Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass What to the Slave

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass: “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? ” p. 208 • Exordium: Humility, ethos • Introduction continues with importance of celebrating the American Revolution • Transition on p. 213 to the greatness of the Founders of the US • Flips the point-of-view beginning on p. 216 —a slave’s view of the holiday—provides the specific answer to the title question at the bottom of p. 218 • Sections after that: The Internal Slave Trade (p. 219), Religious Liberty (222), The Church Responsible (223), Religion in England Religion in America (226), The Constitution (228)

Exordium (aka Introduction) (p. 208) • Humble but simultaneously positions himself as hero • Using “your holiday” and “your nation” strategically • Sets up hope as a theme (210) • Praises the Revolution and Founding Fathers • Essentially defines patriotism as being pro-abolition • Implicit warning about revolution: “They were peace men, but they preferred revolution to peaceful submission to bondage” (213) • Lots of “liberty” “independence” “freedom”

The Present (214) • Powerful George Washington example; links to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (215) • Stronger move to us vs. them (you rejoice/I mourn) • Explicitly flips point-of-view at bottom of 216 • He will give evidence from general principles of humanity, liberty, and the Constitution and Bible (217) • Interesting tactic arguing that he doesn’t need to argue several points (but actually does) • Answers the title question at the bottom of 218 • Very strong end to section (219)

The Internal Slave Trade (219) • All about money • The hypocrisy of denouncing foreign slave trade while still pursuing internal slave trade • Setting up a denouncement of political and religious institutions as sustaining slavery • Powerful section using sight and sound to take audience to slave market, reminding him that he had seen them (220 -221) • Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 even worse because it made everyone even more complicit

Religious Liberty (222), The Church Responsible (223), and Religion in England Religion in America (226) • The Church not against Fugitive Slave Act or slavery enough, if at all • Many aren’t even neutral—they take the side of slaveowners with sins of omission and commission (223) • Acknowledge exceptions on stage with him • Evidence that US is hypocritical when it comes to liberty (226) • Quotes Declaration of Independence (227) • Warns of consequences of inaction

The Constitution (228) • He believes the Constitution is antislavery • “The Constitution is a glorious liberty document” (228) • Cleverly uses opponents’ words against them as evidence (229) • Transition to conclusion with a return to hope

Conclusion (229) Hope Poem by abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison

Overall Structure • 1. Here is what we share (admiration of the Founders and support for the ideological origins of the American Revolution) • 2. Here is what we don’t share (a commitment to end slavery and until then resist the Fugitive Slave Act) • 3. Here is what we can share (a true commitment to the principles of the founding documents of America)