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Rhetorical Analysis Of The Hypocrisy Of American Slavery

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This speech, “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery”, was given by a man named Frederick Douglass on July 4, 1852. He was asked to give this speech to the citizens of Rochester, New York in celebration of the fourth of July. We’re going to be telling you what tone and appeals Douglass used to get his point across in this speech. Overall, the speech is about American slavery and how African Americans are treated as mediocre. Douglass’s main point was to stop slavery using the three appeals, such as ethical, logical, and emotional. Frederick Douglass was the best known and most influential African American leader of the 1800’s. He was born into slavery in 1818 in Maryland. He escaped at age 20 and went on to become a world eminent anti-slavery activist. …show more content…

The tone of this speech was serious and irritated. He was serious about fixing the problem and was irritated with the entire nation for the fraud they were committing. Douglass opens his speech by asking the people of Rochester why he was there to give the speech. He asks what he has to do with their national independence and their political freedom. He states that he isn’t going to be like all the other people in the nation he is going to use his fame for a good cause. He’s going to use his fame to help the people of America use their voice and free the slaves. In this speech he used three appeals of persuasion to stop slavery, while up against a majority of the nation. Douglass tells the people of Rochester that this is not his day it is theirs. Independence, justice, and liberty is shared by them not himself. He says this because at this time in American history it was illegal for black Americans to attend fourth of July celebrations in the north and south. They did not want their slaves to get an idea of freedom and rebel against them for freedom. His use of the words I am not, you, yours, and not mine all show that he is trying to get the American nation to stand up against slavery or that it is …show more content…

He says this because the fourth of July is a terrible reminder of the ongoing cruelty that America continues to pursue on him and his people. He doesn't like the fact that whites and blacks do not have equal rights that's why the fourth of July is theirs not his. He makes the statement, “ I do not hesitate to declare, with all my soul, that the character and conduct of this nation never looked blacker to me than on this Fourth of July.” He says this because he sees this day of freedom and independence from a slave’s point of view. Slaves are not able to celebrate freedom because they simply do not have it. They are treated unfairly when they should have the same rights as everyone

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In his speech, “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?,” Douglass creates a strong piece through structure, rhetoric, carefully crafted arguments. In the first section of his speech, Douglass

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Douglass showed the people how they are hypocrites by how they oppressed the slaves in their nation, yet go to other nations demanding to free the oppressed people. For that reason, Douglass says, "This Fourth [of] July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak to-day?"

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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, former slave Frederick Douglass gave a speech to celebrate America’s independence; however, instead of praising the country, 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. To convince his audience that Americans are wrong celebrating freedom on the 4th of July when slavery exists in their country, he uses emotional appeal, ethical appeal, and rhetorical questions.

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On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered a speech to the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society. In order to persuade his audience of the evils of slavery and the hypocrisy of the Fourth of July, Douglass utilizes emotional appeal, strong diction, and figurative language. Douglass utilizes emotional appeal in order to emotionally connect with his audience. He shows the audience that he has personal experience with slavery by mentioning, “To me the American slave-trade is a terrible reality. When a child, my soul was often pierced with a sense of its horrors”.

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He took this occasion as an opportunity to point out the hypocrisy of a nation celebrating their standards of freedom and equality when there still continued the enslavement of millions of people throughout America. A day where Americans celebrated their independence and freedom only to take away a group of people’s freedom, independence and forced them into slavery.

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Frederick Douglass, born a slave and later the most influential African American leader of the 1800s, addresses the hypocrisy of the US of maintaining slavery with its upheld ideals being freedom and independence on July 4th, 1852. Douglass builds his argument by using surprising contrasts, plain facts, and provocative antithesis. Introducing his subject, Douglass reminds his audience about the dark side of America for slaves, in sharp, surprising contrasts with the apparent progressivity within the nation. He first notices “the disparity,” that “the sunlight that brought life and healing to you, has brought stripes and deaths to me,” as an African-American former slave. It is surprising for the audience to hear that the Sun does not bring him any prosperity, that the Sun, the source of life on earth, brings him destruction.

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Douglass character proved that he was honest and true to his speech. Douglass appealed to his audience by choosing word and experience that appealed to the anti-slavery society. He also made sure to sound unbiased when he was intruding his belief. Together with ethos he expressed pathos in is speeches by appealing to us audience emotionally.

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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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Throughout Douglass's speech, he exceeds expectations by adding excellent examples of ethos, pathos, and unique tone. These examples help the audience see his viewpoints and helps him connect with them. The literary devices used in his speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”, aided in his fight against

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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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One of the strategies Douglass uses to convince his audience slavery should be abolished is by “calling out American hypocrisy in his Fourth of July oration” (Mercieca 1). He shames them with no remorse. He speaks on the opposite treatments that enable whites to live in a state of freedom and liberty, while the blacks are living in a state of bondage. As the audience listens, he reminds them, there are men, women and children still held hostages to the chains of

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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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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.

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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.

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