David Walker's Speech Analysis

Frederick Douglass an activist for anti racism and also an abolitionist’s speech “The Hypocrisy of Slavery” was given on the occasion of celebrating the independence day. Here, in this speech he actually brought out some questions like why we should celebrate Independence Day while almost four million people were kept chained as a slave. He actually mocked the fact of the people of America’s double standards which is that they are singing out the song of liberty, on the other hand holding the chain of slavery. Frederick Douglass, a former American-African slave who managed to escape from his slavery and later on became an abolitionist gave this speech on Fourth of July,

Being supposedly made up on the spot, Noah S. Sweat did not have time to compose an eloquent speech about a controversial topic. He instead spoke a purely unfactual and highly descriptive banter using doublespeak to voice his opinion of whiskey. Both sides of his argument include impactual adjectives to describe the drink. Or as Mr. Sweat would say on line 6, “the devil’s brew,” or on line 12, “the philosophic wine”. Each side of his argument is entirely one sentence long, implying that he emotionally fuels his speech as he works out his thoughts with the audience as one thought flows to the other. He uses metaphors also to describe whiskey; he sets situations which one could “feel” how whiskey affects the person. Mr. Sweat

Freedom is the primary ideal upon which America was founded. It is the tenet most cherished by the original colonists; it is a pillar upon which they built the new government. However, freedom was denied to a large part of America's citizens for a long time. Frederick Douglas was one of the greatest activists for African-American freedom of the 19th century; he used literary works and speeches, instead of violence, to achieve his goals. In his piece "What, to the Slave, is the Fourth of July?" he uses bold words and biting criticism to call attention to the gross injustices and hypocrisy of slavery in the United States.

Abraham Lincoln, a Senate candidate at the time, gave his famous “A House Divided” speech on June 16, 1858, in Illinois at the Republican State Convention. When Lincoln delivered the speech his immediate audience was the Illinois Republican Party, but after reading the speech one can see that it was intended for a much larger audience. His speech was intended to impact people of both parties, and to change the way the people thought.

Abolitionism was a well-known movement around the time of the Civil War and its aim was to put an end to slavery. The people of the early nineteenth century viewed the elimination of slavery in numerous ways. Some fought against the end of slavery, some appeared to mildly support the cause and yet others wholeheartedly supported the ending of slavery until their dying day.

Throughout his narrative, Douglass’s descriptions of the white slaveholders expose the Christian hypocrisy found in the American slave system. Douglass first does so by exposing how the lesson taught by Christians to help those in need is contradicted by the experiences Douglass has especially with hunger. Douglass reflects on these experiences when he states that for the “first time during a space of more than seven years” feeling the effects of the “painful gnawing’s of hunger…” (54). This event shows the Christians’ lessons of selflessness and kindness is hypocritical as they treat their fellow humans as subhuman. The Christians at the time rely on scripture to make a case for slavery in America. It is a common argument for Christian slaveholders to make “…that God cursed Ham, and therefore American slavery is right…” (5). this argument exposes their hypocrisy as it conveys how they attempt to stretch small pieces of scripture to justify the violence of the American slavery. Douglass thus asks if it is humane to use a small piece of writing to damn an entire race to hardship and subhuman treatment. This case of blasphemy is amplified by the observation that Douglass makes of one of his slave masters, Mr. Covey, in that “he seemed to think himself equal to deceiving the almighty” (61). Here, Douglass exposes the Christian attempt to wash their hands of any guilt or wrong doing. Overall, Douglass exposes the truth behind this hypocrisy; when these slaveholders use God as a

Slavery can easily be determined as one of the most blatant acts of dehumanization. In the narrative titled “Narrative Of The Life of Frederick Douglass”, Douglass is easily able to portray this by quoting, “I have found that, to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision, and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason. He must be able to detect no inconsistencies in slavery; he must be made to feel that slavery is right; and he can be brought to that only when he ceases to be a man”, Chapter 10 page 45. The quote overall does illustrate to the reader the narrator’s reflection to slavery as a whole as he states they were deprived of not only their basic

Allen Dwight Callahan’s The Talking Book: African Americans and the Bible connects biblical stories and images to the politics, music and, religion, the book shows how important the Bible is to black culture. African Americans first came to know the Bible because of slavery and at that time the religious groups would read it to them instead of teaching them by letting them encounter it for themselves. Later the Bibles stories became the source of spirituals and songs, and after the Civil War motivation for learning to read. Allen Callahan traces the Bible culture that developed during and following enslavement. He identifies the most important biblical images for African Americans, Exile, Exodus, Ethiopia, and Emmanuel and discusses their recurrence and the relationship they have with African Americans and African American culture. In chapter one Callahan described the ways enslaved African Americans first encountered the bible; he goes on to describe that these encounters with the Bible where facilitated by colonist, the African Americans couldn’t encounter it

In the early 1800s, more opinions were being voiced about the treatment of the African-Americans. An educated African-American by the name of David Walker voiced his opinion about his communities need for equal liberties and all of the hypocrisy that was being ignored by others. For instance, in a paper, it was said, “‘The Turks are the most by bears people in the world – they treat the Greeks more like brute than human beings.’ And in the same paper was an advertisement, which said: ‘Eight well-built Virginia and Maryland Negro fellows and for wenches will positively be sold this day, to the highest bidder’” (Walker, 1829, p.177). A majority that was not African-Americans saw no oddities with this as they did not see nor consider African-Americans

The system of slavery caused many southern slave owners to believe that without this system American progression would not be as prosperous. The system of slavery was not only a benevolent institution for black slaves but for slaveowners as well. Southern slave owners valued making profit rather than seeing slaves as equal, therefore, would treat slaves as animals causing the slaveowners to have little to no morals. Famous president Thomas Jefferson stated in a letter, “Comparing them by their faculties of memory, reason, and imagination, it appears to me in memory they are equal to the whites; in reason much inferior, as I think one could scarcely be found capable of tracing and comprehending the investigation of Euclid” Jefferson’s tone

Thomas Jefferson is one of the pioneers who laid the foundation for what is now The United States of America. Jefferson is also reflected to be one of the most controversial because of his juxtaposing political posture of race and slavery compared to his personal beliefs on this same matter. He, along with other “Founding Fathers,” owned slaves but also believed that all men are equal and are to be treated equally. William Cohen in his article, “Jefferson and the Problem of Slavery,” talks about the complexity and contradictions of Thomas Jefferson through his political actions as compared to his personal practices. Jefferson was complex

Though I believe many students found this discussion edifying, I found myself with more frustration and questions at the end of Ms. Andrea Mosby’s presentation than when I walked in. While Ms. Mosby’s talk did produce did produce conversation about an admittedly pertinent topic on Case’s campus, she failed to give satisfying answers or advice to the nervous and frightened freshmen beginning their college life.

Elie Wiesel was a motivational holocaust survivor, and a human rights activist who won the Noble Peace prize. During World War Two Elie Wiesel and his family was captured by the Nazi soldiers and sent the concentration camps. At some point in the concentration camp he lost both of his parents and sister. They were put in the crematorium. They were only being punished for being what they are. He witnesses many casualties, and sufferings. He felt that everyone abandoned him. The things that he went through was horrific, but through it all he survived. He wants to let the whole world know the horrific horrors that he survived, and to ensure that everyone knows the purpose of his speech, that indifference causes confusion and destruction.

Kathy Zboyovski, a student recruiter from LECOM, gave an extremely informative and in depth speech on the several different majors that are offered at the school. The information was presented in an organized and chronological fashion. During the presentation, there was an adequate number of visual aids, which kept the audience attentive throughout the speech. The visual aids consisted of several handouts, as well as, a powerpoint presentation. However, there were several distracting mannerisms that occurred throughout the entirety of the speech.

One situation I have been in where the speaker is not in tune with the audience is when the political figure Joni Ernst came to speak to my school about the election last year. We happened to have had an exchange student from Ukraine that month, whom Mrs. Ernst had no idea about. But the rest of the school knew that the exchange student was a student reporter who was going to interview Ernst after the speech. Ernst wrapped up her speech with talking about how being in Ukraine was, how prehistoric they lived, and how bad their economy was- which made the exchange student angry and the school fearful for the confrontation that was about to come. In the end, Joni Ernst should have spent her time talking about her beliefs and what she wants