Rhetorical Analysis Of Freery In The Hypocrisy Of American Slavery

For my literary review and eventual rhetorical analysis, I will focus on the theme of freedom in the United States and what exactly it connotes. More specifically, I will be focusing on the period of slavery seen in the United States most prominently during the 1800s. The rhetor of my chosen text is Frederick Douglass, who escaped slavery and went on to become an influential abolitionist, a celebrated author, and a vice-presidential candidate. The text I will be using for my my rhetorical analysis will be “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery.” This speech was delivered to the citizens of Rochester, New York at the height of slavery in 1852 as part of their Fourth of July celebrations. Douglass’ speech is very significant to American history because Douglass had the opportunity of pointing out the hypocrisy of every American citizen celebrating independence while as the celebrations were taking place, nearly four million people were being kept as slaves. His speech was also important to history because it was given when the discussion of American slavery was at its highest. He used this platform as a chance to question Americans how they as a people who pride themselves on liberty and equality can rightfully celebrate these ideologies when millions are enslaved. Douglass’s purpose in writing this speech was to convince the audience of the irony of slavery in an seemingly independent and free nation. His speech helped bring up the though that Fourth of July is a holiday of freedom that all men must have, not just white men. In this speech, Douglass successfully utilized particular words and figurative language to evoke emotions as well as communicate effectively with …show more content…
His speech helped pave the way for the eventual abolishment of slavery in America and