Preview

Speech Summary: “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” by Frederick Douglass

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
363 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Speech Summary: “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” by Frederick Douglass
Title: “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July”
Author: Frederick Douglass

Summary of Section 1: Although America has had many wise men that led it to greatness, it is still a young nation that can still make childish mistakes.
Summary of Section 2: The wise men were brave to stand up and fight against the tyranny of the British.
Summary of Section 3: Many of the men were poor but favored peace. However, because their freedom came first, they were willing to fight.
Summary of Section 4: The past should be used as a guide on what to not do and what should be done better. We should learn from our mistakes in order to improve our beloved nation.
Summary of Section 5: Fourth of July means nothing to a slave because he is not free like the white men. The slave inherits nothing from the constitution. Abolitionists fail to persuade the public that slavery is bad.
Summary of Section 6: Fourth of July reminds slaves of the injustice and cruelty that was and is bestowed upon them and not the white men.
Summary of Section 7: Slavery is not a good thing to experience in life, especially as a child. Seeing everything a slave went through is traumatizing. Children were sold and treated like livestock.
Summary of Section 8: America is still not a slave free nation. There is no real freedom to thank God for. Its all a mask to hide behind.
Summary of Section 9: The American Church was two-faced when speaking of slavery. The prayers spoken meant nothing. There was no reason for them to be spared.
Summary of Section 10: With slavery existing in our nation, Republicanism is branded as a sham. However those at fault will be punished.
Summary of Section 11: The mention of slavery is found nowhere in the constitution but there are principles and purposes opposing slavery within it.
Summary of Section 12: Every feud and fight will end and every person will be born with equal rights.
Summary of Selection: This speech by Douglass explains what exactly the fourth of July

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    “I shall see this day and its popular characteristics from the slave’s point of view” (Douglass). Everyone is human, so they should all have the same human rights, but slaves were stripped from them all. Fourth of July was set upon to celebrate the freedom won after the war, yet there were still millions of people who were not free. Frederick Douglass does not believe that he, along with other African Americans, should celebrate Fourth of July because they were not included in the freedom that was won. Douglass simply reminded everyone that just because the Declaration of Independence was signed, there were still slaves in the world. During this time, America was filled with “irony”. Douglass mentions that, “The manhood of the slave is conceded” (Douglass), and it was. The white owners took away the only thing African Americans had left, which was their own…

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” speech showed people in positions of political power the impact slavery has on the slave. His background as a former slave gained both him and the abolitionist movement more publicity, and with that came both opposition and support for Douglass and the…

    • 864 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    This logicality of Lincoln’s thoughts is even more evident in his note, ‘Fragments of Slavery’. Here, Lincoln breaks down the entire…

    • 2916 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro “This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.” (Douglass, 337). In This speech which was delivered in 1852, by Frederick Douglass titled "The Meaning of Fourth of July for the Negro" covers into the regular Realism type. This speech was delivered to a white audience, which was a reflection of Realism.…

    • 626 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    "What to the slave is the fourth of July?", by Frederick Douglass, explains how Douglass viewed the celebration as mockery, a slap to the face for all African Americans. The Fourth of July is a holiday to honor the day that our country separated from England. It is a day to remind each of us of our freedom and our individuality and how fortunate we are to have it. So, as a slave who has neither individuality nor freedom, this holiday only served to remind them what they lack, and how they are considered inferior, according to Douglass. He states in his speech, "The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me".…

    • 178 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Yet in that very same clause, they were spoken of as goods to be taxed upon importation. In addition to this, in Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3, they speak of slaves as property to be returned to their owners, to be “delivered up” as if…

    • 995 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    If the Congress is willing to ignore this Constitutional mandate, what else would they be willing to ignore? It does seem outrageous to believe that African Americans could be enslaved again, and the author does understand that; he even tells the audience that most people would believe that it is impossible. However, by admitting that it seems outrageous, he shows the readers that he understands both sides of the argument.…

    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    audience’s outlook on slavery. In addition, the passage on page 380 also shows how Auld’s…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why do you think that the document makes such a strong distinction between the male and female slaves and servants? What does this say about a women’s place in society (slave or servant)?…

    • 591 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What to the Slave is the Fourth of July is a strong declaration of what July fourth and freedom means to Frederick Douglass. The people who asked him to speak speculated that he would speak of the wonderful freedom the fourth of July bring to him, but things took a turn in the opposite directs. Douglass conveys his opinions through his diction, rhetorical devices, and figurative language.…

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Homage to My Hips

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages

    7), and "enslaved" (line 8), as well as their connotations of the history of African Americans in…

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jim Crow Laws Dbq

    • 292 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Although new additions to the Constitution, as well as an increase in social developments, did help to add to a positive revolution, there were some bad aspects of social development such as the KKK and Jim Crow Laws that put a damper on the country. In Document I, the reader is presented with a very famous image in the history of the black race. The overall purpose of this image is to represent southern rebellion or resistance to the developments of reconstruction such as the 14th and 15th Amendments which try to promote equality regardless of race. This image counters the revolution by promoting terrorist-like activities such as lynching and the targeting of helpless victims like the degraded race the freedmen were during this time. The Jim Crow laws created in 1877, which enforced racial segregation, along with the horrific acts as seen in Document I by the KKK demonstrates the anger and continual rebellion of the white citizens which prevented such a wonderful and peaceful revolution in American history from being 100%…

    • 292 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There were many views of the issue of slavery during the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, and the resolution of slavery affected economics, politics, and social order. The slave trade triangle between Europe, west Africa, and the Indies has a great affect on European economics during this time. The only way for this elaborate trade triangle to work is if there were black Africans available for export to the Indies as slaves. If they were not available, then the landowners in the new world weren't able to produce the sugar, coffee, and tobacco for export to Europe, and the circuit broken. These African slaves were convenient, according to Guillaume Raynal (document 6), because they were thought to be more comfortable working in the hot conditions of the Indies, because they had originally come from a very hot climate in Africa.…

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    James Steward describes the treatment of slave that she observed and experienced. Mrs. James states, “I was never sent to school, nor allowed to go to church. They were afraid we would have more sense than they”. Mrs. James also said, “My father is quite an old man, and he is used very badly. Many a time he has been kept at work a whole long summer day without sufficient food”.…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Many people were oblivious to the corruption behind slavery. Fredrick Douglass was privileged enough to learn how to read, a trait extremely rare among African Americans during times of slavery. Unlike others, he knew that the key to becoming a free man was to learn how to read and write. Through this skill alone, he was able to expose slavery for the disgusting act it is. Trying to convince whites to side with abolition, he talked about the oppression of slaves through dehumanization, torture, and malnutrition. The only way for slavery to be maintained was to keep slaves ignorant and this was done in various ways. Slavery was justifiable to Christians under something called the protestant work ethic which is the basis for capitalism today. Protestants believed in predestination, it says that at birth a person’s fate is already decided and unchangeable. However, protestants took wealth as a sign of salvation, slavery was a way to gain maximum wealth with additional benefit. “I assert most unhesitatingly, that the religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes, - a justifier of the most appalling barbarity, - a sanctifier of the most hateful frauds,” (38).…

    • 1077 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays