ipl-logo

Rhetorical Analysis Of The Declaration Of Independence By David Walker

1520 Words7 Pages

By the 1820’s, the Abolitionist movement had already been fairly successful in transforming attitudes towards slavery in the colonies. Throughout the early years of the sentiment, many writers and orators repeatedly called upon the heritage of the Revolution in calling for an end to slavery. When David Walker’s Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World appeared in 1829, however, it marked something distinctly different, a kind of vociferous attack on slavery that had seldom, if ever, been seen in print. When it first emerged, it was the most confrontational anti‐slavery document to have ever been published, and even though it was criticized as being extremely radical, it contained logical extensions of the principles of the American …show more content…

Walker appeals to the language of the Declaration of Independence to criticize Anglo American treatment of black slaves, saying "See your Declaration Americans! Do you understand your own language? Hear your languages, proclaimed to the world, July 4th, 1776, "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 among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness!" Compare your own language above, extracted from your Declaration of Independence, with your cruelties and murders inflicted by your cruel and unmerciful fathers and yourselves on our fathers and on us, men who have never given your fathers or you the least provocation!” Here Walker is questioning that if white men claimed in the Declaration of Independence that all men are equal, why were black people treated so poorly. He articulates that black people were not put on this earth to become enslaved. He believes that whites are dehumanizing blacks and this is not what God intended because in his eyes all men are created equally. He appeals to others of color saying "Are we MEN! I ask you, 0 my brethren I are we MEN? Did our Creator make us to be slaves to dust and ashes like ourselves?" Walker is …show more content…

He asserts that the Unites States is just as much their country as it is the whites, saying "America is more our country, than it is the whites-we have enriched it with our blood and tears. The greatest riches in all America have arisen from our blood and tears: and will they drive us from our property and homes, which we have earned with our blood?" Walker upheld the belief that there was an absolute duty to fight injustice. Moreover, he advocated the use of political violence if white people refused to change their ways, pointing out that the right to revolt against an unjust institution was the basis on which the Declaration of Independence was written. Black people needed to find the will to stand together and fight rather than remain enslaved. With injunctions such as these, Walker effectively articulated his rallying call. If colored people were to regain their freedom and rights, then they had to become a more unified, courageous, and proud people. Without these virtues, they could not gain God’s full approval and their oppressors could not be

Show More
Related

Compare And Contrast David Walker And Phillis Wheatley

529 Words | 3 Pages

Abolitionist Strategies David Walker and Phillis Wheatley are two exceptional humans. The ideologies expressed throughout their work had a unique perspective, due to their intimate insight of being apart of the slave system. Though they align on the right to freedom, they do not entirely collude together, on the same abolitionist tone. Wheatley wishes to degrade this institution, through wit and intellect.

Read More

Compare And Contrast Lloyd And David Walker Abolitionist Movement

677 Words | 3 Pages

Walker claimed in Appeal that white men were so eager to maintain their wealth through the institution of slavery that they did not think twice about murdering African Americans and subjecting them to degrading conditions. Consequently, Walker justified taking up arms against masters to his audience by creating a situational comparison: “It is no more harm for you to kill a man who is trying to kill you than it is for you to take a drink of water when thirsty” (Walker). By creating a kill or be killed mentality, Walker emphasized the need for immediate action while also endorsing violence as the means to end slavery. In contrast, Garrison approached abolition in terms of the Declaration of Independence. In To the Public, Garrison claimed that the language of the Declaration applied to

Read More

Benjamin Banneker Declaration Of Independence Rhetorical Analysis

577 Words | 3 Pages

After building up facts he turns the emotions felt to show how unfair slavery was. He quotes a part of the Declaration of Independence but then directly follows it with, “ but, sir, how pitiable is it to reflect… of my brethren under a groaning captivity, and cruel oppression” (9). Referring back to his heritage makes his argument stronger because it is more personal than it would be from a non African American. He then attempts to switch their perspective by quoting the Bible. The Americans were very religious people so

Read More

Dr King Letter From Birmingham Jail Summary

880 Words | 4 Pages

In Dr.king’s open letter he states that segregation is “an existential expression of man’s tragic separation”(8) of the blacks and whites in the south. The discomfort emphasized in this open letter reflects off of the unjust laws made for the blacks in south. Although, that Dr.king uses nonviolent action to solve problems that he and the blacks are facing in the south, the south continued to use unjust laws and methods to prevent the blacks from peacefully protesting against segregation. The unjust laws that the whites created to cause segregation is what really gives Dr.king the discomfort he expresses in this open letter because it allows the whites to do whatever they feel is possible to make the blacks feel like they aren’t human and by allowing them to do such inhumane things to them gives the whites a feeling of superiority that is not real. The feeling of discomfort that is expressed in this open letter by Dr.King forced him to act accordingly on the issue of segregation created by the unjust laws of the

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of Frederick Douglas's Speech

758 Words | 4 Pages

In the beginning of the speech, Douglas questions how “your national independence” is “extended to us?” considering even “the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice” expel the black slaves. He sets forth this statement in order to call for the audience’s awareness of the prohibition of the many African American from the very freedom and justice that the citizens are celebrating for. By using the pronoun “you” referring to the free citizens and “we” to the black slaves, Douglas aggregates his sarcasm to the to the contradiction and even alienation between the unfortunate black slaves and the delighted American citizens. Later in his speech, Douglas furthers his attack to the ironic circumstances between white and black by bringing up their common nature as mankind and that men should be treated equally in paragraph 7, 8 and 9 (e.g., Douglas mentions that “Would you have me argue that man is entitled to liberty?

Read More

How Is The Rhetorical Devices Used In The Declaration Of Independence

407 Words | 2 Pages

The speech by Abraham Lincoln, opposing Steven Douglas on the Dred Scott decision, reveals his views on slavery and racial equality. In his speech, rhetorical schemes are used to persuade his audience and make his point about his perspective on the court decision. The use of repetition of the word “and”, makes the sentence feeling intense,making the audience feel what they have created by slavery. The repetition of the word, “and”, when indicating the view of the people in the modern day viewing the Declaration: “it is assailed, and sneered at, and construed, and hawked at, and torn”, this quote he states implies more and more, making the words very intense which imitate the lashing of the whip on the black slaves. Lincoln considers the modern

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of The Fourth Of July

540 Words | 3 Pages

Douglass utilizes the repetition of “your” and the irony in the founding documents to emphasize the immorality of slavery, exposing the hypocrisy of white, slave-holding American culture in hope that the original democratic principles that America was built upon will be reestablished and enforced. Throughout his speech, Douglass addresses American customs and holidays, such as the Fourth of July, as “your National Independence”, the day of “your political freedom”, liberation by “your fathers”. By repeating “your” when referencing these national events, Douglass establishes separation between him and his white audience, displaying their differences in attitude in regards to the Fourth of July. To the white Americans, the Fourth of July is a joyous celebration of their “deliverance” from their oppressors, Britain, able to free their inalienable, natural rights to liberty and justice; however, this observance is infuriating to a slavish, black population that dwells in America, for these inherent rights

Read More

How Does Martin Luther King Use Ethos Pathos Logos

799 Words | 4 Pages

Within a few decades of each other both Martin Luther King and Chief Dan George speak to the public of racial injustice towards their own ethnicity. These two distinct activists both display hope in achieving racial and ethnic equality throughout their speeches. Martin Luther Kings’ speech can be seen as forward and direct in portraying his message, utilizing the rhetorical device of logos such as disturbing facts to persuade his audience. An example of this can be seen when he restates the promises of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, “A promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty,

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of Declaration Of Independence

1148 Words | 5 Pages

Maxwell Zinkievich Ms. Darrough 18th Century Rhetorical Analysis Essay 18th of January 2017 Rhetorical Analysis of the United States’ Declaration of Independence In Congress, on the 11th of June 1776, one of the most important pieces of American literature was drafted. This work would kick-start a massive and terrible war, that ended in the birth of a new nation.

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of What To The American Slave Is Your Fourth Of July

1160 Words | 5 Pages

Among the most prominent devices stand rhetorical questions, whose abundant use steers readers into objective introspection. Perhaps the most impactful rhetorical question asked by Douglass appears in the introduction of the speech, where he inquires, “Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?” Due to the inclusion of, “that Declaration of Independence,” opposed to, “the Declaration of Independence,” readers gain awareness of the wedge driven between Douglass’s people and the remainder of the nation. Not only that, but Douglass’s outlook receives support from the complementing rhetorical question: “What have I or those I represent to do with your national independence?” To continue, incomprehensive as to why blacks should manifest jubilance in the absence of true freedom, Douglass ironically inquires, “Who so stolid and selfish that would not give his voice to swell the hallelujahs of a nation’s jubilee, when the chains of servitude had been torn from his limbs?”

Read More

Rhetorical Devices In The Fourth Of July

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

Rhetorical Analysis Of The Declaration Of Independence

836 Words | 4 Pages

Landin Wolters Ms. McDonald AP English Lang 24 September 2014 Rhetorical Analysis: The Declaration of Independence It is widely known that the Declaration of Independence is one of the most well known written works of American Government. It was not just a declaration, but it served also as a justification of the original 13 colonies’ right to break away from Great Britain. This declaration’s goal was to send a strong and clear message to the King of Great Britain, the colonies’ desire for new leadership as well as, condemn the King for the many abuses and misconduct by him toward the new colonies. Beginning with the iconic words, “We the People,” the Declaration of Independence is one of the most symbolic writings representing the colonies’

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Frederick Douglass

1252 Words | 6 Pages

On July 4, 1852, Frederick Douglass was invited to present an oratory in New York in commemoration of Independence Day. While many people recall Douglass as fierce abolitionist, he was also a brilliant speaker renowned in his time. In his acclaimed speech, I Hear the Mournful Wail of Millions, he expresses the mockery he, an African American, feels of being invited to speak about independence when the black man isn’t free. America is hypocritical, he argues, because its promise of freedom and autonomy is antithetical to its practice of slavery. Through Douglass’s compelling rhetoric piece, he crafts a masterful argument using the occasion, an appeal to emotions, verbal irony and possessive pronouns to emphasize the deception of society’s oath

Read More

What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July Essay

636 Words | 3 Pages

That point is conceded already. Nobody doubts it." He points out that the laws governing slaves are, by their very nature, proof that a slave is a man and therefore slavery is wrong. He pushes his audience to accept that slavery is inhumane and fight against it by proving that the white men in his audience are no different than the

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Speech

1848 Words | 8 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential leaders of his time and played a crucial role in the African-American Civil Rights movement. Luther was a charismatic leader who took a firm stand against the oppressive and racist regime of the United States (US), devoting much of his life towards uniting the segregated African-American community of the US. His efforts to consolidate and harmonise the US into one country for all is reflected in many of his writings and speeches spanning his career. As a leader of his people, King took the stand to take radical measures to overcome the false promises of the sovereign government that had been addressing the issues of racial segregation through unimplemented transparent laws that did nothing to change the grim realities of the society. Hence, King’s works always had the recurring theme of the unity and strength of combined willpower.

Read More

More about Rhetorical Analysis Of The Declaration Of Independence By David Walker

Related Topics

Open Document