Ethos, Pathos, and Logos: Black Abolitionist Arguments Against Slavery

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs strongly speaks to its readers by describing the brutalities of slavery and the way slave owners can destroy peaceful lives. After reading and rereading the story have noticed certain things regarding how Jacobs tries to educate her readers and her intended audience which is the women of the North. As if we do not know enough about how terrible slavery is, this story gives detailed examples of the lives of slaves and provokes an incredible amount of emotions. She uses several tactics in her writing to reach her desired audience and does so very well.

According to Douglass, “They went so far in their excitement as to pronounce the measures of government unjust, unreasonable, and oppressive, and altogether such as ought not to be quietly submitted to” (Douglass, 150). Douglass saw similarities between the struggles of the forefathers and black slaves, and he compelled his audience to recognize these similarities and follow the example of the forefathers.

Aristotle came up with three appeals: ethos, pathos, and logos, all of which are found in all forms of writing, speeches, movies, television shows, and life within itself. Frederick Douglass used all three of these rhetoric devices in writing his narrative to tell about both his life as an American slave and his cause over ten decades ago. He uses these devices to identify himself to the readers, to bring emotion out of the readers, and to persuade the readers.

Through his crafty use of rhetoric, Douglass delivered a scathing attack on the hypocrisy of America in his self-referential speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July.” The speech articulated his passionate pursuit for liberty and equal rights. Douglass’s speech passionately argued that in the eyes of the slave and even the “free” black

Nelson Mandela said, “When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.” One such man, Frederick Douglas, wrote “From What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? An Address Delivered in Rochester, New York, on 5 July 1852.” He argues that even though blacks and whites went to fight in the war to be free, that promise was not kept to the blacks. Douglass persuades a northern, white audience, to oppose slavery and favor abolition. Douglass wants to remind abolitionist and White Americans that July 4 was not a celebration for slaves and former slaves. Independence Day only made slaves remember that they were made promises for freedom that were not kept.

Frederick Douglass, an accomplished 19th-century author, was a vivid activist in the anti-slavery movement after the wife of the slaveholder, Mrs. Auld, taught him how to read. After years of hard work, he became the first African-American in the United States to hold a prestigious government office. In his speech “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery,” which he gave on Independence Day, he points out the duplicity of Americans. He states that Americans should not celebrate their independence when they were holding African Americans in

After his escape from slavery, Frederick Douglass chose to promote the abolition of slavery by speaking about the actions and effects that result from that institution. In an excerpt from a July 5, 1852 speech at Rochester, New York, Douglass asks the question: What to the slave is the Fourth of July? This question is a bold one, and it demands attention. The effectiveness of his oration is derived from the personal appeals in which he engages the listener.

On May 29th, 1856, Abraham Lincoln gave a speech in which he addressed the moral dilemma and hypocrisy of slavery. “We cannot be free if this is, by our own national choice, to be a land of slavery.” President Lincoln’s rhetoric reflects the challenge to define freedom in America; moreover, it reflects his morality and commitment to upholding personal freedom. It justifies why he does not ignore slavery, as well as why he did not see slaves as property, but as a group of humans who had been abusively denied freedom, and stripped of their humanity for no reason other than avarice personal gain. Slavery was coerced labor that relied heavily on intimidation, brutality, and dehumanization. Regardless that it was once a legal and cultural institution integral to the economic development of the early American economy, slavery was and always will be one of the most horrific violations of human rights. With that in mind, slavery infected American culture in the 17th century, and unfortunately lasted several hundred years. Over the course of that time, slaves produced narratives that sought to garner popular support for bringing an end to slavery. Of the prolific abolitionist narratives published, notably, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Jacobs ' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl were praised for how their rhetoric challenged slavery. These narratives, combined in Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s The

Slavery in the United States proved to be a time of cruelty, dehumanization, and learning. During this period in history, slaveholders did everything they could to make slavery seem acceptable, while abolitionists did everything in their power to prove why slavery was so wrong. One way of doing this was encouraging slaves to tell their stories through what are known as slave narratives. Frederick Douglass took this opportunity to present several different arguments against slavery. He especially wanted readers to realize that during this time, white people suffered from slavery just as much as blacks did, as they became heartless, incapable of being trusted, and put the true meaning of their religion on the line.

The first narrative that grasped American’s attention through her troubling life events was “Sojourner Truth” written by Isabella Baumfree. She held inspiring religious speakings which displayed how traumatizing slavery was, what it had put her through, and how she would consistently overcome it using her love for God. She was born into slavery and placed under Charles Ardinburg along with some of her family. Her mother had taught her more about him and this statement shows how much it benefitted “Thus, in her humble way, did she endeavor to show them their Heavenly Father, as the only being who could protect them in their perilous condition” Truth had been separated from many of her siblings, her mother, and her father. After the

Fredrick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Harriet Jacobs were three individuals who experienced racial identity and slavery after the Revolution. During the beginning of the 1800’s, slaves were auctioned off and given to their new owner who took in the slaves for them to work. It was not until the Fugitive Slave Act was passed that allowed the slaves to go back to their masters. The act was an agreement between the southern states slave owners and the northern states who freed slaves. Before the slave act was passed, these three individuals faced many challenges when presented in this time period, and each individual handled racial identity situations differently.

All of the trials that Jacobs portrayed throughout the narrative showed that women went through more psychological trauma than men during slavery. Jacobs showed that although people go through things and might have to sacrifice some things, its okay to keep moving and try to get your freedom. I believe that Jacobs' story did need to be heard and that it was smart of her to publish the narrative,because it helped give more insight into why women have such a strong mental state and how as women can overcome situations.

Instead, he spends his enslaved life travelling and working on a ship and after he buys his freedom he travels even more. This is largely due to the economic conditions discussed before: an emphasis on international slave-trade is combined with the high death rates of the West Indian slaves, cutting down their opportunities to create a more permanent and settled life. On the other hand, Jacobs is born into slavery and raised by her grandmother. We see influences of her family throughout her life, from “looking up to [her grandmother] with a respect bordering upon awe” to relying on her brother, William, while she waits in the attic to desperately searching for just a view of her children to remind her why she must gain her freedom. Economic developments of the South that led to the reliance on slavery in general and reproduction to further the institution, in contrast to slavery of the 18th century, allowed women like Jacobs to have such strong identities. However, another aspect to take into account is the audience of Jacobs’s story: white Northerners, especially women. Jacobs, who wrote this narrative after she was freed and at the beginning of the Civil War, uses familial values and experiences, which women hold in common, in order to relate her story to women in the North who could support the abolitionist movement.

Independence Day, since the first signing of the Declaration of Independence, has been a nationwide victorious day filled with cheer in celebration of the United States gaining freedom from the British Crown. But the effects of the Declaration of Independence did not at all do what it was expected of for almost three centuries. During this time, there were a lot of famous people who stood up and fought against slavery, and Frederick Douglass was one of the most well-known abolitionists. Frederick Douglass was born as a slave in Maryland in 1895. He was also a journalist, orator, and social reformer, but most of all, he is famous for his leadership as an abolitionist. Spending his young ages as a slave, he was the victim of and witness of cruelty at the hands of his owners, therefore he had strong hatred toward slavery in the United States. After escaping from slavery to be a free man in 1838, he published several autobiographies and became an outspoken advocate for the abolitionist movement. One of the most recognized speeches of Frederick Douglass - “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” - was held on the nation's 76th anniversary. By revealing unfairness and injustice of racism throughout this speech, Douglass, with his angry but passionate and vigorous voice, not only got the audience's sympathy but also succeeded in convincing them that “all men are created equal”, no matter what color of their skin.

Frederick Douglass was a former slave who is standing up for his belief that everyone should be treated equally and with kindness. Douglass was invited to give a fourth of July speech at the Ladies Anti-Slavery Society of Rochester. After he gave his speech, he was the most influential African American leader in the nation. Douglass has created a mindset that the slaves should be set free because they have their own rights whether stated in the Declaration or not. Douglass refers to the Declaration as a symbol of the freedom of equality and how people should be treated. “The freedom gained is yours; and you, therefore, may properly celebrate this anniversary,” (Douglass 2). Douglass’ audience consisted on white females and they have the independence they can freely celebrate, but he does not have