In Lincoln's Second Speech (given right after taking office), he uses the comparison of the Confederation to the Union and positive and cheerful speaking style to show that (even though there is the existence of) their struggles, America is now together again. One (related to using clever words to get attention and change people's minds) (success plan(s)/way(s) of reaching goals) Lincoln uses is comparisons. Lincoln (on purpose) compares Confederate hopes and (things that were completed) to those of the Union. From lines 1 - End, Lincoln chooses to word his comparisons in the past tense. Take for example lines 15-23 when Lincoln says, "Neither expected/looked ahead to...the conflict itself should stop." His words all end in past tense: "expected/looked …show more content…
Douglas uses many (related to using clever words to get attention and change people's minds) (success plans/ways of reaching goals) to bring across his powerful feelings of love, hate, fear, etc. on the subject, and the result is a very effectively argued point.
Douglass begins by asking a series of question that doesn't need an answers, not without the use of insulting language (that says the opposite of what's meant). He refers to "that" (official, public statement/document with such a statement) of Independence, instead of "the" (official, public statement/document with such a statement) of Independence, to stress the separation between his people and those who are not badly mistreated. In the next paragraph, he continues to ask question that doesn't need an answers. The purpose of all these questions is to give the audience the (way of seeing things / sensible view of what is and is not important) that what is suggested is not truly so. He did not choose to give a speech on the holiday that his people are reminded of the terribly unfair treatment forced upon them in order to express thankfulness and joy for the independence of America, because he does not share in any of that joy, because he does not share in any of that independence. The
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He states that any just man who is not (unfair, pre-decided bad opinions) will see that his words are of truth. He speaks of the Constitution, he speaks of the Bible, and he speaks of God. With such credited references backing up his argument, it would almost make a man feel like the devil to even dare to disagree. For the last half of his speech, Douglass addresses what he should speak of, what he should argue. He goes into detail about each different aspect of why African Americans have the same natural right to freedom as do any other human beings. One by one, he suggests he argue about the slave being a man, that man be entitled to freedom, that it is wrong to make men "animals", and finally, that slavery is not wonderful/God-related. With each, he explains details about the fact that each argument is so basic, so understood, that it need not be argued. It all flows back to his own argument about the holiday on which he speaks. Freedom is the natural right of all
Douglass and Thoreau both felt as though the government as well as society turned a blind eye to the mistreatment of human beings, especially during slavery. He saw freedom being celebrated, but it just reminded him of how so many were willing to continue on not dealing with all of the wrong that had taken place. Regardless of what he saw before him, he refused to forget. Douglass felt that “to forget them, to pass lightly over their wrongs, and to chime in with the popular theme, would be treason most scandalous and shocking,”. Instead, he chose to deal with the subject of American Slavery, in which he brought out the idea of individuals supporting what was wrong rather than what was
Throughout the entirety of the book, Douglass presents himself as a neutral figure who can see both the negative and positive side of any issue, even slavery. He presents a rational account of why slavery exists and does so without attempting to discuss the morality of the topic at hand. Despite spending a lot of time discussing the cruel masters and supervisors he encountered in life , his anger is not towards those who support slavery, but the institution of slavery as a whole.“Nature has done almost nothing to prepare me...
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.
In that very speech, Douglass made it clear that, like countless African Americans during this time period, he did not feel like he could join White Americans in the celebration of the 4th of July. Douglass had a primary objective of calling to question the validity of celebrating the 4th of July while there were many injustices still in practice. He aimed to make it clear to the audience that, it was a mockery to expect or even invite African Americans to partake in the celebration of the 4th of July because it was not theirs to celebrate. His objective shaped his speech dramatically. It allowed him to bring up the history behind the 4th of July and call to question why the ideologies that brought out the Nation’s liberation were not being used to liberate the slaves.
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.
The “Fourth of July Oration” and the gathering that Douglass was attending was constructed to serve an early ceremony for Independence Day. He begins his speech with the subject of America’s independence. Specifics of the nation such as the memories of the Revolution, the model of freedom for all individuals, and religious support were spoken about. Frederick shares his experiences as a child. He believed that the American slave-trade was a horrific event that became real for a majority of individuals. When young, Douglass witnessed the disgust that all slaves had to experience, “my soul was often pierced…” (p. 267) He would watch the slave ships being anchored, ones that held innocent individuals. It was difficult and absolutely absurd for anybody to watch such torture take place and not be able to do a single thing ...
Four and a half months after the Union defeated the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. He gave the Union soldiers a new perspective on the war and something to fight for. Before the address, the Civil War was based solely on states’ rights. Lincoln’s speech has the essence of America and the ideals that were put into the Declaration of Independence by the founders. The sixteenth president of the United States was capable of using his speech to turn a war on states rights to a war on slavery and upholding the principles that America was founded upon. By turning the Civil War into a war that was about slavery he was able to ensure that no foreign country would recognize the south as an independent nation, thus ensuring Union success in the war. In his speech, Lincoln used the rhetorical devices of juxtaposition, repetition, and parallelism.
In his speech he tries to make white people consider the behavior of black people. Specially their feelings towards a national occasion such as Independence Day. At the time of Douglass’s speech America were actually two different nations, white and black. Two separated nations one had great benefits after the independence and another still fight for basic human rights. What does the independence means for people who still suffer after it? This question is the most important. In the Declaration of Independence. He is implying that these rights are not being extended to African Americans. When this country was created it was meant to be a plac...
On 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. Nevertheless, Douglass skillfully constructed his speech utilizing various methods that forced his audience to take him seriously and think twice about the issue of slavery in America. His passion about the subject, his ability to captivate his audience, and his persuasive skills combine to form a clearly effective speech that continues to be studied to this day. Douglass warmed up his audience by commending the moral and patriotic excellence of their forefathers. He then delivered the argument of his speech which cleverly criticized the hypocrisy of the institution of slavery and those who tolerated or supported it. Yet, to conclude his speech, Douglass asserts that there is still hope for the young nation so as not to leave the audience completely discouraged. The way in which Douglass constructed and delivered this speech had a lasting impact and left his audience with an effectively argued point to consider.
Four and a half months after the Union defeated the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. He gave the Union soldiers a new perspective on the war and a reason to fight in the Civil War. Before the address, the Civil War was based on states’ rights. Lincoln’s speech has the essence of America and the ideals that were instilled in the Declaration of Independence by the Founders. The sixteenth president of the United States was capable of using his speech to turn a war on states’ rights to a war on slavery and upholding the principles that America was founded upon. By turning the Civil War into a war about slavery he effortlessly ensured that no foreign country would recognize the South as an independent nation, ensuring Union success in the war. In his speech, Lincoln used the rhetorical devices of juxtaposition, repetition, and parallelism, to touch the hearts of its listeners.
When first introduced to Douglass and his story, we find him to be a young slave boy filled with information about those around him. Not only does he speak from the view point of an observer, but he speaks of many typical stereotypes in the slave life. At this point in his life, Frederick is inexperienced and knows nothing of the pleasures of things such as reading, writing, or even the rights everyone should be entitled to. Douglass knowing hardly anything of his family, their whereabouts, or his background, seems to be equivalent to the many other slaves at the time. As a child Frederick Douglass sees the injustices around him and observes them, yet as the story continues we begin to see a change.
“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe”( Douglass). This famous quote epitomizes the philosophies of Frederick Douglass, in which he wanted everyone to be treated with dignity; if everyone was not treated with equality, no one person or property would be safe harm. His experience as a house slave, field slave and ship builder gave him the knowledge to develop into a persuasive speaker and abolitionist. In his narrative, he makes key arguments to white abolitionist and Christians on why slavery should be abolished. The key arguments that Frederick Douglass tries to vindicate are that slavery denies slaves of their identity, slavery is also detrimental for the slave owner, and slavery is ungodly.
Douglass moves to attack the Christian beliefs of the American people, showing the great discrepancies between the ideals held in the Christian faith and the ideals held by slaveowners. Christians avoidance of abolishing slavery, yet worshipping a loving and peaceful God, may be the worse crime of them all. Douglass explains the hypocrisy of the American people by choosing to continue slavery while claiming the benevolent principles embedded in the Bible. At the moment he gives this speech, “they are thanking God for the enjoyment of civil and religious liberty, yet they are utterly silent in respect to a law which robs religion of its chief significance” (Douglass 12). The American people acknowledge and thank God for their freedoms, yet purposefully
What he was claiming was that African Americans slaves were born in the United States so they should be entitled to same American values given to the white Americans. He also goes ahead to bash the government for the attitudes towards his people and goes on to explain how he feels they are be exploited. His impact that he intended to have from this speech had been to bring freedom to African American’s by letting proper democratic ideals decide who is entitled to what rights. During the time of the speech he said black American’s should be ashamed to celebrate this holiday due to the misdeeds and unfair enforcement of these laws. His main take away from this was that the slavery going on in America was harmful and illegal because they violated the founding father principle rights. Throughout him speaking he goes on to undercut many powerful institutions in America that are simply letting slavery go on and not doing anything about it (Church). He is a very faithful man and believes looking back at his sentiments will ring home and show that he was inevitably correct in due time. In conclusion this ties to the ideas that African Americans should not have to celebrate this holiday until they feel like they are being equally treated under the same law are the white
There are a number of key arguments in “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”. A few of which include inequality, education, and Christianity as the keys to freedom in terms of its true values within the institution of slavery. While Frederick Douglass made some key arguments, he also made common ground to make his appeal for the abolition of slavery.