Rhetorical Analysis Of What To The Fourth Of July

On January 6th, 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his eighth State of the Union address to Congress, known as the speech of the “Four Freedoms.” The purpose of this speech was to persuade Americans to shift their attention from the Axis threat to the British and allied troops in desperate need of support. During the time of this address, America was in a great state of isolationism. The majority of Americans sought to disassociate themselves from any foreign ties, including wars. “Policies to curb immigration quotas and increase tariffs on imported goods were implemented, and a series of Neutrality Acts passed in the 1930’s limited American arms and munitions assistance abroad” (“The Four Freedoms”1). However, President Roosevelt successfully delivered his message that every country is deserving of the four

In 1776, on July 4th, the 13 English colonies officially declared their freedom from England. However, as the years progressed, slavery became incorporated into everyday American life. In 1852, former slave Frederick Douglass gave a speech to celebrate America’s independence; however, instead of praising the country, he censured Americans for saying they were a “country of the free”. In the speech, Hypocrisy of American Slavery, Frederick Douglass declares that Americans should not be celebrating their freedom when there are slaves living in the country. To convince his audience that Americans are wrong celebrating freedom on the 4th of July when slavery exists in their country, he uses emotional appeal, ethical appeal, and rhetorical questions.

The 4th of July is an important day in American history it represents freedom and is usually associated with fireworks, parades, alcohol, and concerts. Those activities more or less represent today’s culture. When Fredrick Douglass made his speech he talked about American values such as liberty, citizenship, and freedom. The irony of this speech was that at the time white Americans in the south were still participating in slave trading. So to the African American community in the south the 4th of July was just another day because unless you lived in the north you didn’t get to experience these freedoms that whites enjoyed.

Throughout Douglass's speech, he exceeds expectations by adding excellent examples of ethos, pathos, and unique tone. These examples help the audience see his viewpoints and helps him connect with them. The literary devices used in his speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”, aided in his fight against

When most people hear the words “Fourth of July” they think about fireworks, cookouts, and sparklers. During the 1850’s, the Fourth of July served as a reminder of the many horrors and injustices in the world. On July 4, 1852, Frederick Douglass-- a former American slave, abolitionist leader and adroit speaker-- spoke in Rochester, New York about the affectation of celebrating independence. In his speech, “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery”, he claims celebrating independence is unethical when slavery is widespread. To convince the reader of his claim, he uses rhetorical questions, emotional appeal, and antithesis in hopes of shedding light and sparking action on the wrongful situation.

The fourth of July and slaves really don’t mix. Frederick douglass was born as a slave and he does a speech on the fourth of july and they are thinking that he is going to give a whora speech but he dont do that it 's the complete opposite of what they thought.In frederick douglass, Hypocrisy of American Slavery he attacks the hypocrisy of a nation celebrating freedom and independence with speeches, parades and platitudes, while, within its borders, nearly four million humans were being kept as slaves. Overall douglass has explained his speech through emotional,ethical,logical appeal and through rhetorical questions.

Although a century apart, Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and Frederick Douglass’s What to a Slave is the fourth of July are kindred spirits. Notwithstanding the many differences in their respective writing styles, deep down the essence of the message conveyed is still very much the same. Both Martin Luther King Junior and Frederick Douglas had similar beliefs and concepts related to the treatment of the African American community. They both describe a tough yet heart breaking situation that makes them question their moral values and doubt the system and its ability to change for better. Both King and Douglass were advocating for the same thing: their constitutional sanction of freedom.

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.

In 1776, on July 4th, the 13 English colonies officially declared their freedom from England. However, as the years progressed, slavery became incorporated into everyday American life. In 1852, Frederick Douglass, a former slave, was called upon to deliver a speech to celebrate America’s independence; however, he censured Americans for saying they were a “country of the free”. In the speech, Hypocrisy of American Slavery, Frederick Douglass declares that Americans should not be celebrating their freedom when there are slaves living in the country. He uses emotional appeal, ethical appeal, and rhetorical questions to convince his audience that Americans are wrong celebrating freedom on the 4th of July when slavery exists in their country.

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,

“I didn't know I was a slave until I found out I couldn't do the things I wanted,” Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass an escaped slave gave his speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” to a group of White Americans to try to convince them to support abolitionism. Throughout his speech Frederick Douglass talks about the treatment of the slaves and how even though slaves are human they don’t get the same rights as Whites do. In his speech Douglass effectively uses his experiences to prove his credibility, evoke emotion from his audience, and uses logic and reasoning throughout his speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July.”

His goal was for everyone to know why slaves and African Americans strongly disliked the Fourth of July. On the background information of Douglass’ speech it states that, “Douglass addressed an audience at the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society.” His goal is achieved because his speech was heard by 500-600 people. His speech represented all the slaves that did not have a voice and was heard by many people in the United States. Today students in the United States have read Douglass’ speech on why slaves disliked the Fourth of July. Douglass wanted everyone to understand a slave's point of view and teaching a new generation of students has met Douglass’ goal.

Mr. Douglass was trying to express how a slave feels about the Fourth of July. Frederick Douglass thinks that the Fourth of July is a “sham.” He thinks it is an example of the injustice against black people and the hypocrisy of white people. He says “with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to Him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy.” Mr. Douglass believes that America’s denunciation of tyrants is hypocritical and

Frederick Douglass, born a slave and later the most influential African American leader of the 1800s, addresses the hypocrisy of the US of maintaining slavery with its upheld ideals being freedom and independence on July 4th, 1852. Douglass builds his argument by using surprising contrasts, plain facts, and provocative antithesis.

Many people when they hear the words “Fourth of July” they think about fireworks, cookouts, and sparklers! During the 1850’s it is a day that reminded many of the horrors and injustices in the world. On July 4, 1852 Frederick Douglass, a former American slave and an abolitionist leader, spoke in Rochester, New York about the affectation of celebrating independence. In his speech, “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery” he claims celebrating independence when there are slaves widespread is unethical. To convince the reader of his claim he uses rhetorical questions, word choice and anthesis in hopes to shed light and spark action on the wrongful situation.