There have been various changes since the emergence of what is now known as the Fourth of July to Americans. The history dates back to the nineteenth century when the United States gained its independence from Britain. From its inception, the Fourth of July has evolved into what most Americans know to be a celebration which has consisted of fireworks, food and fun with family and friends over the years. However, getting to this point of everyone celebrating this profound “independence” has not always held the same meaning to various individuals, races, and genders. There were various personages in history, over the course of the different Fourth of July Celebrations, who portrayed their experiences and have since helped shape what our present …show more content…
Although this day was a day of celebrating freedom, people of different races and social class did not always feel as though they were treated and given the same equality as their American counterparts. One depiction of the Fourth of July celebration was from a memoir from Frederick Marryat, a British sea captain and writer who toured both Canada and the United States in 1837-1838. He visited during what was the 61st anniversary of America’s independence. His description was that of many drunken people, various readings of the Declaration of Independence, guns and fireworks going off, and a ton of food; roasted pig to be exact. There were various paintings that also illustrated these exact observations, along with ones to show celebrations from all races coming together on this momentous …show more content…
It makes the holidays worthwhile when I am also given the chance to be off work, so that I can really enjoy my time to spend with friends and loved ones. In previous years, my family has decided to get together and take a trip so that we all could be together and enjoy the holidays as a family. By getting away and going somewhere different, it allows us to get out of familiar land, and explore different places to enjoy the Day of Independence. Also, I really enjoy that Nashville has a big fireworks show where everyone from surrounding areas come to see this great display that is put on. It feels great to know that everyone, across the United States, is also celebrating this joyous occasion of independence together and can have grand festivities and firework shows just like my hometown
In the speech, “what to the slave is the Fourth of July?” which Fredrick Douglass gave he emphasized how the fourth of July is not a celebration to the slaves but an insult and ridicule. Douglass uses logos and pathos to make the audience understand his point of view and how this so called “independence day’’ is for whites only because the black people in America are still slaves , which in turn means they can’t celebrate this day. Using these rhetoric’s he conveys his point on how this day is adds insult to injury.
Frederick Douglass’s speech was given to so many of his own people. The fact that Douglass speaks so harshly to them proves that he has passion for what he talks about through-out. “What to the slave is the Fourth of July”, compares and contrasts the different meanings the Fourth of July shared between Whites and African Americans. Douglass says “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”. Frederick Douglass was not striving for the attention, he just wanted to get across that the Fourth of July is not a day of celebration to African Americans and the respect he shared with them, having once being a slave himself.
Every US citizen all have something in common; freedom. Most Americans go throughout their whole personal life, whether it be work, school, or other activities, never questioning, ”How do I have the opportunity to be able to do these things?” We instead ask and worry about other things, and don’t take time to acknowledge how we are able to have agency in our decisions of everyday life. The First Amendment allows US citizens to have privileges that don’t exist in some countries, like freedom of speech, religion, and the right to petition. Likewise, this amendment is unique to the United States of America, and no other country in the world has as many freedoms as the US. Because of these exclusive rights, we must protect them from being taken away. This is why the US has a military; to protect the freedoms exclusive to America. This is why we have Veterans’ Day; to celebrate the veterans of war who fought and put their lives down to keep their land free. This essay will go over why we should celebrate our country’s warriors, and it will talk about what veterans give up to protect their country, how their personal lives change, and how they affect our community/country.
Frederick Douglass's "Fourth of July" Speech is the most famous speech delivered by the abolitionist and civil rights advocate Frederick Douglass. It attracted a crowd of between five hundred and six hundred. Douglass’s speech to the slaves on the Fourth of July served to show the slaves that there is nothing for them to celebrate. They were not free and the independence that the rest of the country celebrated did not apply to them.
The story “The Fourth of July” by Audre Lorde demonstrates that she comes across a realization that she had to speak up for her rights and independence when she visited the capital city of the United States, Washington, D.C. Lorde explains how she was frustrated with the situation that occurred in Washington, D.C., which shows that she had learned the reality of the society. She writes about many things that she came across during the trip to Washington D.C. in the summer vacation. In the essay, the meanings of independence for Lorde are to fight for it and to speak up for the rights that they deserve. Lorde and her family visit many places in the capital city where they were told to leave the place because black people were not allowed there.
Revolutionary is defined as “something markedly changed or introducing radical change” ("Related Queries." Revolutionary). Some events that had a radical change was the English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution in Europe. These events began when there was a split between the Parliament and King Charles I. Both sides had many arguments, and were not willing to back down over the principles that they had about the manner of the government, and how all those problems could be solved. The country then split into two sides, one was people who supported the Parliament, and then theres people who supported the Royalists, and both sides had fought many wars over the situation. This battle ended by the execution of King Charles I. The English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution were truly revolutionary events and these events had many dramatic changes that occurred and changed their society. These dramatic changes changed Europe in it’s social and political ways that the Europeans gained rights and both events had an effect to their economic ways as well.
Douglass extends his speech to emphasize the unusual paradox regarding slavery in the land of the free. Douglass refutes the Fourth of July celebration when he states:
John Beckett mentions that the Glorious Revolution has been considered a historical event related to the political issues. The main target of this historical event was to create a commercial freedom in Europe. After this revolution was done, trade relations in Europe went up, and the Bill of Rights was also created in 1689. Today, the Bill of Rights is shown and known that it was the first building stone for the British constitution because it limited the monarchic power. During the eighteenth century, the period of the Age of Enlightenment is considered between 1713 and 1789 because Anthony Pagden states that Europe was like a republic of states, and it was like a union acting together and talking with one voice. The Age of Enlightenment
In 1962, director of the Congress of Racial Equality, James Farmer and fellow CORE leader Bayard Rustin, resurrected an earlier strategy from the late 1940s that called for blacks to ride segregated trains and buses during interstate travel in the upper South. The earlier protest on wheels had failed miserably when the riders were arrested in North Carolina, convicted, and given month-long sentences doing chain-gang labor. This time, the protesters hoped that they would receive greater support from the federal government and the Justice Department.
July 4th is celebrated annually, when we commonly see red, white, and blue. This can be figured as patriotism! American’s celebrate and enjoy each other’s company. Some sit by a fire and others enjoy by watching fireworks. The flag is celebrated and is a symbol for freedom.
In Audre Lorde’s bildungsroman essay “The Fourth of July” (1997), she recalls her family’s trip to the nation’s capital that represented the end of her childhood ignorance by being exposed to the harsh reality of racialization in the mid 1900s. Lorde explains that her parents are to blame for shaping her skewed perception of America by shamefully dismissing frequent acts of racism. Utilizing copious examples of her family being negatively affected by racism, Lorde expresses her anger towards her parents’ refusal to address the blatant, humiliating acts of discrimination in order to emphasize her confusion as to why objecting to racism is a taboo. Lorde’s use of a transformational tone of excitement to anger, and dramatic irony allows those
In both “The Fourth of July” and “Black Men and Public Space” the narrators did one very important thing; they expressed how the encounter made the narrator feel. This is crucial because it almost allows the reader to share the feeling of helplessness that was felt. In “The Fourth of July”, Lorde explained how she truly did not understand why the family was treated differently. She tells of her parents’ fruitless effort to shield their children from the harsh realities of Jim Crow by planning out virtually the whole trip. The highlight of the story is when the narrator expresses both anger and confusion at the fact that her family was denied seated service at an ice cream parlor because they were black.
n Frederick Douglass’ What to the Slave is the 4th of July, he presents a simple yet morally complex argument. In his letter, Douglass states that it is hypocritical for a country to celebrate its freedom and separation from another country, yet still have slavery alive and well in the United States. Morally, this issue is a pretty straightforward argument and the very definition of hypocritical. Douglass also touches upon his belief that all men and women are equal, as stated in the constitution, yet slaves are subhuman. Another topic touched on is the contributing factors that perpetuate the constant and unjust nature of how slaves are treated, such as religion, agricultural, and over all demeanor towards slaves.
Historically, as a country we have ignored many of the values that our nation is based on when it comes to our racial and ethnic past. Liberty is the state of being free, to enjoy the social, political, or economic rights and privileges, the power of choice (Liberty, n.d.). Liberty should not be limited by sex, race, or ethnic background. “The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me.” (Douglass, 1852) to think that a former slave would be asked to speak at an event regarding the 4th of July, a holiday meant to celebrate our freedom, something that we deprived Mr. Douglass of. Legal equality and...
The Thirty Years War was a series of conflicts, not-knowingly involving most European countries from 1618 to 1648. The war, which was fought mainly in Germany, was started when Bohemian Protestants furiously attacked the Holy Roman Emperor in terms to impose a restriction on their religious and civil liberties. By understanding the Thirty Years War, you will notice the notable religious, political and social changes. The changes paved the religious and political maps of Europe. Not only did this war affect the religious and political demographic, it caused populations to perish and lose large amounts of their goods. What was known as a religious battle, turned out to be a political feud in competition of which state has the greater power affecting men, women, soldiers and civilians. “[The bohemians] had no idea that their violent deed would set off a chain reaction of armed conflict that would last thirty years and later be called Europe’s “first world war” of the modern era.” When the war ended, the lands were defiled and over 5 million people were killed.