Rhetorical Analysis Of The Fourth Of July

On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave his remarks at the Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society in Rochester, New York in honor of the Fourth of July. Douglass uses his platform to highlight the irony of inviting a once enslaved man to speak on a day that celebrates freedom, liberty, and justice. To challenge Americans celebration of the Fourth of July, Douglass exposes the hypocrisy of America’s value: they preach and celebrate freedom, yet condone the enslavement of individuals on the basis of skin color. As an ingenious orator, why would Douglass carelessly praise the founding fathers and abruptly criticize the American citizens if he wanted to gain their support?

Douglass begins his speech praising the morality of the founding fathers. By praising

He writes, “Oppression makes a wise man mad. [The founding fathers] were wise men, and if they did not go mad, they became restive under this treatment” (3). Douglass cleverly foreshadows the section when he brutally denounces the American citizen. While Douglass hints at the founding fathers in this section, this section also applies to him. After being oppressed for several years as a slave and a supposed freed man, Douglass has become “mad.” Douglass channels his frustration from his experience in bondage into this speech. While he builds up his frustration throughout the speech, Douglass becomes “restive” when officially denounces American citizens. The language that Douglass uses creates an ominous, uncontrollable storm. Once again, Douglass cryptically warns his audience of the impending criticism that he will explore later in his

Douglass writes that “with [the founding fathers], justice, liberty and humanity were “final;” not slavery and oppression” (5). By using the word “final,” Douglass clearly highlights the expectations of the founding fathers. By revolting against the King of Britain, the founding fathers expected to establish a nation that endorses “justice, liberty and humanity” (5). Interestingly, Douglass for the same men that opposed slavery and oppression, Douglass did not mention that the founding fathers were once slave owners in this passage. By omitting the fact that the founding fathers were slave owners, Douglass creates a perfect exemplar for the citizen to compare themselves. He also fails to mention this fact so that it does not contradict his later claim that slavery is evil. If he was to mention that the founding fathers were slave owners, he would have inadvertently destroy his argument and sabotage the legitimacy and validity of his authority as a speaker. Douglass does not purely want to praise the founding father of their good deeds. Rather, praising the founding fathers strengthens his rhetoric as he will “contrast [those good deeds] with these degenerate times” (5). By using “degenerate” Douglass is emphasizing the American citizen’s lack of character, which ultimately allows him to further elaborate the degenerate so that the audience can