Frederick Douglass Speech On Slavery

Slavery was common in the 1800’s, and so the thought of free men were white, but there were also freed slaves, it would only happen if their master granted them freedom. But, Douglass’ speech is about how unfair it is to be a Negro slave and how they are treated poorly and even though they are men, they are treated horribly and they receive no freedom. They work all day, and they even learn how to read and write for their own survival. Just because they are slaves, it doesn’t mean that they cannot be treated as if they are not human. Douglass points out their hardship and burdens that they carry, but he also states what they are capable of, and that they are trying to prove to the free men that they are not just slaves, they are men that can …show more content…
He said it wasn’t worth his time and strength because he states, “to make men brutes, to rob them of their liberty, to work them without wages, to keep them ignorant of their relations to their fellow men, to beat them with sticks, to flay their flesh with the lash, to load their limbs with irons, to hunt them with dogs, to sell them at auction, to sunder their families, to knock out their teeth, to burn their flesh, to starve them into obedience and submission to their masters?” (Douglass) He states all the reasons why slavery is wrong in his question and by listening to it, people should already know that it was wrong and there shouldn’t need to be an argument over something that is obviously wrong and cruel. Douglass asked his question knowing there shouldn’t even be an answer because it the answer was in the question, the cruel, savage, inhumane things that were done to the slaves are enough evidence that slavery shouldn’t exist and that it was not what the Declaration of Independence intended. It was to treat all men equal, but the white men treated the Negroes as …show more content…
The fourth of July is nothing to slaves if they didn’t receive their freedom. Douglass says that America needs to wake up and acknowledge that slavery is wrong. The hypocrisy of the nation has to be exposed and they need to be punished. Douglass was enraged with furiousness and metaphorically states that like a fire and thunder and earthquake, that the conscience of the nation must be awoken and there needs to be a change. The meaning of July fourth was different to slaves as it was to freed white men, freedom is a dream to slaves and it was a reality that is taken for granted by white men. Douglass’ speech is about unfairness and how the Declaration of Independence wasn’t written for all to be free and all men were going to be treated equal. It was directed at white men and slaves were not part of the deal. July fourth is not about freedom, but about no equality and the horrible truth about hypocritical