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Rhetorical Analysis Of Speech By Frederick Douglass

1753 Words8 Pages

On July 5th, 1852, blacks and whites are in the midst of a battle for justice as blacks are enslaved. Blacks face adversity and many injustices from the whites in a supposed free country. Douglass addresses the people of America and acknowledges the inequalities between the people. Douglass voices the blacks opinion on their enslavement and the unlawful prejudice they encounter in their everyday lives. He delivers a remarkably powerful speech that reminds the people of the foundations and morals that the United States was built on such as freedom and happiness. He begins to talk about the fathers of the US and how their revolution was built on the government's oppression and unjust actions. Douglass seeks to appeal to the whites, and create …show more content…

He uses a forceful and straightforward tone to be direct toward the audience so they view his argument as significant. Douglass is forthright and direct in his speech as he desperately tries to persuade the government while also painting an image of what would happen if nothing changes. When Douglass begins talking about slaves as a whole and the injustices they face, he often describes in detail the suffering they have endured. This is evident when Douglass says the slaves utter a “Mournful wail of millions” (Douglass 11). Douglass notes that the slaves are longing for freedom, but nobody seems hears their sorrowful moans or sees their miserable visages. Douglass then continues to scorn and denounce America, criticizing the path that she will follow. He believes America is untrue to herself, saying: “America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future” (Douglass 7). Douglass truly believes that America will encounter dark times unless a lasting and memorable change is made to acknowledge slave rights. He also believes that there is no excuse for what has transpired as he shuns America and its treatment of the black community. Douglass asks a rhetorical question about unfair treatment of slaves, and responds saying, “I will not equivocate. I will not excuse” (Douglass 8). Douglass uses a candid tone to show that America and its people have no excuse for the villainous and heinous crimes they have committed against the slaves. Douglass uses an honest and blunt tone to get his point across while also using detailed imagery to support his strong

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