Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Analysis Essay

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Fredrick Douglas was an abolitionist and social reformer. While reading his speech, I felt like the piece had different subsections. The lighter hearted section, if there is such a thing when talking about slavery, when Douglas reads allowed the recently published sermon by Rev. Bishop Meade. Then the darker section towards the end of the speech when Douglas recalls find freedom for the first time “beyond the limits of the American eagle (pg. 3).” I think that Fredrick Douglas crafted an almost effortless sounding speech. The vocabulary is not extremely elevated or colorful, but that does not make it any less fierce. I found many different references throughout the speech, thus making it easy for anyone to relate to it. The first reference that really stood out to me was that of Wm. Lloyd Garrison in the second paragraph on page one. I immediately knew who he was because he was a contributing editor to The Liberator newspaper. Douglas weaved Garrison into the speech seamlessly. Douglas speaks of Garrison and his friends by …show more content…
He says, “Yet the damning facts remain, there is not a rood of earth under the stars and the eagle of your flag, where a man of my complexion can stand free (pg. 3).” I was breathless at this point. Douglas refuses to sugarcoat the fact that African American people were not free, although America painted itself as the land of hope. He continues, “There is no mountain so high, no plain so extensive, no spot so sacred, that it can secure to me the right of liberty. Wherever waves the star-spangled banner there the bondman may be arrested and hurried back to the jaws of Slavery. This is your “land of the free,” your “home of the brave” (pg. 3).” This section left me with chills. Fredrick Douglas crafted his speech beautifully to act as a battle cry for those in the North that kept turning a blind eye to the restriction of freedom in the land of
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