“What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” The Fourth of July is a time in which Americans can celebrate their independence and freedom. In 1852‚ Frederick Douglass delivered a speech titled‚ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” at the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society in Rochester‚ NY. Douglass‚ a former slave‚ was invited to speak on July 5th. Douglass uses this opportunity to voice a major concern of his – the abolition of slavery. His powerful use of rhetoric must have captivated
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Capstone Primary Source Paper: Fourth of July Celebrations The fourth of July‚ also known as Independence Day‚ is a United States federal holiday honoring the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It proclaimed that the thirteen American colonies deemed themselves a new nation‚ known as the United States of America‚ and no longer were to be ruled under the British Empire. However‚ this national holiday would never have existed if one of the most important wars in history never happened
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Douglass‚ Frederick a man that taught himself to read and write‚ in his speech in 1852 “What to The American Slave is Your 4th of July” has given us a clear picture of the reality of inhuman cruelty that is slavery. That Douglass was triggered by it when the white man had the audacity to ask Douglas the opportunity to speak in stage about the united state’s independence‚ or how douglass see it‚ Their independence day. Douglass begins building his speech with personal facts and a clear horrific image
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In Chapter 10‚ Douglass is living with Mr. Covey and claims that he is “called” by god for his abolitionist work. Douglass uses figurative language such as a simile to demonstrate that Douglass would rather die escaping than stay in the bond of slavery and die unfree. This simile is demonstrated in the following passage: “I had as well be killed running as die standing.” Douglass constantly uses the pronoun “I” to signify his defiance to his liberation. The phrases “killed running” and “die standing”
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The Impact of Frederick Douglas The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass‚ an American Slave was written by Frederick Douglass himself‚ a runaway slave who had learned to read and wrote against his masters’ wishes. Within this narrative‚ Douglass speaks of many aspects of slavery that he has either seen or experienced for himself throughout his life before freedom; for example‚ he describes how many hours the slaves worked‚ general violence towards slaves‚ and the relationship between master
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the identity of slaves or more a lack of their identity. I think he makes some strong arguments as to the identity lose of slaves. He starts by letting us know that he has no idea how old he is because he had never saw any record of his birth. None of the slaves knew their ages‚ “By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their age as horses know of theirs‚ and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant” (Douglass 1). Slaves were kept "ignorant"
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The moment when the Declaration of Independence was written and signed on the Fourth of July‚ 1776‚ you can say‚ the nation is an emptiness world that adds a stripe of color and hope into it making it plentiful. This is why many of us are celebrating the meaning of this day. It’s like a cage bird being set free. We the people‚ we as a whole union represent the American eagle. “We hold these truths to be self-evident‚ that all men are created equal‚ that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
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Sylvia Cervantes American lit 220 Professor Cormier 12 November‚ 2013 Frederick Douglass Guide Questions Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass‚ an American Slave NOTE: Before beginning this reading‚ it would be a good idea to refresh your memory on the causes of the Civil War. What were the arguments for and against slavery? 1. Why do you think Douglass chose to include the graphic details in the first chapter? I think it was all to show that he really
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Rhetorical Analysis of Frederick Douglas Frederick Douglas in his speech‚ “What to the Slaves‚ Is the Fourth of July?”‚ eloquently establishes the hypocrisies prevalent in American society during the 1800’s. He was asked to give a speech at an anti-slavery meeting during a Fourth of July celebration‚ and he took that opportunity to demoralize the institution of slavery. He deemed it hypocritical for the anti-slavery constituents to ask him to deliver such a speech. Considering he
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Former slave‚ Frederick Douglass in his biography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass describes the altering affect slavery has on people. Douglass purpose is to show the detrimental effect slavery has on people. Douglass uses diction‚ figurative language and sentence structure to help support his argument. As Douglass discusses one of his masters named Mrs. Auld he specifically focuses on the change she went through as she owned slaves. Consequently‚ using diction helps the audience see
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