Reflection: "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro"

I do believe that the speech "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro," by Frederick Douglass, was a very influential speech of the time, also a good example of what the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Both speakers and writers wanted liberty in America for all people. In his speech Douglass really wanted people to take a look at the holidays that we celebrate here in America. All white Americans take great pride in celebrating the Fourth of July, but how to the enslaved African American fell about it? Frederick surely wanted to tell everyone that slavery was awful and should be abolished, but this time he really just wanted to let people think for themselves on the topic of slavery. This is probably the best method of persuasion in my eyes because you cannot force someone to think in the same way as you. You have to propose your ideal thoughts to the people, and let them think for themselves. Also, Douglass made sure to say at the beginning, "The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men. They were great men too" (Douglass). This was a good way to start out his speech because he was still appealing to all of the people because they all believed in that statement. "Emerson observed that the differences among a particular race are greater than the differences between the races" (Brewton). I think that this is a great quote because it is true. The slaves were not even close to being as different from the American as they thought. Douglass said, “America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future” (Douglass). I think that this was a very important statement in the speech of Douglass because it is true. Americans are celebrating their freedom, but they are hiding the fact that they have thousands of African Americans in the worst conditions ever. This speech was more rationalistic than the works of Emerson and Thoreau because it did not involve Nature and the more romantic feel of their writings.

Brewton, Vince. "Emerson, Ralph Waldo [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 24 July 2003. Web. 07 Feb. 2012.

Douglass, Frederick. "The Meaning of July Fourth For the Negro." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Africans in America. Web. 07 Feb. 2012.