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Frederick Douglass's Speech On This Fourth Of July Oration

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During the speech of Frederick Douglas, “Fourth of July Oration”, many points were made about the freedom of the Blacks. The Declaration of Independence was established in the year of 1776 and in this declaration; it stated that all men are created equal. This day was supposed to be a day in which our nation celebrates the birth of independence as a whole. Within this speech we were able to acknowledge that even though freedom was declared, it was only the freedom of the whites. How is it that all men are created equal when slavery still exists? Aren’t the blacks human beings too? Weren’t they men? Although this speech was called the “Fourth of July Oration”, it wasn’t made on the fourth of July. Frederick made his speech the day after because …show more content…

“This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. Character and conduct of this nation never looked blacker to me than on this 4th of July” (Douglas, 265). From this, we understand that Douglas is mourning that even after seventy six years of freedom; slaves still do not have theirs. From these details, we can agree that slaves weren’t part of the “all men are created equal” group. Let’s have this question be asked, How is it “all men are created equal” when there are individuals who are still served under masters? Why is the word freedom used when one is treated like an animal? Well, let’s have it answered. Freedom didn’t exist as long as slaves were present. During this period of time, Blacks received fewer rights. If a black man was disobeying their master, the “crime” that they have committed would lead to the punishment of death. This crime of being ignorant was the same as the crime of a white man murdering someone. Within this fact, it can already be proven that they were treated differently. How can slave be proven to be men? With the fact that if the slave throws a stick and the dog runs after it to give it back to him. This has already given us an idea that even an animal considered slaves to be a human being, why can’t ones who have a brain think of …show more content…

Even if independence was established and “all men are created equal” is mentioned, it is not freedom if race changes the way people look at you and behave around you. Near the end of the speech, Douglas states that he is tired of speaking about the government because he felt that the nation itself was very hypocritical. How can one declare independence when there are individuals who treated like an item, like they are nothing but a piece of property that can be separated from their families and be transported from place to place? There was a reason why Douglas made the speech on the fifth of July and not the fourth. It was because everyone celebrated the birth of independence on that day and not everyone gained their freedom on the day of July 4, 1852. The speech that he proposed informed us that there are many changes throughout history. Some changes may reflect the way we act in society and other changes may just have no effects. Douglas’s speech have shown us that Americans brag about their love for liberty and strong civilization but behind it all, we hide millions of men who were supposed to be free based off of the Declaration of Independence. To be independent and free is to not be judged based off of your

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Additionally, Douglass supports his main claim by including minor claims by stating what he has seen; for example, how “true American patriots” treat African Americans miserable. Therefore, he states, “ America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future.” What this phrase is saying is that ever since people started celebrating independence they don’t know the true meaning of it. That’s why Frederick states they are hypocrites because many Americans don’t know true significant of what Independence Day is, they just think it’s the day America separate from Great Britain. In addition, further generations are going to think it was the separation and that everyone in the United States had the same freedom, but in reality they are not going to know who were the only ones that had freedom in the

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I agreed with Justin that Frederick Douglas's speech, "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro," used the Rogerian method of argumentation to carry out his message. He uses the memory and the knowledge to inform the audience about the nation becoming independent. He easily identified the issues and suggest a possible solution about current events. He is fair on the slaves for their hard work on their production and economic growth; however, he does not agree on the treatment on slave-owners. He condemns on how African Americans were treated, while serving for their nation.

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Frederick Douglass’ Goals Throughout the history of the United States the civil war has divided the country and brought racism. The nation was badly wounded emotionally and socially after the civil war. Before the civil war had begun, many people had owned slaves and many wanted to abolish slavery. Frederick Douglass helped with the abolishment of slavery by creating a speech on July 5, 1852 named, from What to the Slave is the Fourth of July.

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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

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Throughout his career he became a prominent activist, author and public speaker. On July 5, 1852, Douglass gave a speech at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Douglass told his audience "This Fourth of July is yours, not mine” (Paragraph 3). Throughout this speech Douglass comes across knowledgeable by giving facts and making strong irrefutable arguments. Douglass stated “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 like punishment” (Paragraph 7).

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“The Hypocrisy of American Slavery: Slavery at its best” Frederick Douglass an activist for anti racism and also an abolitionist’s speech “The Hypocrisy of Slavery” was given on the occasion of celebrating the independence day. Here, in this speech he actually brought out some questions like why we should celebrate Independence Day while almost four million people were kept chained as a slave. He actually mocked the fact of the people of America’s double standards which is that they are singing out the song of liberty, on the other hand holding the chain of slavery. Frederick Douglass, a former American-African slave who managed to escape from his slavery and later on became an abolitionist gave this speech on Fourth of July,

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So to the African American community in the south the 4th of July was just another day because unless you lived in the north you didn’t get to experience these freedoms that whites enjoyed. Fredrick Douglass was first invited to do a speech in Rochester, New York while addressing the Rochester Ladies Antislavery Society. It’s clear from the beginning of the speech that Fredrick appears very nervous and actually apologies to

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What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? Throughout his sermon, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July, Fredrick Douglass devotedly argued that to the slave and even the liberated African American, the Fourth of July was nothing more than a holiday of a mockery of the crudest kind. Through his use of several rhetorical devices and strategies, Douglass conveyed his perspective on the concerning matter as if he were the voice of the still enslaved, both physically and logically. Prevalently, he presented an effectively argued point using ethos, logos, and pathos through credible appeals, convincing facts and statistics, and by successfully employing emotional appeals.

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Douglass establishes his credibility and authority on the issue of slavery and inequality in the United States by drawing on his own experience and expertise. He begins the speech by introducing himself as a former slave and expressing his sadness and disappointment at the Fourth of July festivities which celebrate the nation’s independence while ignoring the ongoing oppression of African Americans. He says, “I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us.” By acknowledging his own identity as a former slave, Douglass gives himself immediate credibility on the issue of slavery and inequality.

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In 1776, on July 4th, the 13 English colonies officially declared their freedom from England. However, as the years progressed, slavery became incorporated into everyday American life. In 1852, Frederick Douglass, a former slave, was called upon to deliver a speech to celebrate America’s independence; however, he censured Americans for saying they were a “country of the free”. In the speech, Hypocrisy of American Slavery, Frederick Douglass declares that Americans should not be celebrating their freedom when there are slaves living in the country. He uses emotional appeal, ethical appeal, and rhetorical questions to convince his audience that Americans are wrong celebrating freedom on the 4th of July when slavery exists in their country.

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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?"

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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.

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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.

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Coming from slavery himself, he despised the Fugitive Slave Law for the simple fact that slavery “has no right to exist anywhere.” I find a critical part of his speech, is the attention getting device. Since this speech was given on the Fourth of July, Douglas starts off his speech by sharing gratitude for our nation’s founding fathers.

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Independence Day, commonly referred to by the people of the United States as the Fourth of July, is a day where the people of this great nation celebrate the day our founding fathers adopted the Declaration of Independence. There are parades, food, fireworks, and family harmony during the celebration. Although these are the things that come to mind now, during the pre-Civil War era this specific day had not always been so jubilant. In 1852, Frederick Douglass--who is known as the most influential and sagacious African-American leader of the 1800s--was invited to give a speech to commemorate the Fourth of July.

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