of American Slavery he attacks the hypocrisy of a nation celebrating freedom and independence with speeches, parades and platitudes, while, within its borders, nearly four million humans were being kept as slaves. Overall douglass has explained his speech through emotional,ethical,logical appeal and through rhetorical questions.

Read More
257 Words | 2 Pages

Frederick Douglass was a great writer, but he wasn’t always. He was an escaped slave who used that in his speeches as a topic to gain the attention of his audience. His audience was a seemingly sympathetic one and got to them through rhetorical questions. Douglass wanted to convey the message that there are many changes that need to be made.

Read More

More about Frederick Douglass Speech Rhetorical Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document