Freedom rider Frederick Douglass was a Social reformer and an abolitionist. He was a slave who stayed under his owner’s law. However, when he learned how to read and write Frederick Douglas opposition to slavery began to shape. To farther educate himself he read newspapers and did political writing and literature as much as possible. After he gained a lot of knowledge, an African American woman helped him escape from slavery. Throughout his life he was affiliated in civil rights movement. He helped other blacks escape from slavery and wrote many famous American literatures in the process.
The speech “What to the slave is the Fourth of July? By Frederick Douglas shovels depth into the American Government racial injustices of the 1800’s. Frederick
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He begins with the internal slave trade where he explicates the internal working of slavery. He explains the horrendous affect slave trafficking had on many slave families. After his first section, he continues with his second which is the effect religion has on slavery. Frederick Douglass explains that religion is not used properly and mainly used negatively, and clarifies that slave owners and religious people use gospel to justify slavery. Throughout his speech freedom rider Frederick Douglass effectively argues that the Fourth of July is not a righteous holiday for slaves through the use of religion, and the …show more content…
The freedom rider reveals that every state is involved in slave trafficking. He begins with how slaves were kidnapped from Africa, “men hunted down and, without a moment’s warning, hurried away in chains and consigned to slavery and excruciating torture.”(Douglass, 118). This shows that Africans were hunted down like animals and stripped off from there God given rights while being separated from their loved ones as well as facing the brutal state of mind; in addition, they were used as human stock to import money in the states. In fact, every owner traded slaves like goods, and held them in varies institutions for sell. Even though, the declaration of independence has some similar aspects of the constitution, according to Frederick Douglas black men did not have rights, there humanity was taken away, and the law did not apply to them. In spite of that, there is no reason for a slave to celebrate the Fourth of July. Although every citizen is supposed to be equal and celebrate the Fourth of July with happiness, it’s difficult for slaves to be a part of the celebration because throughout history there humanity has been taking away as well as their God given
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,
A human being is a complicated entity of a contradictory nature, where creative and destructive, virtuous and vicious are interwoven. Each of us has gone through various kinds of struggle at least once in a lifetime, ranging from everyday discrepancies to worldwide catastrophes. There are always different causes and reasons that trigger these struggles, however, there is common ground for them as well: people are different, even though it is a truism no one seems to be able to realize this statement from beyond the bounds of one’s self and reach out to approach the Other. The concept of the Other is dominant in Frederick Douglass’s text “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro”, for it determines the main conflict and illuminates the issue of intolerance and even blasphemy regarding the attitude of white Americans towards Negroes. The text was written as a speech to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence and delivered at Rochester’s Corinthian Hall on July 5, 1852.
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 effectiveness and excellent structure of Frederick Douglass’ Fourth of July speech is apparent. His rhetorical arguments served as powerful rebuts to opposing contentions and forced his audience to consider the undeniable error in their nation’s policy and approach regarding slavery. Douglass also compelled his audience to take his words seriously by establishing his credibility, recognizing his audience, and skillfully constructing and executing his speech. The end product of his efforts became a provocative speech at the time and a historical delivery in the future. Douglass succeeded in giving a speech that clearly and effectively argued the absurdity of the institution of slavery in America, leaving it up to his audience to consider his position and decide for themselves how to act in the future.
Often when we think of slavery in the 1800’s we associate the concept with only black slaves. However in the book of Uncle Tom’s Cabin we see that if mister Shelby wasn’t a slave owner and owed the debts to Haley, he has been just as likely to become a slave working for Haley. It is we arrive at the question what does it mean to be free and how do we obtain it. We will be looking at Frederick Douglass’s definition of slavery and how he overcame it through increasing his own literacy as a result of reading.
In Fredrick Douglass’s speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July,” Douglass proves the necessity of resistance by relating
In learning about the history of America from the colonization to the reconstruction I decided to read The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass. Frederick was one of the very few literate slaves. He was an incredibly important character in American and African-American history. Though he was blessed with intelligence most slaves were not, he still lived the same kind of life of the typical slave.
Heroic, brave, and complex are adjectives that may fall short to describe the experiences of Frederick Douglass. In his narrative, he embodied every aspect of the unimaginable struggle and the adversities lived by the African American population of the United States throughout the 19th century. His memoirs are not only a mere narration about slavery, and what kind of place America was when "the land of the free" was almost exclusively for white people. They are also a strong call to society itself. He did not only want the reader to think about the legal, moral, historical, and political transcendence of slavery and freedom. He also wanted the reader to think about these two concepts as “philosophical”
All in all, Frederick Douglass’s book, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, was a story of slavery and freedom. He was fortunate that he was able to experience a better slave life than others. He was able to obtain knowledge about reading that he was not obtaining to be a slave for all his life. He, unlike other slaves, knew he was not supposed to be a slave for the rest of his life. He described the ways by which slaveholders justify themselves for their actions. He was one of the rare ones who did not lose their way to freedom; he discussed the many ways that slaves were kept from thinking about escaping and freedom. Once he was free, he wrote this Narrative and refutes many myths that many have said about slaves and slaveholders.
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
“Universal Rights”. These rights are the foundation of obtaining the right to freedom, justice, and happiness. It is a society’s job to keep and protect these known rights, with the rule of law and uniting in democracy. On the contrary, from time to time there have been circumstances in which individuals have been striped from there given right. This theme of “universal rights” is found in Frederick Douglass’ speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July”. In this speech he brings forth the oppression African Americans faced and the unequal justice that was occurring at the time. Through
Frederick Douglass was the most famous, influential African American known of his era. He was an abolitionist, public speaker, journalist, publisher, human rights and women's rights activist, author, and social reformer. He rose through purpose, wisdom, and eloquence to shape the American nation. Frederick Douglas devoted his life to achieving justice for all Americans, he anticipated America as a wide-ranging nation strengthened by diversity and free of discrimination. Douglass had a vision to live in a world that race and color shouldn’t matter, in a century that this was unrealistic. We must go back in the past of Douglas life and learn of his great accomplishments to how it shaped America today.
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 Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass can be referred to as a memoir and writing about the abolitionist movement of the life of a former slave, Fredrick Douglass. It is a highly regarded as the most famous piece of writing done by a former slave. Fredrick Douglass (1818-1895) was a social reformer, statesman, orator and writer in the United States. Douglass believed in the equality of every individual of different races, gender or immigrants.