Amanda Feliz

Eng1121

September 3, 2020

Prof. Penner 

Micro Activity #4 (Responding to Douglass)

On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered one of his famous speeches. One of his speeches I’m going to discuss is “what to the nergo is the fourth of July?”  He talked about many things in his speech, but the most important message in his speech was that he tried to show his audience black equality and was criticizing American values. 

Quote 1:“America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future. Standing with God and the crushed and bleeding slave on this occasion, I will, in the name of humanity which is outraged.” (Douglass 8)

Paraphrase: Douglass was calling Americans hypocritical because they fight for the country’s independence but yet have black people as slaves. Douglass was confused about the fact that America represents itself as a “freedom” country but don’t let the slaves be free. Douglass feels like black people don’t have any equivalent because they are still being taken advantage of. 

Response: This piece of information supports my interpretation of the text by basically telling his audience America  portrayed themselves as a free country but yet have black people chained up like and are getting treated like animals and being taken advantage of. So he questions America values and their representations. 

Quote 2:  “Dare to call in question and to denounce, with all the emphasis I can command, everything that serves to perpetuate slavery—the great sin and shame of America!” (Douglass 8) 

Paraphrase:  One of America’s biggest sins is slavery and how America should be ashame of that sin that they have created. 

Response: This piece of information supports my interpretation of the text by telling his audience again that America is a “free” country but still has slaves. 

Quote 3: “For the present, it is enough to affirm the equal manhood of the negro race. Is it not astonishing that, while we are ploughing, planting and reaping, using all kinds of mechanical tools, erecting houses, constructing bridges, building ships, working in metals of brass, iron, copper, silver and gold; that, while we are reading, writing and cyphering, acting as clerks, merchants and secretaries, having among us lawyers, doctors, ministers, poets, authors, editors, orators and teachers; that, while we are engaged in all manner of enterprises common to other men, digging gold in California, capturing the whale in the Pacific, feeding sheep and cattle on the hill-side, living, moving, acting, thinking, planning, living in families as husbands, wives and children, and, above all, confessing and worshipping the Christian’s God, and looking hopefully for life and immortality beyond the grave, we are called upon to prove that we are men!”  (Douglass 9)

Identify the writing strategy you see Douglass using: Giving reasons on how black white are equal and also he was trying to dehumanize black people. 

Explain why you find this useful, persuasive, or effective in some way: This is persuasive people in this piece of information. He was trying to show us that black people are hard working people but they don’t receive the credit for the work that they do.

Quote 4: “What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I 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. 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” (Douglass10)

Identify the writing strategy you see Douglass using: he uses feelings to show how cold America is in reality. 

Explain why you find this useful, persuasive, or effective in some way: He basically shares his anger about how America is treating black people.