Frederick Douglass: A Voice Against Slavery

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Frederick Douglass was an incredibly influential part of the abolitionist movement. He has seen the harshest acts induced by slavery, even in the kindest of people. Douglass worked his entire life to get away from slavery and secure his freedom. With this new found freedom, he chose to speak out against the institution of slavery and inform the public of the evil truths that lay within slavery. He used wit, humor, pathos, ridicule, satire, mimicry, intellectual and emotional appeal to reach out to his audience in hopes of enlightening them (Douglass, July 146). On July 5th, 1852, he gave a speech to whites in New York about the injustices of slavery and how inhumane it was. He did this to open the eyes of Americans who had not been fully exposed …show more content…

They are torn from their homes and their families regardless of their age or how much they’re needed. They are chained together and brutally forced to march to a trading site, like New Orleans. Frederick Douglass had witnessed the damaging effects and trauma created by the American slave trade. “The anguish of my boyish heart was intense; and I was often consoled when speaking to my mistress in the morning, to hear her say that the custom was very wicked; that she hated to hear the rattle of chains, and the heart-rending cries” (Douglass, July 161). He describes the trade from both his point of view and from that of his mistress’s to help people see and relate to the effects of the slave trade. The more people who are aware and against slavery, the better for Douglass. Blacks who try to fight this trade will not win this fight because American judges and law enforcement positions are often bribed to always side with

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