The use of rhetorical strategies in the speech, ‘‘What To The Slave Is The 4th Of July?’’ written by former slave Frederick Douglass in 1852, strengthens the argument that slavery is unjust and inhumane. He uses appeals to emotion and many examples of figurative language to persuade the audience to believe what he is saying is important and should be solved right away. Douglass uses pathos and logos appeals to exhaust the idea that slavery is wrong and America isn’t taking this matter serious…
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Rhetorical Analysis Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist author of “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?,” 1852, portrays the slave’s perspective on this particular holiday. Douglass begins to talk about how nervous he is and how much he’s prepared for this day, then discusses how he agrees on how America was right during the revolution. He then reveals what he has actually been preparing for in his speech. The author wants to talk about slavery in order to show the audience what the Fourth of July…
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African-American social reformer and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, in his speech, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” recounts his perspective on what fourth of July means to African-American’s while speaking in front of white Americans about a holiday that was put into place to represent the independence and freedom of America. As an astonishing writer Mr. Douglass uses many powerful phrases and words to describe the way he is feeling and how he wants to get an idea across a group of…
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African slaves show their desires for freedom to the whole world. The War of 1812 serves as the catalyst for anti-slavery movements. The Americas were in chaos during the war when African slaves fought on both British and American sides; also, the British burned down the Capitol in Washington DC. Abolitionists such as Nat Turner became more vocal and lead rebellions that eventually ended with over fifty seven whites dead. Frederick Douglass wrote “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” to express…
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was considered radical, extreme, and dangerous. In “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”, Frederick Douglass wanted to convince people of the wrongfulness of slavery and also to make an argument for the abolition of slavery to Northern whites. At the invitation of the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society, Frederick Douglass delivered this speech on July 5, 1852 in Rochester, New York (Faigley 351). Frederick Douglass was a former slave, so he was able to share first-hand experiences and was…
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“What to the slave is Fourth of July” This is a historical speech by Frederick Douglas, a civil rights activists and Author. Frederick Douglas focused mainly on American slavery. He states many points as to why whites should celebrate this day. However, he adds that the Fourth of July means nothing to the blacks because they were still slaves. He wanted to signify the captivity of black during the time of the Independence. Douglas emphasizes that whites expect blacks to celebrate the American Independence…
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Source Fredrick Douglass, “What to the Slaves is the Fourth of July?” Selected Speeches and Writings (Chicago: Lawrence Hill, 1999), pg 188-206 About the Author Fredrick Douglass, an African-American who escaped from slavery to become a leader of the abolitionist movement and antislavery writing. Summary The 4th of July, the date for national independence of United States forms the larger part of the document and post-independence vices like slavery and factors of that time that supported this vice…
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How would a former slave speak of a holiday created to celebrate freedom? In his emotionally-charged speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July,” Frederick Douglass answered this question but posed many more. With scorching criticism, he boldly illuminated America’s grandest flaws. Douglass utilized three key rhetorical strategies to build an evocative argument against slavery. Douglass’ furious tone set the mood. He decried America’s hypocrisy harshly, holding nothing back, and yearned to…
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What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July 1. Douglas spent a considerable amount of his speech addressing points that do not need to be argued: a man is entitled to liberty, and that a slave is a man. Douglas spent so much time talking about these subjects because not all of his audience and American citizens consider what he said to be true. Even those who believe his statements to be true did not take the necessary steps to enforce those beliefs. Therefore, Douglas brought attention to the fact…
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reader know what the author is trying to say or promote? How does a reader know what the author wants them to do after the passage is read? Do they know by what he says directly? Or is it the tone and structure of the passage? When we try to interpret a passage, we tend to utilize the use of rhetorical strategies (such as tone and structure) to decipher what the author’s true purpose is, whether we know it or not. Frederick Douglass’ speech “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”, is a good…
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