The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro (Case Study Sample)

“The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” Speech Analysis
Student’s Name
Institution
“The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” Speech Analysis
Introduction
The speech “The Meaning of July 4th” was delivered by a man, who was the very first person to earn the right to be called the Civil Rights Movement’s forefather. Fredrick Douglas was one of the most vocal voices behind the very first pre-Civil War anti-slavery movement that given the push to the subsequent intellectual war.
The Analysis
“The Meaning of July 4th” is one of the most popular speeches by Douglas, in which he criticized the notion of celebrating the independence of a country that had and supported slavery. He saw the contradiction in the case, and was not ashamed to ask why the system still sustained slavery many years after gaining the independence (Douglas, n.d.). With his training as journalist, Douglas was able to give his point of view on the subject logically and eloquently. His mastery of delivering the message about the underlying causes that conspire to have the Negroes still languishing in slavery is amazing and artistic. In fact, the main purpose of the speech is to attempt to give a sarcastic and critical view of someone, who knows a bit of the American history. On the one hand, the author does have much respect for the American men and women, who fought hard to secure the nation’s independence. On the other hand, he does not believe they went to war and suffered in the battles, so that their country would be a nation of slave-owners (Douglas, Jacobs, & Appiah, 2004).
Conclusion
Fredrick Douglas in his speech used the Rogerian method of argumentation to deliver the message. Firstly, he uses the memory and the knowledge that the audience has about the time that the nation got independence. Then he poses the questions and suggests the possible solutions to the conflict at hand. Clearly, the author is fair to the heroes of the American independence fight, and also to the slaves who have made production and eco...