His speech on Fourth of July is meant to express his dissatisfaction with the fact that although America had achieved its independence there was nothing to smile about for the slaves who continued being mistreated and looked down upon. He argues that the independence was
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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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Although Douglass was speaking to a diverse audience‚ it was more to show slave owners the life of being a slave by using rhetorical strategies. In Douglass’ story “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July”‚ he was trying to give all slaves a voice. Obviously‚ this did not end slavery entirely but it did help the fight. What Douglass achieved in this story was giving a voice for slaves without physically protesting. Throughout the story‚ he told stories of his fellow slaves being burned alive and
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