Watch the videos of Max McLean reading the Declaration of Independence and the descendants of Frederick Douglass reading "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" gave me mixed feelings‚ but mainly made me proud and hopeful about our country. These two pieces offer different perspectives on our national identity and the meaning of Independence Day. The Declaration of Independence is all about freedom and equality. It says that everyone has the right to life‚ liberty‚ and the pursuit of happiness
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“Fellow-citizens; above your nation’s tumultuous joy‚ I hear the mournful wail of millions!...” (Aufses‚ et al. 260). Frederick Douglas used this to open his “What‚ to a Slave‚ is the Fourth of July?” speech in an effort to describe the terror facing many slaves living in the United States. Eleven years prior‚ Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote his collection of essays‚ “Self-Reliance”‚ to teach others how to become self-reliant and further improve society. Just as Emerson had done fourteen years earlier
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Wise libertarian in local government: Ron Swanson‚ once said that‚ “History began on July 4th‚ 1776. Everything before that‚ was a mistake.” While standing on the very soil‚ which once oppressed the patriots of young America‚ Swanson‚ filled with a strong pride for our nation and detest of our former British monarchy‚ understands the importance of our independence and the celebration of it. The Fourth of July is both a pivottable date in our democracy‚ declaring our liberty through law‚ and serves
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“The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” is a speech‚ which Frederick Douglass presented on July 5th‚ 1862 in Rochester‚ New York. As many may know‚ at the time of this speech African-Americans were not free from the clutches of slavery and were not treated as American citizens. Douglass informs over 600 listeners of the racial oppression African-Americans faced‚ religion and the church’s relation to slavery‚ and the U.S. Constitution. Douglass appears to give off a tone that is welcoming. The
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founded on freedom; it is a celebrated right. Yet not everyone had the freedom that was so treasured. Some people had to keep fighting for the freedom long after the Revolutionary War. Frederick Douglas‚ in his speech‚ “What to the slave is the fourth of July” and Elizabeth Cady Stanton in her Declaration of Sentiments of the Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention‚ share stories and explain how two groups of people‚ slaves and women‚ fight for their individual freedom. Both authors wrote two different
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In the summer of 2012‚ my mother and I decided to go up north to Medford‚ Wisconsin. This weekend it was a special day! The Fourth of July! All I was worried about was fireworks. I love fire my parents always called me a pyro as a little kid. Son we packed up all our stuff for the weekend and headed out for the long car ride ahead of us. The first thing I saw when we pulled up was a huge landscape filled with trees and small‚ leafy brush everywhere! In the middle of it was a gigantic pond‚ I guess
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In the speech “ What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” given by Frederick Douglass‚ he announces his goals for the future men and women of the United States. Douglass is a well known‚ powerful public speaker who was born into slavery then later escaped at the age of twenty one. On the day of his speech‚ he addresses an audience at the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society during a time where people of the United States visioned the total abolition of slavery as a profound cause. He speaks against
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yet it has not always been given to all. American values and beliefs have changed overtime causing today’s beliefs to be different. By comparing and contrasting the perspectives of Frederick Douglass‚ who in his speech “What to the Slave if the Fourth of July?” presents his viewpoint on the need to end the act of slavery‚ and Elizabeth Cady Stanton‚ who in her speech from Declaration of Sentiments of the Seneca Falls Woman’s Rights Convention argues the need for equality between men and women‚ it is
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Fireworks on the Fourth of July is a tradition since 1777‚ where every year 247‚550‚000 pounds of fireworks are bought giving the fireworks industry a yearly revenue that reaches up to a billion dollars‚ a statistic that should not be risen further (statisticbrain.com). People light the fuse‚ and watch them fly up into the air‚ ready to see the magic happen; With all these fireworks thrown up into the night sky only to explode in a brief flash of light‚ there isn’t much danger‚ since so many people
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The Fourth of July–a day widely regarded as a time of freedom and celebration for the American public–did not always have the same meaning for all citizens. Frederick Douglass‚ a former slave‚ delivered his speech What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? to an audience of white abolitionists in 1852‚ which provided his perspective on the holiday. Douglass finally managed to escape slavery after many unsuccessful attempts‚ eventually becoming one of the most influential abolitionists of his time.
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