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

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In “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” Frederick Douglass deconstructs the whole idea of the meaning of the holiday. The holiday was meant to represent the American dream of freedom and independence, but at that time, it was limited to only the white man. Frederick Douglass critiques the hypocrisy of celebrating the independence of America while so many African Americans were enslaved, but he also challenges the reader to think about the injustices within American society. In this essay, I will argue that Frederick Douglass utilizes irony, pathos, and critical thought in “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” to shed light on the injustices and systematic oppression of African Americans within American society. The Declaration of Independence, a document adopted on July 4, 1776, is intended to serve as a written commemoration of the formation …show more content…

Frederick Douglass continues to point out the irony of slaves being called to celebrate the holiday when in reality it commemorates their own division. Douglass speaks to the audience to state that the “rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me.” (1852 Douglass) Douglass uses verbal irony to critique the audience as well as create a tone of exaggerated admiration for the founding fathers of the nation only so he could further indict their hypocrisy; for example, he makes comments like such, “The point from which I am compelled to view them is not, certainly, the most favorable; and not only recognizes the founding fathers’ achievements, but also shows that he can be unbiased on certain topics. Douglass shows the irony of an African American man, once a slave, who is still able to appreciate the founders of a nation he was enslaved in. This speech was a powerful testament that was meant to invoke many emotions and responses within its

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