Frederick Douglass Speech Rhetorical Analysis

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Douglass reveals the subject of his speech rather late in the text, using vivid imagery, pathos appeals and figurative language to emotionally engage the audience and to address the gruesome reality of slavery and bring it to the eyes of his audience. Douglass’ historical allusions to the Atlantic Slave Trade and the Fugitive Slave Act, embeds logical appeals within his speech and further strengthens his argument. American slavery is one of the most horrid, atrocious concepts is American history, and perhaps world history. Douglass, who himself is a victim of slavery, attempts to connect an oblivious, or rather an intentionally unconcerned populous to the horrors that he, and millions of others have had to endure. Whereas American slavery was a distant tale to some and a …show more content…
There have been instances in which drunken card games made the decision to rip a young child from its mother and sell it like cargo. This pathos appeal and imagery attempts to connect to the empathy or compassion within the audience. If he can get them to feel pity, sadness, or remorse for the treatment of slaves, there will be an inclination to help end systematic enslavement of people. The Atlantic Slave Trade and the Fugitive Slave act contribute to the continuation and increased frequency of situations like these. Americans demonstrate a desperate acquisition of slaves as well as a determination to keep the slaves in their owner’s possession. The trading of slaves, “this murderous traffic is , today, in active operation in this boasted republic. In a country that advocates for freedom and sovereignty, owners buy and sell other people on a daily basis. The southern states of the United States base their entire economy on slave labor. Slaves perform the collection of cotton, a major cash crop, and other

Rhetorical Analysis Of Speech By Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass was a African American reformer, whose purpose was to rally the nation toward abolition. In Rochester, New york, on July 5th,1852, Douglass presented his speech “what to the slave is the fourth of July”. Douglass wrote this speech to talk about the evil of slavery and the mis-celebration of the “freedom” in America. In this speech, Douglass effectively establishes credibility, and appeals to both emotion and logic. Douglass's speeches were very powerful, people viewed him as credible…

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Frederick Douglass Speech Rhetorical Analysis

1. These two simple points were brought up, because if Frederick Douglass could get the audience to completely agree, then the entire defense for slavery would be dissolved. For, if the public agreed that slaves are, in fact, humans, and then agreed that the rights of man should be extended to all, then it is to say that the rights that were given to some should also be given to slaves. 2. Frederick Douglas uses vivid imagery in his speech to better communicate the horror and obvious wrongdoings…

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Rhetorical Analysis Of Frederick Douglass Speech

Frederick Douglass gives a powerful speech reminiscent of a sermon in order to convey the urgency and moral obligation of abolishing slavery. In this passage, Frederick Douglass highlights the significance of the Fourth of July to the slave, which serves as the thesis of his speech. The Fourth of July to slave is nothing more than a cruel reminder of America’s hypocritical practices that preach freedom and liberty but condone slavery for personal profit. Douglass claims that no nation is more “guilty…

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Rhetorical Analysis Of Frederick Douglass Speech

In Frederick Douglass’s speech, he talks all about how the constitution is something but a mess towards slavery. Douglass starts by asserting that the framers of the constitution have purposefully avoided mentioning anything about slavery within the Constitution. He states that “It so happens that no such words as ‘African slave trade,’ no such words as ‘slave representation,’ no such words as ‘fugitive slaves,” no such words as ‘slave insurrections,’ are anywhere used in that instrument” (Douglass)…

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Rhetorical Analysis Of What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July

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…

Words 595 - Pages 3