Fredrick Douglass’s Relationship With American Ideals and American Realities Fredrick Douglass was born in February of the year 1818 at Holme Hill Farm in Maryland (1171). Douglass unlike many popular writers of the time was born a slave. Being born a slave subjected Douglass to many things that other authors at that time would have never know. So when he eventually gained his freedom in 1846 after some friends had payed the price for his freedom Douglass had developed a unique sense of what American ideals and realities are (1172). Douglass saw all of the inequalities that were happening to African Americans at the time and was astounded by the fact that Americans were still promoting their ideals of liberty and justice when millions of …show more content…
He also points out that just being asked to speak about Independence Day was foolish of the American people because he and his people are not truly free. Douglass thought that speaking about this day was a form of “inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony” because he did not share in the same freedom, justice, and prosperity as them. Douglass points out that these things that were passed down to them by their forefathers (Douglass 1251). Further pointing to the fact that Douglass thought that Americans were a bunch of hypocrites when it came to promoting their ideologies because they did not have to earn their current liberties and freedom instead they were born with …show more content…
Just the ratio of 2:72 really opens the readers mind to how unfair the current system was in America. This section of the speech I think was meant to open readers eyes and enrage them a little bit about the vast amount of injustice that the African American population was facing at the time. Douglass also address his present feeling while giving the speech when he says: How should I look to-day in the presence of Americans, dividing and subdividing a discourse, to show that men have a natural right to freedom, speaking of it relatively and positively, negatively and affirmatively? To do so, would be to make myself ridiculous, and to offer an insult to your understanding. There is not a man beneath the canopy of heaven that does not know that slavery is wrong for him. (Douglass 1253)
When Douglas points out that we divide and subdivide natural rights of human into deciding who will receive them and who will not is another way that Americans are hypocritical when it comes to interpreting what was written in the Declaration of Independence. He also makes a huge point by pointing out that no man on earth would want to be a slave so it makes you think about why would you be okay about keeping slaves of your own when it would be a terrible nightmare if you yourself were put into the position of a slave. He goes on to defend this point by
Fredrick Douglas uses his life as a slave to compose a narrative of involvement regarding slavery, in order to interpret the distorted philosophy behind slavery that would bring people to want to abolish the practice of harming men. Douglass has a purpose in writing about his life and that is end slavery and Douglass leaves out anything that does not help him do that.
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
Douglass congratulates the Americans on the anniversary. He says that it brings good memories of when the country was delivered from British rule and that America is growing older. He states that it is no necessarily bad that the country is young because it can change easily. If it were older, “the patriot’s heart might be sadder, and the reformer’s brow heavier (Douglass). He also speaks well of the Founding Fathers for declaring their independence from Britain, especially since they put national interest above personal interest, which Douglass greatly applauds.
Douglass was born February, 1818 in Maryland. He was born into slavery and taken at a young age, from his mother to live with his maternal grandmother. At age seven he was sent with his master, Aaron Anthony, to Wye House plantation until Anthony’s death. Douglass was given to Lucretia Auld, and then to Auld’s brother-in-law, Hugh, in Baltimore. Auld’s wife taught Douglass the alphabet....
On July 5th 1852, Frederick Douglass, one of history’s outstanding public speakers, carried out a very compelling speech at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York. Within that moment of time where the freedom of Americans was being praised and celebrated, he gathered the nation to clear up the tension among slavery and the establishment of the country’s goals. Frederick Douglass’s speech mentions the development of the young nation, the Revolution, and his own life experience. While speaking, his main subject was seen to be American slavery. The “Fourth of July Oration” was a commendable model of Frederick Douglass’s affection and engagement towards the freedom of individuals. Frederick Douglass’s speech left an impact on his audience and continues to change the minds of those who read his speech today. I agree with plenty of dominant thoughts and cases he acknowledged in the “Fourth of July Oration.”
Frederick Douglass was an enslaved person and was born in Talbot County, Maryland. He had no knowledge of his accurate age like most of the enslaved people. He believed that his father was a white man, and he grew up with his grandmother. Douglass and his mother were separated when he was young, which was also common in the lives of the enslaved people. This concept of separation was used as a weapon to gain control of the enslaved people. In short, despite the obstacles he had to endure, he was able to gain an education and fight for his freedom in any means necessary.
The first example of detail is, “The point from which I am compelled to view them is not, certainly, the most favorable; and yet I cannot contemplate their great deeds with less than admiration” (Douglass, Para. #1). The above quote explains his view point to citizens that he respects what they have to say but he doesn’t agree with their beliefs. The second example is when he showed his imagery, “Then would my task be light, and my burden easy and delightful” (Douglass, Para. #3). This demonstrates the comparison of how he compared the slaves and the white and how they were treated very differently from each other. He used diction such as, “The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me” (Douglass, Para #4). In this quote he describes the beliefs that's passed on to people and everyone believed the same things but he will not share the same opinion according to the celebration of July Fourth. Therefore, the idea to break down to his audience that are anti-slavery the way he feels July Fourth should be celebrated to
...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 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...
In his speech, Frederick Douglass made it clear that he believed that the continued toleration and support of slavery from both a religious and legal standpoint was utterly absurd when considering the ideals and principles advocated by America’s forefathers. He began by praising the American framers of the Constitution, an...
Freedom has been the cause of wars, political movements, and centuries of debate. The concept of freedom is simple. Freedom is the right to act, speak, or think without hindrance. In our contemporary society, the right to freedom is so basic and innate we struggle to even fathom life without our basic rights. However, less than 200 years ago slavery was legal in the United States. Slavery is the antithesis to freedom, depriving people of the most basic rights and placing them at the whim of their owners. Frederick Douglas, possibly “the most famous and respected African American in the United States for much of the nineteenth century,” details his life as a slave in America (Douglas, 24). Douglas goes on throughout his autobiography to detail
Frederick Douglass’ source, “The Desire for Freedom” was written in 1845. He was born into slavery in 1818 and became an important figure in the fight for abolition. Douglass was also involved in other reform movements such as the women’s rights movement. He “experienced slavery in all its variety, from work as a house servant and as a skilled craftsman in Baltimore shipyard to labor as a plantation field hand” (Pg.207¬). “The Desire for Freedom” was meant to document how his life was within slavery and how his education could someday help him escape it. Douglass meant to speak to American slaves and those who did not really understand slavery in order to help persuade everyone that life was meant to be lived freely. In order to obtain this future, Douglass wrote about his own personal experience and how he believed that enslavers were “in no other light than a band of successful robbers, who had left their homes, and gone to Africa, and stolen us from our homes, and in a strange land reduced us to slavery” (Pg. 208). This source brings on the idea that slaves were willing to fight back, wanted to be educated, and, most importantly, wanted the chance to live life freely.
1.) Fredrick Douglass’s purpose in this speech was to explain the wrongfulness of slavery in America. Fredrick Douglass states in his speech “Are the great principles of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?” and “The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence, bequeathed by your fathers is shared by you, not by me.” These prove that the freedom and independence Americans have aren’t shared with the Africans when it should be that Africans have those rights as well. Frederick Douglass then talked about how badly whites treat blacks and how wrong it is. “There are 72 crimes in Virginia which, if committed by a black man, subject him to a punishment of death, while
Frederick Douglass was one of the most important black leaders of the Antislavery movement. He was born in 1817 in Talbot County, MD. He was the son of Harriet Bailey and an unknown white man. His mother was a slave so therefore he was born a slave. He lived with his grandparents until the age of eight, so he never knew his mother well. When he turned eight, he was sent to "Aunt Kathy," a woman who took care of slave children on the plantation of Colonel Edward Lloyd. When he was nine, he was sent to Baltimore where he lived with Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Auld. He started to study reading with Mrs. Auld but Mr. Auld forbid it. However, he still managed to learn anyway. To cause him to comply with slavery more easily, Mr. Auld sent to him to Edward Covey, a man who specialized in breaking down the spirits of rebellious slaves, or a "slave breaker." While there, he was beaten daily for the slightest offense against the strict rules. One day he finally fought back in a fight that lasted two hours, and forced Covey to stop trying to "break" him. He was returned to Auld, where he was sent to a shipyard to learn the caulker's trade. But that didn't stop his education, he not only learned caulking but he also learned to write by tracing the letters on the ship front. Using seaman's papers given to him by a free black he escaped by sea. He tried to get work as a caulker but racial discrimination forced him to become a common laborer. To avoid being taken back, he changed his last name to Douglass. He soon became a large part of the antislavery movement when he came in association with The Liberator, which belonged to William Lloyd Garrison, and he also joined the black Garrisonians of New Bedford. He attended the Massach...
His main argument in the speech is that it 's unjust and hypocritical for a country to celebrate its freedom while it still has slaves. Now that in itself is a morally viable argument, and it has never been more relevant than today in our racially hate fueled world where every situation is turned into a hate crime. However, back in those days majority of slaves were sold into slavery by their own people. Most slaves were sold by rival tribes as prisoners of war, or trouble makers of the tribe, thus giving us the “bottom of the barrel” of the groups. Another counter to Douglass was that even though slaves were people, they were still considered property. A hard working farmer could have used his last penny in order to purchase that slave because he was unable to tend his farm and provide for his family. One common misconception was that all slaves were beaten and treated lower than swine, while to the contrary some were treated well being given a bed and meals every day in exchange for their hard work. While Douglass may have had a bad time under the ownership of Auld, most northern states did not treat their slaves in this manner. This is one of the main reasons Douglass learned how to read, yet no credit is given to his former owner. Most slaves developed a relationship with their owners, in which their owners taught them useful skills such as reading, writing, simple math and farming skills. Another argument brought into Douglass’ speech was that most churches were segregated, and in turn perpetuated the racism that helped keep slavery alive in well. He proposed that a God that wouldn’t allow such evil and disservice in this world would contradict everything the bible proposes and teaches. He praises the writers of the constitution, considering them his equal and thanking the signers of the Declaration of Independence, calling