What to the slave is the fourth of july free essay sample

On Monday July 5th, 1852, Frederick Douglass captivated his audience at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York with one of the most powerful antislavery orations ever delivered, â€Å"What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?†1 As an African American and former slave himself, Douglass was a crucial component to the Civil Rights movement and the abolishment of slavery. His concern for equal rights sprouted as early as twelve years old, often listening to debates among free blacks in Baltimore, as well as becoming a member of the East Baltimore Mental Improvement Society. While enslaved, he taught himself to read and write with the patriotic essays and speeches in Caleb Bingham’s The Columbian Orator, which emphasized the power of a speaker’s natural language and delivery, eventually influencing Douglass as an orator. Once Douglass courageously escaped slavery, he became a high-powered abolishment activist in the movement to create equal rights for all Americans. We will write a custom essay sample on What to the slave is the fourth of july or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 2 Douglass was invited to deliver the Independence Day speech addressing what the Fourth of July meant for the slaves.3 Instead of celebrating the accomplishments and legacy of America, Douglass strayed away from the norms of the holiday, and instead scorned the current American generation for its failure to provide justice to all American citizens. His message criticized the present state of the nation and its failure to live up to the promises of the Constitution by allowing slavery in America. Contrary to what the holiday stood for in America, Douglass argued that the Fourth of July, for enslaved Americans, was the one day of the year that represents more than anything else the great injustice of slavery: 5 â€Å"What, to the American Slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim.† 6 Douglass’ message was vastly different than other Fourth of July orations because it clearly distinguished the contrasting meaning of the holiday between white and black Americans. Although undoubtedly putting great shame on America’s shortcomings, Douglass praised the Founding Fathers for their courageous fight to achieve liberty. By supporting the Revolutionaries actions to break free from British Rule, Douglass alluded to the similar fight that the American population faced to attain the same liberty that white citizens had. With the same courage the Founding Fathers had to create a free country, the American generation of 1852 faced a similar test to uphold the  values of the Declaration of Independence, and liberate American slaves.7 After applauding the Founding Fathers, Douglass acknowledges that the emphasis of his speech is not to give praise, but to call on America to act on it’s own failures and begin to faithfully fulfill the nations oath.8 He asks his audience, â€Å"Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us [African Americans]?†9 This rhetorical question Douglass presents, challenges America to reevaluate what they are truly celebrating on the Fourth of July, for it is surely not the freedom in which they claim to have achieved. Douglass asserts that asking black people to rejoice in the â€Å"shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery†10 and do not respect the courage, and steps the Founding Fathers took to create a free, liberated nation.11 Early on in Douglass’ career as an abolitionist, he affiliated his beliefs to fellow abolitionist, William Lloyd Garrison, claiming that the Constitution was a proslavery document. Despite previously supporting Garrison’s opinion, Douglass changed his views in 1849 and declared the Constitution pledged liberty and freedom to America, and never intended to be a slave-holding document.12 In his speech, he contends, â€Å"If the Constitution were intended to be, by its framers and adopters, a slave-holding instrument, why neither slavery, slaveholding, nor slave can anywhere be found in it.†13 Douglass claimed that the Constitution only proclaimed that liberty should be granted to all Americans, and never defined that slavery was an exception to this basic American ideal. In his address, Douglas not only criticized the present generation of American citizens, but also condemned the church for not openly criticizing the allowance of slavery, especially the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. The Fugitive Slave Law recognized slavery nationally by declaring that all runaway slaves captured, by law, must be returned to their slave masters.14 Douglass shared his profound disappointment and bewilderment in the churches for not publicly acknowledging the injustices created by this law. He affirms the law reflects the church to be â€Å"simply a form of worship, an empty ceremony, and not a vital principle, requiring active benevolence, justice, love and good will towards man†.15 In the speech, Douglass claims that the American church is hypocritical because it goes against the Christian beliefs they claim to support. Douglass powerfully contends that  the American Christian Church’s were an embarrassment to the Christian Gospel and a bad representation of Christian morals. 16 Frederick Douglass’ deliverance of his Independence Day speech contributed greatly to his legacy as one of the most influential African Americans to take a stand against slavery. Never before this speech had an African-American taken the podium on the Fourth of July and deliver such a powerful, and unforgettable oration as brilliantly as Douglass did. Just as intoxicating as his rhetoric, Douglass delivered his message with the utmost confidence, and dramatization, captivating audiences today who hear the recording of his striking Independence Day oration. 18 â€Å"What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?† courageously asserted the failures of America, while also paying tribute to the founding American ideals of liberty, and freedom. In his conclusion, Douglass expressed his faith that with continued efforts to end it, one day, slavery will no longer exist. This faith gave him hope that America will achieve the greatness its Founders aspired for:19 â€Å"There are forces in operation which must inevitably work the downfall of slavery†¦I, therefore, leave off where I began, with hope†.20 Douglass was fearless in challenging the moral conflic t in America, and went on to give hundreds of other speeches besides his most celebrated â€Å"Fourth of July† speech.21 Through his efforts, Douglass awoke a nation that was dying under the restraints of slavery by supplying America with the means to prosper, and truly allowing â€Å"All men to be created equal† no matter what race they belong to. What to the Slave is the fourth of July free essay sample On July 4, 1852, Frederick Douglas delivered his â€Å"What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? † speech. At the time this speech was delivered, Douglas was merely an escaped slave who had been taught to read and write by his slave owner’s wife. He used his gift of literacy to fight for the God-given rights of both African-Americans and women. In â€Å"What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July,† Douglas cunningly uses bold diction and formatting in order to emphasize to his mostly white audience points of conviction concerning slaves. Douglas starts by asking a sequence of rhetorical questions. In order to stress the separation between slaves and those who have their freedom, he refers to that Declaration of Independence, instead of the Declaration of Independence. He regularly uses the terms you and me, us and them, to emphasize the fact that this holiday is important to white Americans, but a mockery to African-Americans. We will write a custom essay sample on What to the Slave is the fourth of July? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Since the Fourth of July represents the white man’s freedom from England, why should blacks celebrate with them when they share no part of that oppression relief. To slaves, this holiday is a double standard that makes the blind rejoice for what is not theirs to celebrate, and pushes the oppressed further into darkness. Douglas continues convicting by addressing the wrongs committed by America. He goes into detail about why African Americans have the same natural right to freedom as any other human beings. He proposes to argue about the slave being a man: that man be entitled to liberty, it is wrong to make men brutes, and finally, that slavery is not godly. However, he conveys that his argument is too simplistic. This should not even have to be argued because it all ties back to his point about the Fourth of July. Freedom is supposedly that natural right of all men. So, if a man is a man than freedom is what he is born to have. Douglas continues by bringing another double standard into the light. The American government will acknowledge a slave as a man when he needs to be punished, but not when he wants the freedom he is entitled to. A slave must be a man if he is seen as â€Å"moral, intellectual, and responsible† enough to avoid committing any of the seventy-two crimes punishable by death. All throughout his speech, it is evident that Douglas relies on simple logic and common sense to prove his points. For example, Douglas points out that if he were to ask any man if slavery was wrong, they would say yes. In addition to this, if he were to ask a man if they wanted to be a slave, they would say no. Additionally, Douglas uses God and the Bible as part of his argument. By doing this, Douglas adds highly credited references that will make any opponent’s counterargument seem unnatural, or from the devil. This tactic also allows him to reverse the white man’s manipulation of the Bible that states slavery is God ordained. He turns the tables by then attacking the church for not doing more to put an end to slavery. He recognizes the vast amount of influence that the church plays on society, for both black and white cultures. The church would make more headway than anything else, in terms of slaves gaining their rights, if only it would properly condemn slavery and preach against its evil. Although he used his speech to inform his audience of the injustices happening to his people and to convict the un-convicted, it was used primarily as a call to action. Douglas emphasizes his call to action when he says, â€Å"For it is not light that is needed but fire. † The light represents the obvious arguments for the freedom of all men. The fire, however, represents what is absent and urgently needed awakening America to the fact that it is committing crimes against humanity, and the importance of changing it.