In my Philosophy of Race class, we discussed Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”. It was my job to research and analyze the speech and while doing so I found Frederick Douglass’ use of rhetoric to be very powerful and very effective. Frederick Douglass is a master of rhetoric and in this particular speech his rhetoric is especially moving. He first states that to do the slave, the 4th of July is not a day of independence, but it is a day when black slaves can look at the hypocrisy of the United States. He says it is a holiday in which black people are mocked when white people talk about liberty, justice, and freedom. When Frederick Douglass talks about this, he appeals to the emotions and minds of the people listening. Many people who were listening at the time probably never thought about how the day of liberation of the United States just brought more pain and suffering to others. In addition, throughout the speech, his choice of words is so powerful and so descriptive that it is hard to not picture the descriptions in your head.
Here is an example,
“To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy—a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour.”(What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?, Frederick Douglass)
The words are very harsh and crude, but they were necessary at the time to express, his emotions as well as for the slaves who couldn’t speak up about this issue. His use of rhetoric to send a message to the audience is clearly seen and was quite effective of getting the effect he wanted.
Take the time to skim through his speech (it is quite long) and see other great examples of rhetoric Frederick Douglass provides.
What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? Frederick Douglass
What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? Frederick Douglass
One of the interesting features of the address is the occasion on which Douglass speaks. The address you address was delivered on July 5, and was part of a heritage of Fifth of July addresses--small acts to protest the fact that blacks, whether slave or free, could not really celebrate independence with the rest of their white neighbors.
ReplyDeleteThis aspect of the rhetorical situation would have been apparent to Douglass' initial audience, and would have shaped the way they viewed his rhetoric.
Just from the example you can tell that his speech is extremely powerful and good at stirring up emotions. Frederick Douglass really knows how to use language to deliver exactly what he wanted.
ReplyDeleteFrederick Douglass is known as one of the greatest speakers in U.S. history and I'm so happy you decided to choose him to blog about this week! As part of the rhetorical tradition, Douglass really conveys ethos, logos, and pathos really conveniently. His ethos is obvious due to his long-standing credibility and his pathos is so appealing that you can really sympathize with him, no matter what your race is. In regards to the excerpt you included in your blog, Douglass opts to use many descriptive and meaningful words that carry a lot of weight toward the audience, instead of using long sentences as many speeches seem to include. I think this choice was effective and necessary to get the audience to really feel and understand what he was talking about.
ReplyDeleteI think Douglass' speech is a really interesting example of rhetoric. His harsh words seem to be appropriate for both the situation and his audience. His words are definitely powerful and I think would surely have an effect on the audience. Although I wasn't previously aware of the heritage of Fifth of July addresses, I think this adds to the speech as well.
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