Tuesday, May 12, 2020

On July 5Th Of 1852, Fredrick Douglass Gave A Speech To

On July 5th of 1852, Fredrick Douglass gave a speech to a mainly female audience at the Rochester Anti-Slavery Sewing society rally. This speech is famously known as â€Å"What to the slave is the fourth of July?†. This speech is known for being one of the most eloquent and well-spoken anti-slavery speeches of its time. He starts by discussing the importance of the fourth of July to the white men who are able to experience the entirety of freedom in America. He then counters what he earlier said by saying that a man who is not fully free has not been liberated and doesn’t have anything to celebrate. This speech heavily focused on issues such as human rights and human security, as well as beliefs from the enlightenment movement, which were†¦show more content†¦At this time period it was international law that the enslavement of African men and woman was legal. Fredrick Douglass logically tackles this issue with reason by stating that there is no one who wo uld be in favor of becoming a slave themselves, due to Natural Law, so how is it fair to make someone become a slave when they themselves wouldn’t become one. There are signs of him showing an understanding in the global civil society and idealism. Fredrick talks about the uprising of the colonists against the British crown’s rule. He depicts our forefathers and other revolutionaries as sensible and reasonable people who understood they were being oppressed and wanted true liberty and freedom. I believe he did this for the main reason of not being automatically dismissed by white patriotic men who won’t listen to a black man talk about the rights of people. This tactic is commonly used by politicians today to not offend and eliminate a portion of possible voters. Mr. Douglass maintained to stay a peacekeeping activist in this time period, which is very impressive given the amount of persecution his culture endured. This style of pleasing everyone while still getting your point across is an effective form of communicating that is very impressive for the given time period. Not only was this speech obviously advocating for African AmericanShow MoreRelatedThe Declaration Of Independence, All Men Are Created Equal1442 Words   |  6 PagesThe Declaration of Independence states â€Å"all men are created equal.† However, that concept does not contribute to Fredrick Douglass and Red Jacket, who represent two different cultures with a similar dilemma. Both argue the hypocrisy of the document, that only applies to a certain population of the United States of America. In addition, Douglass and Red Jacket are defending their beliefs among the injustices that they have came across with the â€Å"whites†. Even though Red Jacket is speaking up amongRead More Frederick Douglass’ Fourth of July Speech Essay1390 Words   |  6 PagesOn July 5th of 1852, the Ladies Antislavery Society of Rochester requested that emancipated slave, Fredrick Douglass, speak for their celebration of the United States’ national independence. Douglass accepted this request and presented a powerful speech that explained and argued his true beliefs and feelings concerning this event. He considered their decision to request him as a speaker on that day to be a mockery of his past and of the ongoing status of blacks as slaves in America at the time

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.