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This Fourth Of July Is Yours Not Mine Analysis

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Back in late 1840s and the early 1850s they were two major social movements in America with both slaves and women fighting against suffrage and advocating for equal rights. One of the crucial parts of one of these movements was in 1852 when Frederick Douglass a former fugitive slave gave a critical speech about the hypocrisy of America during independence day at a Rochester abolitionist meeting. During this speech he critically panned the very idea that Independence day has claiming it to be nothing but a hypocritical holiday meant only for the white men, he states “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 …show more content…

Right away they used such ideas of truths that would be self evident in the American ideology, “that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” but explain that even though these ideas are the general consensus in America they still and have been undergoing many constraints and limitations to their rights. Furthermore, describe their futile efforts in making a change declaring it nearly impossible to impose any change ”Such has been the patient sufferance of the women under this government.” For them men have deprived them of their rights by denying them education, creating false public sentiment with a code of morals, and closed “all the avenues to wealth and distinction which he considers most honorable to himself.” As we can see, both movements relied heavily on using America's political ideas and imagery to point out hypocrisy and

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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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In the text, Frederick Douglass who once a slave wanted to acknowledge the unfulfilled promise of equality and independence through the holiday “Independence day.” In his address he talks about how people celebrate independence day even though everyone is not free. Frederick douglass wants to persuade the rochester ladies anti slavery group to stop celeberating indepence day becasue it is a hypcritical holiday becuase there are still people in America that are not fully free in their independence. Douglass creates a serious tone in order to establish the seriousness that Independence day is a day that should not be celebrated due to the fact that it is not what it says it is. Frederick Douglass appeals to the audience by the use

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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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828 Words | 4 Pages

He questions his audience of the significance of Independence Day to slaves, and he answers it in an extremely contrasting way: “your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; … your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery,” that the celebration is “a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.” Douglass dismisses the national pride, characterizing it as a mere expression of people’s ignorance. The antithesis, with “greatness” being “vanity,” “sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless,” and “shouts of liberty and equality” being “hollow mockery,” provokes shock and anger from the audience, who have just been part of it and are now degraded as “savages.” However, Douglass was not trying to be inflammatory but provocative, witnessing the pathetic enthusiasm in the anniversary, that people feel exuberant about themselves while ignoring the saddening

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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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