July Fourth For A Negro Analysis

Similar to women in this time period, another group was also challenging the “rights of man”. The ideas of the French Revolution also motivated slaves to stand up for their rights. Frederick Douglass, a former slave, addressed an antislavery meeting on the 4th of July. Like the women of France, Douglass pointed out the hypocrisy of the French government in saying that all men are equal. In being asked to speak on the 4th of July, Douglass felt as if he was being ridiculed because the day meant nothing to slaves. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen meant nothing to them. There was no more justice for slaves during this time than there was for women. Both oppressed groups were challenging France for the first time, in hopes to gain their collective rights.

The speech “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?” was spoken, by Frederick Douglas, to the supporters and abolitionists at the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society of Fourth of July. In his speech Frederick Douglas speaks heavily on the subject of abolitioning slavery. Frederick Douglas provides comparisons and analogies, appeals to the audience 's logic, and appeals to the audience’s emotion in order to convince the audience to more vigorously fight for the abolition of slavery.

Frederick Douglass lived in a time where slavery was very pronounced in society and black people were not well respected or heard from often. During his time, black people did not have the opportunity to be heard by white people; also there were not very many free blacks. Black people were generally seen, but not heard. In this case, the whites were seen but not heard as Douglass stood before them giving a mesmerizing speech that would surely make them think. Throughout his speech, Frederick Douglass points out inconsistencies that whites said time and time again. The reason they said all those positive things, was so that they would come off as a caring, unified nation. In reality, they were very domineering over those who were slaves.

On July 5th 1852, Frederick Douglass, one of history’s outstanding public speakers, carried out a very compelling speech at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York. Within that moment of time where the freedom of Americans was being praised and celebrated, he gathered the nation to clear up the tension among slavery and the establishment of the country’s goals. Frederick Douglass’s speech mentions the development of the young nation, the Revolution, and his own life experience. While speaking, his main subject was seen to be American slavery. The “Fourth of July Oration” was a commendable model of Frederick Douglass’s affection and engagement towards the freedom of individuals. Frederick Douglass’s speech left an impact on his audience

In 1852, civil rights activist Fredrick Douglass was asked to give a speech in celebration of the fourth of July. He delivered a powerful speech, his words may not have been what the audience was expecting. Douglass highlighted many points as to why a slave wouldn’t want to celebrate this holiday. He even pondered he had been asked in jest to deliver this type of speech. He did not feel that he had any reason to celebrate nor would the people in this country that have been continuously oppressed by this nation which claimed to be free for all men. Douglass thought of this celebration as a sham. He believed that this nation had become free for the white man but not for him or the ethnic groups in America.

He has shown that the “blessings in which you, this day rejoice, are not enjoyed in common” (124). With the purpose of his speech firmly defined, he now has the liberty to expound upon the true evil of slavery that lurks in the shadow of hypocrisy. He employs the satirical technique of ridicule to expose the ugly nature of enslavement with equally ugly diction. Douglass’ disapproval ranges from “hideous” to “revolting” to “an outrage”, and culminates in the assertion that slavery is the “greatest sin and shame of America” (125). A far cry from the almost reverent tone of his opening statements, Douglass led his audience from the throes of a Fourth of July celebration to an intense degradation of the freedom they so

To really convey my feelings about the issue presented by Mr. Douglass, I will leave you some food for thought. Isaiah Berlin speaks, "Injustice, poverty, slavery, ignorance - these may be cured by reform or revolution. But men do not live only by fighting evils. They live by positive goals, individual and collective, a vast variety of them, seldom predictable, at times

In referencing the Bible, Douglass entered an intimate, significant, and yet ironically similar importance in the eyes of all men, colored or not. Douglass illustrated that slaves are in no way different than their white counterparts, doing the same activities for their community by "Confessing and worshipping the Christian’s God, and looking hopefully for life and immortality beyond the grave, we are called upon to prove that we are men”. Douglass indeed hits home the point that these men are created equal because they both prayed and worshiped the same god that gave their life meaning. Though Douglass does go on to distance himself from the events of the Fourth of July by differentiating it as the white day of privilege, while in comparison, the African-American population is still searching for their liberty. Douglass again, exposed the downright hypocrisy and blunt silliness of the nation. BETTER ELABORATION?

The fourth of July, a holiday commemorating the colonies’ claim for independence, supposedly celebrates the “great principles of political freedom and of natural justice” extended to all American citizens. However, as Douglas’ comments on the toil and suffering endured by millions of slaves reveal, the joy and liberties shared among white people are not enjoyed by many African Americans. For example, highlighting the “gross injustice[s] and cruelty” experienced by the slaves, while his white audience members listen without the fear of a whip cracking their backs, Douglas details the slave owners’ methods of torturing slaves in to obedience and

The purpose of subjugating people is sought for the awareness as to who is the 'alpha' or who contains more power over individuals. In "Narrative of the life of an American Slave" and "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" both written by Fredrick Douglas and "The Declaration of Sentiments, Seneca Falls Conference" by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, these individuals help establish an understanding of the meaning of one's rights and freedom. These texts effectively demonstrate how groups of people have been deprived of their natural rights and freedom while serving the nation they inhibit. According to Douglas in "Narrative of the life of an American Slave" he demonstrates how the image of a sweet woman slaveholder is revolutionized after witnessing her husband treat slaves and she then degrades the slaves of almost all

When Frederick Douglass addressed to the audience at the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society the day after the Fourth of July in 1852, he answered the question: “From what to the slave is the Fourth of July?” Douglass was born into slavery in Maryland and learned how to read and write. With an education, he is able to use it to make an influence on America’s problems, which were mainly about slavery and racism. Did the nation achieve the goals that he desired? The nation that Frederick Douglass desired was to abolish slavery and segregation toward African Americans; however, racism is another ideal that has not been solved today.

In the speech What to the Slave is the Fourth of July written by Frederick Douglass, oppression is evident when Douglass doesn’t want to talk about the issue between negroes and whites. Douglass thinks the whites are using their actions to distress the current negro slaves, by celebrating their independence and freedoms on the Fourth of July. In paragraph 3 of Douglass’s speech, he says “Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of Justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me.

The slaves hated the fourth of July because it is about freedom but the slaves were not free they were forced to work the fields with no payment and they were only fed very little, they were brutally beaten that eventually led to death. A man with colored skin was considered property to a white man.

Frederick Douglass, in is work narrative of the life of a slave was not wrong about slavery. From a realistic point of view, we see slavery as that York of bondage that restrains the desire of humanity to gain knowledge. The declaration of independence articulates the fundamental rights of a human being including the right to life, liberty happiness and to a further extent the quest of knowledge that if hindered the human is thrown into a dungeon of mental darkness which makes them become sub humans. This kind of experience molds humankind into mindless creatures incapable of thinking of other things apart from serving their master. Denying an individual the right to education which is indeed a violation of the of the fundamental rights of a human being. Rights, that according to the American declaration of independence are inalienable from all men. With regard to the document, all men in this context suggest men of color as well as the whites. Therefore, it would not be wrong to imply that slaves, whether black or white are entitled to the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Back in 1862, President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This document freed all slaves during this era. Some may say that slaves who were freed should not stay in the United States. Why should they not? As stated in “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July”, “ The freedom you gained is yours; and you, therefore, may properly celebrate this anniversary.” This anniversary is known as the Fourth of July. This day specified the day that America gained its independence. Frederick Douglass writes this to let the freed slaves know that they now have the right to do whatever they wanted. They now have the rights they deserve. Douglass also writes, “ America is more our country, than it is the whites-we have enriched it with