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Frederick Douglass Ethos Pathos Logos

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Junior Toussaint History before 1852 Professor Yousefian 5/10/15 Essay 4 In class we’ve talked about Frederick Douglas and the abolitionist movement. The class has gathered opinions from his autobiography and speech on the fourth of July. We use this to criticize the declaration of independence and the belief system of our founding fathers on the basis of their ideals of freedom and equality. In his autobiography and speech, Douglass gives his viewpoints of America during his life and reflects on the ideals of the nation at a time were freedom and equal rights were presented to be shared by all under the newly written constitution. Douglass was one of the most significant African American leaders. New York asked him to speak during their Fourth …show more content…

Its ideals were to ensure to successful future of our nation and the citizen who inhabit. That included African Americans looking for a beginning in this nation as well. However the great ideologies of political liberty and of ordinary justice, personified in that Declaration of Independence were in fact, not extended to blacks. Douglass calls America out on the hypocrisy of these words. He notes that the founders constructed a document to afford equal security and rights to all; the minute they drafted the constitution those rights were not actually extended to all human beings. Oppression, as long as it exists, reverses the Declaration of Independence as a statement of rights stretched to all. In the Declaration of Independence it writes, “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” (Declaration of Independence 1). This part of the Declaration was heavily influenced by John Locke's Second Treatise of Government, which states that all, “men are created equal and have the right to life, liberty, and property.” (Locke 1). Although Douglas believes this to be untrue due to slavery and the harsh relationship between whites and blacks in our society at that time. He Details that we cannot live by the Declaration if all are not equal under the same laws and benefits of the laws provided by the

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The Declaration of Independence states, “That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that when any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government…” (Declaration of Independence/ 10-Point Program). The authorial choice of historical references supports the main idea of this manifesto because it highlights the American government’s hypocrisy in acting against its founding principles when they commit these injustices against black people. Additionally, they reference that it is the people ’s right to take action if the government becomes destructive of these rights according to the declaration of independence.

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An American Slave, Frederick Douglass, in his speech, “What To The Slave Is The 4th Of July?”, denigrates the Fourth of July and what it’s meaning is and what it represents. Douglass’s purpose is to show his audience the meaning of Fourth of July to slaves. He adopts a pressing tone in order to show what slaves think and feel about the Fourth of July in his speech to the President, friends and the people of the US. Douglass throughout his speech lionizes the impact that Fourth of July has on slaves. According to his speech he says, “Attend the auction;see men examined like horses;see forms of women rudely and brutally exposed to the hocking gaze of American slave-buyers.

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Lincoln and Douglass promoted human rights in order to develop America. Both Lincoln and Douglass shared similar thoughts when it came to slavery later in the Civil War. Yet, in some ways their thoughts differed due to their own personal perspectives, affecting the way slavery should be dealt with. Lincoln, also known as “The Great Emancipator” was neither for or against slavery. While on the other hand, Douglass, at a point in time a slave himself, was against slavery.

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Past life experiences often influence and sculpt the plot of an author’s literary works. Frederick Douglass and Kate Chopin successfully integrate several literary conventions in The Narrative of Frederick Douglass and The Awakening, respectively, in order to convey how the characters in the novel are either suffering or have acquired their enlightenment. These moments of suffering oftentimes dig a path towards enlightenment. Frederick Douglass successfully achieves his enlightenment in the form of freedom from his suffering, which is slavery. When asked to offer an explanation for how his hatred of freedom sparked a desire of freedom for him, Douglass responded with, “The thought of only being a creature of the present and the past, troubled

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Frederick Douglass and Malcom X created some of the most famous African-American pieces to ever be released. They were written to reveal how hard the process of learning to read was back during the slave era. Douglass had a chapter in his narrative ”Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” called “Learning to Read and Write,” it was written in 1845. Malcolm X’s “Learning to Read,” is an excerpt from,” the Autobiography of Malcolm X“. These two pieces were written more than a century apart yet several common themes can still be identifies.

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Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass are two men that are very different, but have many similarities. When we hear these names, we think about two people who did great things. Both men made something out of their lives when they had nothing. Franklin is well known for being one of the Founding Fathers of The United States of America. He is also well known for being an inventor, civic activist, scientist, writer, and a diplomat.

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According to document 3, digital history, growth of the African-American population in 2016 the claim shows that when the population of African-Americans have increased so have the number of slaves that are African Americans over 40 years, this shows that this group of people were treated unfairly because more and more people have became slaves other that free men. The number has increased by over 2 million African-American slaves over 40 years This is just one way to show that they did not have equal political, social, or economical rights as free men. Also according to document 4 Charles Mackay, life and Liberty in America: or sketches of a tour in the United States and Canada in 1857-1858 London 1859. ”We shall not make the black man a slave; we shall not buy him or sell him; but we shall not associate with him.” Through his observation he was able to see that even free men were not treated equally like the Declaration was meant to do.

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As a representative of slavery, Frederick Douglass in the speech, “What To The American Slave Is Your 4th Of July?” , denounces America’s disposition towards slavery, noting its emergence into a flagrantly hypocritical state. Douglass supports his denouncement by arguing that, to the African American slave, the Fourth of July stands merely reminiscent of the blatant injustice and cruelty they stand subject to every day. In hopes of change, the author’s purpose serves to advocate the human nature of slaves, in order to slander the nation’s misconduct and unveil the great sin and shame of America: slavery. Douglass’s formal writing style addresses his audience of Americans who observe the holiday, as well as others interested in the topic of slavery

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To start with, it is hard to underestimate what Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglas did for the United States of America. People continue to respect them and their willingness to change this world into something better. Besides their strong love to liberty these representatives of the history of United States are usually presented as keepers of fundamental American values such as openness, informality, individualism, enterprise, directness, self-reliance and honesty. It is clear that these two men are very different from each other, but they do have a number of similarities that will be presented below as well as differences. Frederick Douglass and Benjamin Franklin were both self-made men.

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The idea of freedom has always been an ever changing concept, its definition always being redefined to encompass more people under its protection. In Frederick Douglass's speech, “What to the slave is the fourth of July,” he touches on the general idea of freedom as it pertains to the enslaved. However, his intent extends further than just addressing the hypocrisy of the American holiday. He uses his speech as a means to address the constructs of how the country colonizes and disrespects the black mind. Douglass’s diction in his speech is overly flowery, with the excuse that as a black man he must be a little pompous to display his knowledge and credibility through spoken word.

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In this document was a plethora of acknowledgements towards what society should be for its citizens. In the European enlightenment, John Locke professed his ideas of equality and how a government should provide this equality. In the Declaration of Independence, John Locke’s ideas are plain and simple when the document states that everyone should have “life, liberty, and,” not in John Locke’s particular choice of words, “property.” This idea of all men being born free and equal is an apparent intent of our forefathers, but this idea contradicts everything to do with slavery (Document B). As people began to notice the inconsistency, opposition to slavery grew and took action.

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The Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal. This explains that all people should be treated equal even if they have different color skin or from different race. This also explains that when all people are created equal, they should have equal rights as others. In addition Mason-Dixon Memory by Clifton Davis states that “‘Glen Echo Amusement Park is in Maryland”,she said at last “and the management doesn’t allow negroes inside. ”(Davis).

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When one considers the Declaration of Independence quality and rights are two principles that are believed to be granted to all. Equality can be defined as being treated the same as everyone else. While rights are things that were granted to you. However, Frederick Douglass would not agree that this aligns with slavery. In his narrative, he tells the story of his personal experiences of what it is like to be enslaved.

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Equality in America. Frederick Douglass was a former slave that created a speech in 1852, meant for the public movement based on the wrong of slavery. Douglass first presented this speech in Rochester, New York for the Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. When this speech was first given, many people were not yet against slavery at the time, so this abolition act was seen as radical. Douglass announced his vision of America through his speech and what he had desired for the nation.

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Fredrick Douglas was a slave when he was young around 11 years old and eventually one day he ran away from slavery. The thing that is different about him to other slaves he made it out of slavery and he can tell his story from being a slave and being free. In the 1850s Fredrick Douglas broke and followed the strictly moralist brand of “abolitionism” led by William Lloyd Garrison. Racial equality was very important to Douglas he believed that men and woman no matter their race or gender should have a fair say in everything.

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