Second Great Awakening

Even the men who are in the Northern States who are black are not free. Douglass points out that “blacks are easily likely to face the death penalty for one crime, where white people would face punishment if they did the crime twice,” This, according to Douglass is slavery. This can be seen even today in our news and society. Many blacks are targeted and attacked solely based on their appearance, and experience many micro-aggressions. Douglass also says, “Do not need to argue about what is wrong with robbing these Negros from their liberty keep them ignorant from their relations to other men?” This speech truly emphasizes the inhumane, cruelty, and injustice associated with the treatment of blacks in America. While the whites look at the 4th of July as a celebratory to their lives and freedom, not everyone is truly free. It is important for Douglass to show that while many associate this holiday with prosperity and positive attributes, the blacks face slavery, prejudices, and unequal treatments day-to-day. “What is inhumane cannot be divine”, says Douglass. Later on in the speech, he talks

In his speech, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?, Frederick Douglass passionately argues that to the slave, and even to the freed African American, the Fourth of July is no more than a mockery of the grossest kind. Douglas uses many rhetorical strategies to convey his powerful emotions on the subject, and the end result is a very effectively argued point. Douglass begins by asking a series of rhetorical questions, not without the use of sarcasm. He refers to "that" Declaration of Independence, instead of "the" Declaration of Independence, to stress the separation between his people and those who are not oppressed. In the next paragraph, he continues to ask rhetorical questions. The purpose of all these questions is to give

The Second Great Awakening laid the foundations of the development of present-day religious beliefs and establishments, moral views, and democratic ideals in the United States. Beginning back in late eighteenth century and lasting until the middle of the nineteenth century,1 this Protestant awakening sought to reach out the un-churched and bring people to a much more personal and vivid experience of Christianity. Starting on the Southern frontier and soon spreading to the Northeast, the Second Great Awakening has also been associated as a response against the growing liberalism in religion - skepticism, deism, and rational Christianity.2 Although the movement is well-known to be

"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.

This is hypocritical in that the white men make these values and traditions a staple of their lives, yet when it comes to slaves, they seem to go away. He also believes that, though he will use “the severest language”(Douglass) he can, he firmly believes that “not one word shall escape me that any man whose… not blinded by prejudice, or… a slave-holder, shall not confess to be right and just”(Douglass). So he sincerely believes that the average human being also knows that the treatment of slaves is unjust and unethical, but they choose not to act on these thoughts. His view, coming from the eyes and thoughts of slaves across America, show how hypocritical the nation actually is in both one sided values and not acting upon their knowledge that what is going on is wrong.

Main goal of the early abolitionists was to create a better society through reforms and they engaged in a battle to convince their fellow Americans that it was morally wrong to keep other humans in bondage. In order to realize a better and more righteous republic, they believed, the institution of slavery had to be rejected (Harpen R., Dal Lago E., p. 296). Many abolitionists appealed to abolish slavery immediately as they believed all people should be equal in rights. The abolitionists demanded immediate emancipation without payment to slaveowners. Rather than accepting the dominant white view of

On Monday July 5th, 1852, Frederick Douglass captivated his audience at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York with one of the most powerful antislavery orations ever delivered, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”1 As an African American and former slave himself, Douglass was a crucial component to the Civil Rights movement and the abolishment of slavery. His concern for equal rights sprouted as early as twelve years old, often listening to debates among free blacks in Baltimore, as well as becoming a member of the East Baltimore Mental Improvement Society. While enslaved, he taught himself to read and write with the patriotic essays and speeches in Caleb Bingham’s The Columbian Orator, which emphasized the power of a speaker’s

On July 4, 1852, former slave and American abolitionist, Frederick Douglass is invited to speak before an abolitionist audience in Rochester, New York. Although the speech should address the greatness and freedom of the nation on independence day, Frederick Douglass uses his platform to display his displeasure with the meaning of freedom in white America. Therefore, the sole purpose of his speech is to unmask the hypocrisy of a nation who dares celebrate freedom and independence while keeping African American slaves. To Douglass, the 4th of July is a constant reminder of the unfairness of the political and social core of the nation. As a social activist and most importantly a former slave, Frederick Douglass uses multiple rhetorical strategies to indict America on the immoral practice of slavery.

The 19th century America gave way to the social and moral reform that created the Second Great Awakening, focusing on various beliefs such as temperance, reformation of religious views on slavery and women’s inequality. Many of this reformist wanted to save America from its “sins”, from slavery to inequality. Though it was called the Second Great Awakening, it was very different from the First Great Awakening. The First Great Awakening focus on the person’s individuality, while the Second Great Awakening focused on the community/country as a whole.

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

The Second Great Awakening was a religious revival movement which laid its seeds in the later 18th century but turned into a full-fledged momentum in the early 19th century until it died down in the mid-1820s. People in this movement were convinced to submit to the Supreme one and had a strong common belief to cleanse the society. However, the second great awakening held different meanings to various groups of people. For abolitionists in the north, this movement was an opportunity to preach the population at Frontier about how slavery is not condoned in Bible or by God. From the primary source picture of religious ecstasy from the 1830s at the frontier, the most obvious observation is that the pedestal to preach is male-dominated.

During the Second Great Awakening many Americans were stirred by passionate religious movements and Mormonism was one of them. Although it initially began as a revelation given to Joseph Smith, his strong beliefs led to powerful revivals in the New York area that drew people from across the northeast. Despite strong interest and numerous converters to the faith, the Mormon community would not remain in the New York area for long. Though they had an objective of spreading Mormonism throughout America and other parts of the world, this was only part of the reason for their move west. Religious persecution, government issues, spiritual revelation, financial problems, and land disputes ultimately led to their decision to settle in Utah.

On January 1, 1831, the first issue of the Liberator containing an editorial from Garrison was published. The editorial was addressed to the public and ‘demanded the immediate, unconditional abolition of slavery’ and vowed to use extreme measures to effect a “revolution in public sentiment” (Masur 22-23). Garrison gave warning that he would not compromise or sugar coat his words: “I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. I am in earnest – I will not equivocate – I will not excuse – I will not retreat a single inch – AND I WILL BE HEARD” (Masur 23). Garrison used the Liberator to voice his ever-increasing radical abolitionist ideas, urging free blacks to accept temperance, religion, and education as a means to further themselves.

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

Frederick Douglass was another abolitionist who also spoke out vigorously about slavery. He himself was an emancipated slave who fought for the abolishment of slavery. He fought to demonstrate that it was crude, unnatural, ungodly, immoral, and unjust. During a July 4th Celebration he made it known that he despised the treatment of the slaves. He explained that this hypocrisy was aimed at the black population and so in his speech on the Fourth of July celebration he proclaimed to the anti-slavery individuals that “This Fourth of July is yours not mine” and “You may rejoice, I must mourn”. Frederick Douglass quoted from the Declaration of Independence, “All men are created equal; and are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; and that, among these are, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. He wondered if the rights that are stated in the Declaration of Independence, apply to everyone in America, because he believed they should. He asked the question what the Fourth of July was to an American slave, and responded, to the American slaves that one day, is full of hyprocrisy. He wondered how people could celebrate liberty and equality where there was slavery in America. In support of his idea of how sorrow slavery was Douglas used imagery. He stated, “I see clouds of dust raised on the highways of the South; I see the bleeding footsteps; I