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Slave Is The Fourth Of July Analysis

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In the 1850’s slavery still hadn’t been abolished, slaves were not even allowed to celebrate the fourth of July and the fugitive slave act had just passed. The fugitive slave act allowed southern slaveholders to capture slaves who had escaped to the free states. This impacted the lives of many including Fredrick Douglas, a former slave. On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass was asked to address the people of Rochester, New York. This was the 76th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He took this occasion as an opportunity to point out the hypocrisy of a nation celebrating their standards of freedom and equality when there still continued the enslavement of millions of people throughout America. A day where Americans celebrated their independence and freedom only to take away a group of people’s freedom, independence and forced them into slavery. …show more content…

An idea that was not well liked in the United States. It was considered radical. In “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” Frederick Douglass tried not only to convince people of the wrongfulness of slavery but also to change people's minds about the abilities and intelligence of African Americans. Most white Americans believed that African Americans were inferior, even went as far to think of them as less human. Douglass proves them wrong with his impressive display of knowledge in his speech, He shows different forms of rhetoric and gives a very informative articulate

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