Fredrick Douglas's Speech What To The Slave Is Fourth Of July?

Fredrick Douglas was a man that literally started from the bottom, as a slave, and rose up to be a respected public speaker. His speech " What to the slave is Fourth of July?" discusses just what the Fourth of July actually means to those who are not free. Douglas starts by applauding the revolutionaries for the Revolutionary war. He commends them for realizing that English parliament is treating them unjustly and deciding that they were going to form a new and improved government on their own. He says the founding fathers did wonderfully on bringing up this country and they are the reason why America 's freedom is still intact. However, the feeling of independence is not felt by the black men and women of this country. They can not say that …show more content…
He wants the audience to think that he is a credible source of information when talking about the Fourth of July and why that date is so important. That is why he uses ethos in his speech. "Oppression makes a wise man mad. Your fathers were wise men, and if they did not go mad, they became restive under this treatment." ( Douglas 11) He says this to show that he believes that the founding fathers were exceptionally brave and smart when bringing up this nation. In order to understand why he thinks the founding fathers were correct in deciding they wanted to break free from England, it is important to realize English parliament was ruling unjustly and the Americans knew they had to revolt. Even though England had far more resources such as food and armies the revolutionaries got their independence when the founding fathers wrote up the declaration of independence. This makes the audience feel as though the development of their country was a tremendous feat. He says the Fourth of July is America 's way of celebrating "the fruits of their success"( Douglas 16) His technique of starting with applauding the founding fathers makes the audience feel as though Douglas is a true American patriot and he knows why America is such a great country. However, this part of the speech gives him the basis of what he is about to start talking about, how …show more content…
He is wondering why they would call a black man to speak about the Fourth of July when his people are in no way free. The Fourth of July is a holiday celebrating America 's independence but how can America claim that is a free nation when a part of their population is still enslaved. Douglas answers the question, "What to the slave is the fourth of July?" by saying it reminds slaves of the " gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham;" (Douglas 44). He is letting the audience know that America can not say they are a free country when they are actually the biggest enslavers of all. Moreover, Douglas recalls memories of when he would be walking down the street and see his black brethren being sold at an auction like animals. He begins to incite even more anger by letting African Americans now that white people are stopping them from reaching their full potential. While slaves are out on the field being laborers among them could be the smartest people to walk the Earth. There could be doctors that would have the found cures to diseases, teachers that could inspire the children of the future to do great things, or lawyers that could catch actual criminals instead of treating blacks as if they were the criminals. African Americans should be angry at the fact that their people aren’t being allowed to strive in the country they helped bring about.