Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Analysis

"Fellow - citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here today? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence?" (Douglass) Here he appeals to ethos. Douglass was once a slave who was able to escape. As a former slave, he did not experience the Fourth of July the same way free people did.

Frederick Douglass was a freed slave in the 1800’s who was famous for his ability to read and write, uncommon of a black man at the time. On July 4th, 1852, he gave a speech to citizens of the United States. In this speech, he called out the “hypocrisy of the nation”(Douglass), questioning the nation's treatment of slaves on a supposed day of independence. Frederick Douglass effectively uses rhetorical strategies to construct his argument and expose the hypocrisy of the nation.

Whenever injustice exists in society, it becomes the responsibility of others to step forward in defense of the oppressed. If this action does not occur, then the injustice will remain and innocent people will suffer. In order to preserve equality, sometimes people must take a risk in order to reveal the truth and uphold justice. Individuals throughout history, such as the founding fathers, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr., have faced this peril in the pursuit of freedom. In 1845, Frederick Douglass published Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, in order to do just that- to establish the truth behind slavery and advocate for freedom. In his narrative, Douglass uses diction, structure, imagery, and other

Frederick Douglass establishes his own ethos in the opening lines of the speech. He does so by questioning his oratorical authority to speak on freedom with the following rhetoric: “ Fellow citizens, pardon me, and allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here today? Frederick Douglass is not saying that he is a nobody, but out of everybody why would he, the former slave and abolitionist, be chosen to to speak on the celebration of freedom. But of course, Frederick Douglas resume suggests that he is educated, experienced and qualified enough to speak on freedom. He was born a slave in Maryland and experienced the horror of slavery first hand. He escaped from slavery and

To begin with, in his famous speech, Douglass successfully condemned America for its hypocrisy and the mournful nature surrounding the Fourth of July. America claimed that the Fourth of July was

Noted abolitionist Frederick Douglass, in his self titled slave narrative addresses the indescribable sadness that the slaves were experiencing, which they portrayed through song. He intensely describes the emotions that he hears within the songs of the slaves. In the passage Douglass shows how the slaves believe that they feel, versus how they really feel, and he does this this by changing the tone throughout the passage. He uses these tones to make the reader fully feel the helplessness that the slaves feel and recognize the effects that slavery had on people.

He begins by appealing to the feelings of the american audience: pride. Douglass talks about the forefathers and their accomplishments. Douglass goes on to use pathos again when he states, “ The freedom gained is yours; and you, therefore, may properly celebrate this anniversary. The 4th of July is the first great fact in your nation’s history- the very ringbolt in the chain of your yet underdeveloped destiny.” When Douglass says “The freedom gained is yours,” he is trying to convey that freedom is not for the blacks of America at this time. Whites are the only people allowed to freely exercise their freedom. Blacks are not free, for there is still slavery. The fact that a black man like Douglass is speaking at an event for the independence of America is a literal

Beginning in the seventeen hundreds, America depended on slaves for free labor in order to make a considerable profit. These slaves were not treated as normal people though; they were sold into a life of no rights, cruel punishment, and rigorous work schedules. In his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, freed slave Fredrick Douglass shares his personal accounts with slavery in order to reveal the harsh truth slavery hides to the public. The most successful strategy slaveholders used to maintain control of slaves was ignorance. Slaves were completely oblivious to the basic rights and privileges any

Frederick was broken, but what kept him going was his outstanding determination (This was paraphrased from Frederick Douglass). He talked about how this could change for the better because it was an insult to America since this country was supposed to be free. He had to escape the plantation farms and start a movement to end slavery. As he escaped, he moved to New York city where he continued to learn and published books and gave lectures and speeches on the reasons why slavery is unjust and is against the foundations of the American soil (This was paraphrased from Frederick Douglass). His determination lead to him being world famous and he gained support from Abraham Lincoln himself. In the speech that Douglass gave on July 5th it talked about how he does not care about 4rth of July because it's a holiday slaves can not celebrate because those who celebrate it were the masters of the slaves. Frederick Douglass was so determined to end slavery that he even questioned the significance of the country and their independence. He wanted to show slave owners and the American people that since he was darker colored he did not have the same rights nor could he celebrate a holiday so dear to the American and feel the same and proud to be

Who was Frederick Douglass and what did his Fourth of July Oration tell about his attitudes and beliefs? (See the online You-Tube in Learning Modules).

In his memoir, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Frederick Douglass argues for the abolition of slavery by reminiscing on his life as a slave. He draws attention to the cruelties he and other slaves endure and compares it to the white masters’ humanity. To do so, Douglass also uses the irony of relationships and family in white masters but lack of recognition of such in the slaves. Furthermore, Douglass uses the irony of the use of religion in order to excuse slavery and the many cruelties.

This powerful document by Frederick Douglass was to point out that America tries to celebrate what they call independence day while all the blacks including Douglas himself are struggling because they are shackled down by prejudice with no independence to claim their own. He uses this moment he is given to speak to the people and show them how meaningless the 4th of July is when there is still oppression going on. He poetically confronts all the problems with slavery and the horrors and injustice it brings. He paints a vivid image and uses great examples and bible verses to show that the 4th of July is not a holiday for the slaves and even freed slaves because this day mocks them and forces them to watch what freedom looks like and uses psalm

He continuously told his readers he was not sorry for his writing, but he will be heard. Lastly, Frederick Douglass was a vital leader in the abolitionist movement. He was once a slave until he escaped to Maryland, where he gained popularity for his writings. Douglass’ famous speech, “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?” was used to draw attention on the morals that the United States lived by, equality, liberty, and injustice. He makes points that contradicts the beliefs of freedom for everyone when many slaves are living with The South listed in the Declaration of Independence.

In his introduction to “Frederick Douglass: Fourth of July Speech (1852),” Professor Foner clearly thinks very highly of Fredrick Douglas. Douglas had an autobiography written about him and is looked at a classic reading for the slave experience. Douglas was born a slave on a Maryland plantation in 1818. It was thought that he was the son of his master. His obsessive desire to become a free slave came from becoming literate at an early age. He escaped to the North in 1838, and met well known white abolitionists such as William Garrison and Wendell Phillips. He soon was speaking to large audiences about antislavery throughout the Northeast. He presented a speech on Independence Day of 1852 in front of 600 people in Rochester, New York about the abolishing slavery. Later in his life he became a military recruiter for the Union, as well as principle criticizer of Lincoln’s war leadership. In his close relation to the president he continually pushed Lincoln to have increasingly daring emancipation polices and black equality. Then after the war ended he served in various diplomatic and government positions and continued to fight for the rights for African Americans.

Fedrick Douglas was a former slave escaped at the age of 20, and became a notable orator, writer and statesman. Douglas was also a prominent American abolitionist. Fedrick Douglas was an agent of change, he gave himself the job to speak for all the slaves of America. On July 5, 1852 Douglas spoke in front of an audience in New York. He expressed his feelings about our national independence and the flaws in the Declaration of independence. During his great speech Douglas spoke with passion and slight anger. “To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak today?” Douglas said these words, because it seemed to be as if they were mocking him, because they asked him to speak about the declaration of independence, but the 4th of July does not mean anything to him because he