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Symbolism In Frederick Douglass

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Frederick Douglass: Abolitionist "What to the American slave is your Fourth of July?" These famous words by Frederick Douglass helped change the minds, of the citizens of Rochester, on the topic of slavery. Made Douglass one the main leaders for the anti-slavery movement. Helped change minds to be against slavery, and gave slaves hope. All of these were made possible through Douglass's speech which gave American slaves hope and the idea of freedom from the chains of slavery. Background of Frederick Douglass Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, aka Frederick Douglass, was born February 1818 as a slave. Frederick Douglass grew up near the town of Tuckahoe, Maryland on the Wye Plantation. Raised by his grandparents, because parents where always …show more content…

At eight years old his owner shipped young Douglass to Baltimore, never mind to see his mother again. While in Baltimore he had a better life than a normal slave would have. He got plenty of food and had decent clothes. His new owner's wife started to teach him how to read, but once the owner found out he made her stop teaching him. Douglass really wanted to read so he sought out the help of his friends to teach him how to read and write. Once he was good enough to read on his own he wanted books to read. He bought a book titled, "The Columbian Orator... It contained orations or great speeches, made by famous people," (Ruffin 20). He was already interested in speeches at a young age, little did he know he would grow up to be a famous speaker himself. Living in Baltimore had changed his life and he made Freedom his goal. When he was 15 years old he was once again moved to Covey's Farm near St. Michaels, Maryland. It was here that Douglass encountered severe beatings from Covey, sometimes for no reason. He …show more content…

First it helped to establish Douglass as a prominent leader in the anti-slavery movement. After giving the Fourth of July speech, "Douglass emerged as the principal spokesperson and leader for the race from the antebellum period until his death in 1895," (Calloway). This speech showed that Douglass was more than qualified as a speaker and a leader. Secondly, his speech gave slaves the hope they needed to fight on. Just years after this speech was given the Civil War would start and it would be the ultimate test of slavery versus anti-slavery. The slaves looked to Douglass for the light they needed to fight. Lastly, the speech helped to change the way people thought of slavery and how it is a horrible thing. He tried to convince people to help abolish slavery, or end it, and told them how it needed to be

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“And i now resolved that , however long I might remain a slave in form , the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact”. Frederick Douglass birth name was Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. He was born into slavery in Talbot County , Maryland , around 1818. Douglass exact birth date and year is unknown. But he chose to celebrate his birthday in February 14.

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On July 4, 1852, Frederick Douglass was invited to celebrate Independence Day in Rochester, New York and was to give a speech. His intended audience was the general public in which he believed needed to hear his opinion. Frederick Douglass was a former slave who had escaped his torment in his early twenties. In his speech, Douglass argues to the American people that they have a pretentious attitude toward slaves' freedom. Douglass states his thesis when he says "America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false in the future."

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Frederick Douglass     He was born into slavery and worked on a slave farm in Maryland and in Baltimore when he was very young. Although Douglass got a bit more freedom than any other slave did down south. Slave were allowed or granted with nothing at all because they were slaves and people believe that they deserve nothing but to work more very little or not at all. During his free time Douglass his slave owner's wife had taught him how to read and write but her husband ended that quickly. Shortly after that he found ways to teach him.

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Nick Baxter What caused the Civil War? DBQ The Civil War was caused by three main reasons are economic differences, interpretation of Constitution, and moral beliefs. The North and the South were very different economically.

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His goal was for everyone to know why slaves and African Americans strongly disliked the Fourth of July. On the background information of Douglass’ speech it states that, “Douglass addressed an audience at the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society.” His goal is achieved because his speech was heard by 500-600 people. His speech represented all the slaves that did not have a voice and was heard by many people in the United States. Today students in the United States have read Douglass’ speech on why slaves disliked the Fourth of July.

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In the 1850’s slavery still hadn’t been abolished, slaves were not even allowed to celebrate the fourth of July and the fugitive slave act had just passed. The fugitive slave act allowed southern slaveholders to capture slaves who had escaped to the free states. This impacted the lives of many including Fredrick Douglas, a former slave. On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass was asked to address the people of Rochester, New York. This was the 76th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

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Douglass got a new viewpoint on slavery when he moved to Baltimore and lived with his new master Hugh Auld and his wife Sophia, who taught Douglass the alphabet for a while until her husband reprimanded her. Douglass learned the rest of the alphabet and how to read from his white friends in town and practiced everyday by himself. He had a fascination with abolitionist newspapers and continually read The Columbian Orator. This was a major turning point in Douglass’s life, reading about abolitionists and free slaves gave him the strength and hope he needed to one day escape and become the man he is. He now had a greater

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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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A Relentless Fight for Freedom for all: A Response to the Meaning of the July Fourth for the Negro In his July 5th, 1852 speech, “The Meaning of the July Fourth for the Negro”, Frederick Douglass addresses the issue of American Slavery, a provocative stumbling block in American history. In the opening segment, Douglass gracefully conveys to his audience, a great sense of admiration of respect for the Founding Fathers of the United States, the original signers responsible for the Declaration of Independence. This powerful document was initially constructed in part to be regarded and abided by as the statement of freedom and liberty to all citizens in America. Although Douglass appears to have faith in in the Declaration of Independence and

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What to the Slave is the Fourth of July Introduction The 4th of July is an important day in American history it represents freedom and is usually associated with fireworks, parades, alcohol, and concerts. Those activities more or less represent today’s culture. When Fredrick Douglass made his speech he talked about American values such as liberty, citizenship, and freedom. The irony of this speech was that at the time white Americans in the south were still participating in slave trading.

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In the 1800s, for a slave to know how to read and write was not only unheard of, but illegal. Frederick Douglass was born a slave in rural Talbot County, Maryland. For about seven years, he received reading lessons from his mistress Hugh, but that all changed as soon as she commenced her duties as a slaveholder. The once kind hearted woman was changed into a woman to be feared. She stopped teaching Douglass how to read and would monitor his whereabouts in her home to ensure that he was not reading anything.

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“What to a Slave is the Fourth of July” by Fredrick Douglass is a speech that was delivered to a crowd in Corinthian Hall on July 5th, 1852. Frederick Douglass was a very influential abolitionist, using his influence and way with words he delivered a very significant message illustrating how even though the Fourth of July has great importance to many, it still serves as a harsh reminder for many unfair and unjust things going on to enslaved people, through his speech he uses many different historical events to help convey his message and prove how he is correct in the matter, many of these points are even still applicable in the U.S today. Throughout the speech Douglass shows his distaste towards the United States. The country that advocates

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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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