Frederick Douglass’ “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery” Frederick Douglass was a former American slave. He escaped slavery in 1838, and to avoid re-enslavement he fled to England. With help from English Quakers he was able to purchase his freedom from his former slave owners in 1847; he then returned to living in the United States. Throughout his life he helped escaped slaves into Canada. At the time of the speech “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery”, Douglass had been living in Rochester, New York for several years editing a weekly abolitionist newspaper called The North Star. He was invited to give a fourth of July speech by the Ladies Anti-Slavery Society of Rochester. In the early 1850s, tensions over slavery were raging across the county. The Compromise of 1850 had not resolved the controversy over the admission of new slave states to the Union. The Fugitive Slave Act passed by Congress as part of this compromise was hated by the Northern states. Along with these things, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel about slavery, Uncle Tom’s Cabin had been published a few months before and became a national bestseller. Across the country people were thinking and arguing about slavery. Douglass was set to give a speech in Rochester, New York to a group of abolitionists as a part of their Fourth of July celebrations. The crowd may have expected a celebratory speech, but Douglass offered the complete opposite. He delivered an attack on the hypocrisy of the United States. Douglass downed the nation for celebrating their freedom and independence from Great Britain with parades, and marches while within the United States their still remained millions of African American’s still being kept slaves by white plantation owners. Is everyone in the nati... ... middle of paper ... ...e to efficiently “call out” Americans on their absurd and wrongful behavior as citizens. Douglass was able to explain to his audience the double standards they were having by wanting their freedom from their mother country, but not wanting to give it to African Americans living within their own states. Douglass brought it to attention that the nation was celebrating a “freedom” that was not truly a “freedom” because it was not being given to all. Douglass was able to consciously put the American people in the shoes of slaves for a moment, and to feel their pain. His use of Aristotelian Argumentation helps convey his messages effectively. Douglass’ speech to a group of abolitionists in Rochester, New York on Independence Day of 1852 is one of the most powerful speeches ever given in American history. Douglass gave empowerment to stand and fight for what you believe.
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
After suffering the overwhelming ferociousness and inhumanity of being a slave for over two decades , a black man by the name of Fredrick Douglass fled from enslavement and began to make a concerted effort to advance himself as a human being. Combating many obstacles and resisting numerous temptations, Douglass worked assiduously to develop into a knowledgeable gentleman rather than the involuntary alternative of being an unenlightened slave. In doing so, Douglass successfully immerged as one of the Civil War era’s most prominent antislavery orators. From his first major public speech at the age of 23, Douglass became widely renowned as a premier spokesperson for Black slaves and the movement for the abolition of slavery. In one of Douglass’ most distinguished speeches, “The Meaning of July 4th for the Negro,” he uses the intermittent occasion of speaking on behalf of African Americans to a multitude of White Americans to outline arguments against slavery. In that very speech, Douglass made it clear that, like countless African Americans during this time period,
Frederick Douglass made the most of his years after escaping from slavery in 1852. Douglass spread his words against slavery through being a well-known writer. Douglass was one of the most prominent reform leaders of his era (Foner, 481). A popular document written by Frederick Douglass on July 5th, 1852, spread some powerful words among the nation. Douglass’s speech was titled “What to the slave is the Fourth of July”. When his speech was published, his intended audience was his “fellow citizens” and those unaware that the Fourth of July was a day of mourning for slaves; unlike white Americans celebrating the day of freedom. The reason Douglass’s speech was published was to bring attention to the separation on the Fourth of July between white and black Americans. Even though Frederick Douglass was free he could not celebrate but mourn the day for horror of the past and presence of slave cruelty.
In conclusion, Frederick Douglass was a huge influence on the United States of America in 1852. He opened the eyes of those who heard what he had to say. Whether those individuals agreed with him or not, his speech continues to be popular and important. He mentioned facts that were disturbing, but at the same time, demonstrated amazing thoughts. If people in 1852 thought the same way as Frederick Douglass did, the country would have been better off. Americans’ independence, slavery, the Revolution, and his own life experience helped caused his speech to come out the way that it did. The “Fourth of July Oration” will forever be a commendable model that explained someone’s affection and engagement towards the freedom of individuals.
From before the country’s conception to the war that divided it and the fallout that abolished it, slavery has been heavily engrained in the American society. From poor white yeoman farmers, to Northern abolitionist, to Southern gentry, and apathetic northerners slavery transformed the way people viewed both their life and liberty. To truly understand the impact that slavery has had on American society one has to look no further than those who have experienced them firsthand. Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave and advocate for the abolitionist, is on such person. Douglass was a living contradiction to American society during his time. He was an African-American man, self-taught, knowledgeable, well-spoken, and a robust writer. Douglass displayed a level of skill that few of his people at the time could acquire. With his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave Written by Himself, Douglass captivated the people of his time with his firsthand accounts into the horror and brutality that is the institution of slavery.
...talking about slaveholders. He reveals both the good and bad qualities of slaveholders and don’t discard any favor he gets from any person even slaveholders. Douglass's wrote history from the perspective of those who previously had no voices and can say nothing about themselves. In addition, in his Fourth of July speech as well as his Narrative, Douglass used sound argument and rationalization to communicate with his listeners and readers. All his arguments were supported side by side by facts from his life and the life many slaves. The very existence of the narrative makes it a testament to its author's humanity and, therefore, a document of revisionist history. Through his intellectual and lateral ability, Douglass was able to prove to his critics that all the information imbedded in his work is, in deed, true and ought to be classified under historical sources.
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
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.
Instead of convincing American citizens from around the country that slavery was America’s largest injustice, he now was persuading people in the government and people who were originally for anti-slavery, that black men should have equal citizenship and the right to vote. His change in audience is another reason that the abolitionist's voice changed beginning in the mid 1860’s. The harsh and passionate rhetoric he was using to condemn slavery may have not been so effective or persuasive to politicians. Therefore it was in his best interest to change the approach he originally was making. A great example of this is Frederick Douglass’s first meeting with President Andrew
“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.
Frederick Douglass the most successful abolitionist who changed America’s views of slavery through his writings and actions. Frederick Douglass had many achievements throughout his life. His Life as a slave had a great impact on his writings. His great oratory skills left the largest impact on Civil War time period literature. All in all he was the best black speaker and writer ever.
Slave owners in the South were some of the most cruel and inhumane human beings out there. They used many tactics to maintain a prosperous system of slavery amongst them. Like many, Frederick Douglass was born a slave. Deprived of as much as possible, Douglass knew not much more than his place of birth. Masters were encouraged to dispossess slaves of any knowledge and several of them did not know their birthdays or other personal details of themselves. The purpose of this was to keep slaves as misinformed of anything other than labor as possible. Slave owners knew the dangers that would upraise if slaves became literate and brave enough to fight for freedom.
...understanding of freedom. By exposing the wrongs done to slaves, Douglass greatly contributed to the abolitionist movement. He also took back some of the power and control from the slaveholders, putting it in the hands of the enslaved.
Frederick Douglass’ landmark narrative describes the dehumanization of African-American slaves, while simultaneously humanizing them through his moving prose. Douglass shows the dehumanization of slaves through depictions of violence, deindividuation, and the broken justice system. However, Douglass’ pursuit of an education, moving rhetoric, and critique of his own masters demonstrates to the reader that African-Americans are just as intelligent as white people, thus proving their humanity.
Imagine being ripped apart from your mother as a child. Imagine watching family and friends receiving the stinging blow of a whip. Imagine religious men telling you that this is the will of god as they work you as close to death as they can. While difficult to imagine, this occurred to some of those who were enslaved in the early United States of America. One of the most heart wrenching of these accounts comes from a man born as a slave, Frederick Douglass. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an example of how some early Americans dehumanized slaves and how Fredrick Douglass’ viewed this atrocity. Despite this, Douglass found mental and physical means to fight this treatment.