FREDERICK DOUGLASS'S “FOURTH OF JULY” SPEECH (1852) July 5, 1852 Mr. President, Friends and Fellow Citizens: He who could address this audience without a quailing sensation, has stronger nerves than I have. Find step-by-step Literature solutions and the answer to the textbook question Read the following excerpt from Frederick Douglass' speech. "What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? He was far more confrontational and less willing to compromise. Which sentences from Frederick Douglass' speech, What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?, show the separation between him and his audience and prove that he does not share his listeners' attitudes toward the Fourth of July? This, for the purpose of this celebration, is the 4th of On Monday, July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave a speech to the “ Ladies of the Rochester Anti-Slavery Sewing Society, ” which arguably became his most famous public oration. Rather than a celebration of the Independence Day holiday, Douglass asked an obvious, simple and damning question: What, to the slave, is the Fourth of July? Frederick Douglass was born an enslaved person in Maryland, later escaping into freedom and emerging as one of the leading abolitionist voices in the nineteenth century. In June 1852, he delivered this Independence Day address to the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. It became one of Douglass’s most famous speeches—criticizing the chasm between America’s Founding principles and Read each part and answer the questions at the end of that part. The above audio reading by actor Ossie Davis can be used alongside the full text of Frederick Douglass's speech delivered on July 5, 1852 at Corinthian Hall to the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society in Rochester, New York. Part One: A Fourth of July Oration On a Fourth of July when many Americans are expressing profound concerns about whether the government’s orders, decisions, and votes are representing their voices and asking questions about what we the people means today, it is an opportune time to return to the keynote speech Frederick Douglass gave in Rochester, New York, at an Independence Day celebration on July 5, 1852. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like In his Fourth of July speech, why does Douglass say to his audience that "The Fourth of July is yours, not mine"?, In his Fourth of July speech, Douglass says that "above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the wail of millions." To what is he referring?, What best summarizes Douglass's judgment of the "conduct of this nation Frederick Douglass gave a passionate speech on July 5th, 1852, which caused the audience to reevaluate their celebratory mood during the Independence Day ceremony. His speech was so convincing that the people present began to grieve rather than rejoice in the freedom granted by the Declaration. Douglass's tone throughout the speech was mostly direct and engrossing, as one would expect from a Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like According to the Declaration of Independence, what is the main purpose of governments?, Frederick Douglass quotes who in his speech "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?", Read the following sentence and answer the question that follows: As the sheet anchor takes a firmer hold, when the ship is tossed by the storm, so did the Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like How did Frederick Douglass have to say about his ability to write this speech?, What were Frederick Douglass' feelings about the Declaration of Independence and the signers of this document?, Compare the meaning of the Declaration of Independence to the audience and Frederick Douglass. and more. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like where was the speech given, when was the speech given, to whom was this speech given? and more. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like About when was this speech given?, What is the tone of the introduction?, Why does Douglass consistently use the pronoun "your" in this speech? and more. What to the American slave is your Fourth of July! 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. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like About when was this speech given?, What is the tone of the introduction?, Why does Douglass consistently use the pronoun "your" in this speech? and more. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like What to the slave is the Fourth of July, according to the text?—what answer does Douglass provide? A) It is hypocrisy, a day which reveals to them the injustices of United States history, both past and present. B) It is a celebration of national independence. Find step-by-step Literature solutions and the answer to the textbook question Read the excerpt from Frederick Douglass's speech "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the Old World, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of What to the American slave is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him more than all other days of the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. Frederick Douglass: (10:31) To him, your celebration is a sham, your boasted Liberty, an unholy license, your national greatness, swelling vanity. What to a Slave is the Fourth of July - Frederick Douglass 1. What is the rhetorical question in his speech? 2. Who was Douglass' audience? 3. Did the audience expect this speech? 4. What did the audience expect of Douglass? 5. Why was it essential for Douglass to argue that he was a man? What is a "man" in Douglass' speech? How does Douglass argue that he is a man? Does he need to? 6. What In July of 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered a speech titled “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?,” a call for the promise of liberty be applied equally to all Americans. Douglass’s speech emphasized that American slavery and American freedom is a shared history and that the actions of ordinary men and women, demanding freedom, transformed our nation.
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